[Hiring] Senior Account Manager @The Hiring Method

Role Description

An established, growing agricultural processing and food ingredient manufacturing organization is seeking an experienced Account Manager / Senior Account Manager – IQF & Frozen Food Ingredients to manage and expand customer relationships across its Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) and concentrate product portfolios. This is an opportunity for a commercially driven food industry professional who enjoys a combination of strategic account management, new business development, customer relationship ownership, and long-term revenue growth.

The organization is positioned for significant growth within its IQF business and is seeking an experienced sales professional who can help diversify its customer base, develop new sales channels, and capitalize on emerging opportunities across food manufacturing and ingredient markets.

The ideal candidate will bring strong B2B sales experience within frozen foods, IQF ingredients, concentrates, or related food ingredient categories, along with the ability to independently manage customer relationships, negotiate contracts, develop forecasts, and identify profitable new business opportunities.

This position offers meaningful commercial ownership, direct interaction with sales leadership, and the opportunity to help expand an established customer portfolio while generating new business.

For highly experienced candidates demonstrating exceptional commercial capabilities and future leadership potential, consideration may be given at the Senior Manager level. The position does not currently have direct reports.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Account Management & Revenue Growth
  • Manage and grow an established portfolio of B2B customers purchasing IQF products, concentrates, and related food ingredients.
  • Serve as the primary commercial point of contact for assigned accounts, building strong relationships with customers, purchasing teams, and decision-makers.
  • Develop and execute strategic account plans to support annual revenue targets, customer retention, profitability, and long-term business growth.
  • Identify opportunities to increase sales volume, expand product offerings, and strengthen relationships within existing accounts.
  • Lead pricing discussions, contract negotiations, annual supply agreements, renewals, and other commercial commitments.
  • Monitor account profitability, revenue performance, pricing structures, and margin objectives.
  • Conduct regular business reviews with customers to evaluate performance, identify opportunities, and address commercial priorities.
  • Partner with Quality, Customer Service, Supply Chain, and Operations teams to resolve customer issues while maintaining ownership of commercial relationships.
• New Business Development & Market Expansion
  • Proactively identify, pursue, and secure new customers across IQF, frozen ingredient, and concentrate markets.
  • Develop new business opportunities within food manufacturing, ingredient processing, fruit preparation, baking, dairy, beverage, and related industries.
  • Expand customer coverage and diversify revenue across new channels, applications, and end markets.
  • Build relationships with food ingredient buyers, manufacturers, processors, rebaggers, polybaggers, and other strategic customers.
  • Generate sales opportunities through direct prospecting, industry relationships, trade shows, referrals, and established broker partnerships.
  • Manage opportunities throughout the sales cycle, including discovery, pricing, proposals, negotiation, and closing.
  • Identify new applications for existing products and collaborate internally to evaluate commercial opportunities.
  • Develop and execute new business strategies aligned with production capacity, product availability, and organizational growth objectives.
• Forecasting, Pricing & Commercial Planning
  • Develop accurate revenue, margin, and customer demand forecasts to support organizational planning.
  • Participate in monthly Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) activities, providing customer insights, demand updates, and market intelligence.
  • Collaborate with Supply Planning and Operations to align customer commitments with inventory availability and production capabilities.
  • Support annual sales budgets, volume projections, and account-level growth plans.
  • Analyze customer purchasing patterns, seasonal trends, competitive conditions, and product availability.
  • Evaluate pricing opportunities while maintaining profitability and long-term customer relationships.
  • Monitor domestic and international market conditions, commodity pricing trends, supply challenges, and competitive activity.
  • Communicate changes in customer demand, supply constraints, and commercial priorities to appropriate internal stakeholders.
• Product Knowledge & Customer Solutions
  • Develop a detailed understanding of IQF products, concentrates, specifications, grades, quality standards, and commercial applications.
  • Work with customers to understand ingredient requirements, processing needs, product specifications, and expected quality characteristics.
  • Support customer trials, product introductions, commercialization initiatives, and new product applications.
  • Collaborate with internal technical and quality teams regarding customer specifications, testing considerations, and product documentation.
  • Understand the impact of harvest cycles, seasonal availability, inventory positions, and production constraints on customer commitments.
  • Maintain knowledge of food manufacturing practices, ingredient applications, and relevant food safety and regulatory considerations.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Industry Representation
  • Partner closely with Customer Service, Quality Assurance, Operations, Warehouse, Supply Chain, Finance, and S&OP teams.
  • Coordinate internally to support successful contract execution, customer fulfillment, and issue resolution.
  • Represent the organization at industry conferences, customer meetings, trade shows, and manufacturing facility visits.
  • Develop strong internal partnerships to support commercial objectives and improve the customer experience.
  • Maintain accurate customer information, sales opportunities, account plans, forecasts, and commercial activity within company systems.
  • Demonstrate professionalism, accountability, and independent judgment while managing multiple customer priorities.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive B2B sales, account management, business development, or commercial customer relationship experience within the food industry or a closely related ingredient or commodity market.
• Demonstrated success managing existing customer relationships while identifying and closing new business opportunities.
• Experience negotiating commercial agreements, pricing structures, contracts, renewals, and customer commitments.
• Strong understanding of commercial sales within food manufacturing, food ingredients, or related processing environments.
• Ability to evaluate revenue, margins, profitability, sales forecasts, and customer purchasing trends.
• Working knowledge of production planning, inventory considerations, supply chain constraints, and customer demand forecasting.
• Strong interpersonal, relationship management, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to independently manage customer accounts, prioritize opportunities, and take ownership of commercial results.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Customer Service.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and CRM or ERP platforms.
• Ability to learn technical product specifications, ingredient applications, and internal business processes.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment while remaining accessible and accountable to customers and internal teams.
• Willingness to travel for customer visits, manufacturing facility visits, trade shows, and other business needs.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science, Agriculture, Supply Chain, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct sales or account management experience with IQF fruit, IQF vegetables, frozen food ingredients, or concentrate products.
• Strong understanding of IQF processing, product grades, specifications, quality considerations, and seasonal supply dynamics.
• Experience selling ingredients to food manufacturers, rebaggers, polybaggers, fruit preparation companies, bakeries, dairy manufacturers, or beverage producers.
• Existing relationships with food ingredient buyers, purchasing managers, sourcing teams, and manufacturing customers.
• Experience with juice concentrates, fruit concentrates, beverage ingredients, or comparable ingredient categories.
• Experience developing new customer relationships within specialty food ingredients, frozen produce, or agricultural commodity markets.
• Familiarity with food manufacturing regulations and food safety considerations, including FDA and FSMA requirements.
• Experience participating in S&OP processes, demand planning, inventory discussions, and commercial forecasting.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, SAP, or comparable ERP and CRM systems.
• Experience working with independent food ingredient brokers or distributor networks.
• Bilingual English/Spanish communication skills.
• Advanced commercial experience and demonstrated potential for future sales leadership responsibilities.

