Senior Director of Sales, Pet Specialty Full Time

Company Description: Instinct® is a rapidly growing, family-owned marketer and manufacturer of science based 100% natural pet food for dogs and cats. Instinct® is the Raw Brand, with a mission to get more raw nutrition into every bowl of dogs and cats, for proven healthier and happier long lives. Our company mission is to Empower people to transform the lives of pets. We are committed to hiring and developing a team of passionate, performance-oriented professionals who live by our 4 values of championing raw, empowered to make a difference, collaborating as one team, and striving for excellence through continuous learning and improvement. Our home office is located in St. Louis, Missouri with our Center of Excellence Raw Food kitchens in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Instinct® is part of the family-owned group, Agrolimen, who owns leading pet food and human food businesses in the US, China, Europe, and Africa.

Position Summary:

The Senior Director of Sales will lead and scale the sales organization for our growing pet food brand, driving revenue, expanding distribution, and strengthening key customer relationships across Pet Specialty (Super Store, Neighborhood Pet, and Independent) and strategic channels . This role is responsible for developing and executing sales strategies that align with brand positioning, consumer trends, and long-term growth objectives in the pet nutrition market.

The ideal candidate is a results-driven sales leader with strong CPG experience, a passion for pets, and a proven ability to build high-performing teams and partnerships.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

Sales Strategy & Execution

• Develop and execute national and regional sales strategies to achieve revenue, distribution, and profitability targets
• Identify and pursue growth opportunities across Super Store, NHP, Indy, and strategic channels.
• Lead pricing, promotion, and assortment strategies in collaboration with marketing and finance

Customer & Channel Management

• Own relationships with key accounts, distributors, and strategic partners
• Lead contract negotiations, joint business planning, and annual customer reviews
• Ensure strong in-store execution, merchandising, and promotional compliance

Team Leadership & Development

• Build, coach, and lead a high-performing sales team
• Set clear goals, performance metrics, and accountability standards
• Foster a culture of collaboration, ownership, and continuous improvement

Forecasting & Analytics

• Own sales forecasting, budgeting, and pipeline management
• Analyze sales performance, market trends, and competitive activity to inform decision-making
• Partner with operations and supply chain to align demand planning and inventory management

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with marketing, product development, operations, strategy, and finance to support product launches and growth initiatives
• Provide market and customer insights to guide innovation and brand strategy

Required Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business or related field; Master’s or MBA preferred
• 10+ years progressive sales and/or marketing experience in CPG industry, including at least 5 years of leadership experience in Sales
• Exceptional data analytics with syndicated customer POS/Loyalty data systems
• Proven success managing and growing national accounts

Preferred Experience:

• 5+ Years of Pet Food industry

Travel Requirements:

• Requires travel up to 50% of the time
• Periodic travel to St Louis, MO

Compensation and Benefits

Highly competitive compensation package includes health and dental insurance, life and AD&D insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, short and long-term disability, paid time off, Purpose Days off for company partner volunteer opportunities, and 401k with company match.

Our Instinct is to CHAMPION Diversity

At Instinct, we are as passionate about our people as we are about the pets we call family. We are committed to inclusion, empowerment, and respect. We believe that just like our pets, what sets us apart unleashes our greatest strengths. We thrive on the ability to not only empower people to transform the lives of pets through raw nutrition, but also to empower each other to inspire a culture that celebrates our differences. Our unique approach to pet food is what makes us who we are as a company, and our individual identities are what makes us a successful, innovative, authentic team.