Head of Sales, Arla Foods Ingredients - USA, Basking Ridge NJ

Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) is seeking an experienced Senior Manager to lead the US sales team; driving our fast-growing dairy ingredients business in the Nutrition industry. This is a pivotal leadership role with a unique opportunity to shape the future of our Nutrition business and drive value creation in B2B markets in the US.

As our new Head of Sales, you will set the strategic direction for sales in the US, lead a high-performing regional team, and build long-term partnerships with our customers that bring innovative nutrition solutions to life. At the same time you will have an important role in fueling our transformation journey to become “One AFI” – operating as one company globally.

The role is located in Basking Ridge NJ and will report to the Head of Americas. The role is central to AFIs commercial strategy in the US, and regular travel to customers or internal stakeholders should be expected.

How will you make an impact

You will play a central role in shaping our business agenda through strong commercial leadership, customer-centric thinking, and cross-functional collaboration. Together with your team of account managers and via cross-functional stakeholders, you will drive commercial execution while working closely with global and functional teams to achieve our strategic goals. You will help build the regional coherence in Americas with your proactive approach and collaborative nature.

Key responsibilities include:

• Setting strategic direction in collaboration with the Global and the regional Americas leadership teams, aligned with market and customer opportunities


• Heading, mentoring and managing the local sales team in the US to continuously develop market foothold and local sales expertise


• Developing annual sales plans aligned with global and regional business priorities


• Co-leading portfolio prioritizations and market rollouts together with HQ stakeholders


• Building strong, lasting relationships with key regional customers and partners


• Negotiate agreements and commercial contracts with top-tier accounts


• Overseeing sales operations, including forecasting, pricing, and performance tracking

What will make you successful

You have a strong commercial profile and solid leadership experience, having worked with large customers in the nutrition or ingredients sector. You are results-driven and enjoy working through the team. You have a passion for people development and management being an empathetic leader. You are on top of market dynamics and you are able to turn this into short and long term strategy for the US market.

We look for candidates who can tick the majority of the below boxes:

• A commercial MSc degree with strong commercial flair and sales management experience


• Solid experience in global and or regional sales, business development, or commercial leadership


• Proven success managing strategic accounts and driving innovation to market


• Experience with leading and collaborating with diverse teams across geographies and cultural contexts


• Strong analytical and strategic planning capabilities


• Excellent commercial acumen with a track record in pricing and product mix optimization


• Proficiency in CRM and business tools

Additionally, you thrive in a matrix organization with a complex stakeholder landscape and have ideally worked in international roles. As Head of Sales you will inspire confidence and trust in your team, stakeholders, and customers. This is a great opportunity to work with our key customers in the region as part of a great team of colleagues, and with the opportunity to develop further within Arla Foods and Arla Foods Ingredients.

What we offer

In Arla Foods Ingredients, we are characterized by collaborative, innovative and entrepreneurial culture. Your colleagues will be as smart and driven as you.

You can look forward to becoming part of an international, fun and sociable team. We prioritize work life balance and building a positive team spirit and have both social activities and team events on a regular basis.

Ready to join us and shape the future of nutrition?

Please apply as soon as possible. We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis. For more information, contact our Head of Americas, Eva Kläning via [email protected].

Shape the Future of Dairy

Arla is a global leader in the dairy industry, committed to enabling good food choices that make life better, providing people with natural, sustainable nourishment, while taking care at every step to ensure Arla is a choice they can feel good about. If you are looking to shape the future with an ambitious global cooperative that truly cares about your growth, where everyone feels valued and empowered, and collaboration is the core of culture, Arla is a choice you can feel good about.

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