Director of Sales International Development – San Leandro, CA

At Ghirardelli, we’re on a mission to become a one billion dollar brand and beyond. We want to be every consumer’s first choice of premium chocolate, and we believe we can do that through our products and the way we do business, which are all inspired by our brand commitment to Making Life A Bite Better. We are a company committed to both personal and professional growth and believe that each employee contributes directly to Ghirardelli’s growth and success.

The Director of International Development leads an important opportunity for the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. This key role will lead Ghirardelli internationally, including both our Professional Products (restaurant focused) and Branded (retail focused) businesses. The Director will work closely with external selling agents as well as internal cross-functional support and direct reports to build the export plans and execute them to drive strong sales growth outside the United States.

Key responsibilities include: establishing strategic plans, brand building, marketing activation, pricing & promotion, supply chain management, and achieving sales & profit budgets. Critical to success will be strong cross-functional work to ensure that our international offerings are appropriate and the necessary infrastructure, tools and products for international success are in place. Also, strong leadership of our sales agents at our export management companies and country distributors will be key to achieve the required results through others. The Director brings both a top-line and bottom-line perspective to all business decisions. The Director is also a results-oriented leader, who carefully manages forecasting, trade spending and sales reporting processes. Additionally, the Director has an entrepreneurial spirit that can pioneer a business.

Additionally, the Director of International Development will lead a team focused on the expansion of the Ghirardelli Duty-Free Global Travel Retail business in the specified regions and achieve / outperform annual objectives (Net Revenue, Profitability and Fair Market Share). The key focus of the Global Travel Retail business will be on building the Ghirardelli brand in a profitable and sustainable way across the Americas (Central/South), APAC and Middle East Regions.

The Director of International Development is a member of the Ghirardelli Professional Products (PPD) leadership team which includes all direct staff of the VP of Professional Products and which sets direction and leads execution for the entire Professional Products organization. Additionally, the Director will be a member of the Company leadership team, which allows the Director to provide input into the direction of the overall Ghirardelli Company.

Lead International Sales & Marketing Organization

• Build strategic direction for the Ghirardelli Company international business to achieve strong and sustainable long-term growth.
• Work closely with importers to build strong plans and to lead the execution of successful growth across all targeted countries.
• Ensure consistent supply of product to importers.
• Create brand building marketing activation plans across targeted countries.
• Ensure the best products and packaging are offered to our international customers.
• Build internal company support as appropriate to champion export needs.
• Achieve NTS budgets, both short-term and long-term, while influencing the successful attainment of GP% budgets.
• Achieve all Professional Products Sales and Branded Sales Priorities, while developing a short and long-term plan for country distributors and in store presence.
• Spend within expense budget and spend trade funds to achieve the best ROI possible.
• Effectively manage the execution of forecasting and trade spending systems.
• Select and manage Export companies as well as working closely with country importers and key operators. Champion the expansion of Ghirardelli resources as appropriate.
• Intervene in situations where an issue arises which requires oversight to resolve the challenges.

Deliver Financial Results

• Achieve NTS, GP% and OP budgets.
• Achieve Professional Products & Branded Sales Priorities.
• Spend within Trade Funds and departmental budgets, while effectively managing associated systems.
• Provide accurate monthly forecasting.
• Ensure high levels of service levels.
• Lead Scorecard planning and tracking on a monthly basis with importers and key accounts.
• Provide updates on a regular basis to the VP of Professional Products in a professional and timely manner.

Develop Team Members Individually and Collectively into a High Performing Cohesive Group

• Hire, develop, and manage performance of team.
• Create an inclusive environment that embraces our values and purpose.
• Manage direct reports, while coaching to success.
• Manage Export Management Companies and Country Importers, while providing ongoing training on Ghirardelli products, applications, marketing materials and programs.
• Continually assess overall team capability vs. requirements and adjust as needed.
• Make proposals to expand resources as appropriate to effectively build the business over time.
• Manage performance issues quickly and directly.
• Understand professional goals of team members and build plans to help them achieve goals.

Develop Key Customers

• Develop a strategic vision for the Ghirardelli business (both short and long-term) to ensure continuous growth for the brand.
• Lead the development of our international sales through our export management companies and country distributors.
• Penetrate key countries and understand Ghirardelli business development opportunities at each key customer.
• Personally engage with all international importers and large customers that will help build the business.

Be a Leader within the Professional Products Organization and Company

• Demonstrate passion, commitment and integrity in all activities.
• Treat confidential information as such.
• Take both a top-line and bottom-line perspective on all issues.
• Collaborate effectively across functions.
• Sell, live, demonstrate and protect the premium-ness of our products
• Build the Ghirardelli Brand Equity by demonstrating quality in everything you do.

May perform other duties as assigned.

• BA/BS Degree, MBA desired
• 10+ years of Professional Products/CPG selling, marketing and management experience.
• Increasing levels of responsibilities.
• International experience preferred.
• The ability to speak multiple languages is a plus.
• Ability to travel, both domestically and internationally
• Ability to travel 25% – 33% of the time.
• Corporate office or home office.