What Success Looks Like

The successful candidate will be someone who takes ownership of their customer portfolio as though they were running their own business. They will demonstrate the ability to:

• Strengthen and expand existing customer relationships while improving account revenue and profitability.
• Generate and close new business opportunities that diversify the organization's customer base.
• Develop commercially sound commitments that align customer demand with product availability.
• Build accurate forecasts and communicate effectively with internal planning and operations teams.
• Understand technical product specifications and confidently discuss ingredient solutions with customers.
• Anticipate customer needs, proactively resolve commercial challenges, and consistently follow through on commitments.
• Represent the organization professionally and build long-term trust with both internal and external stakeholders.

Travel & Work Arrangements

• Initial onsite training and product familiarization at the company's Royal City, Washington, facility.
• Approximately 3–4 manufacturing facility visits annually, with additional visits as business needs require.
• Approximately 3–5 industry trade shows annually.
• Customer meetings, facility visits, conferences, and other commercial events as needed.

Why This Opportunity

• Potential total annual cash compensation of approximately $124,000–$153,000, combining base salary, performance incentives, and estimated commissions.
• Remote work flexibility for qualified candidates in approved locations.
• Opportunity to manage an established customer portfolio while building new business.
• Play a meaningful role in expanding a growing IQF product business and supporting a substantial concentrate portfolio.
• Direct interaction with experienced sales leadership and meaningful ownership of commercial outcomes.
• Opportunity to develop new customer relationships and pursue growth across diverse food ingredient applications.
• Collaborative environment with dedicated support from Quality, Customer Service, Operations, and Supply Planning.
• Exposure to manufacturing operations, harvest activities, industry trade shows, and strategic customer relationships.
• Potential consideration at the Senior Manager level for deeply experienced commercial professionals with future leadership potential.