Ocean Spray is hiring for a(n) Sr. Key Account Manager! We’re a team of farmers, thinkers, creators, and doers. Whatever your title, whatever your role — it always comes back to this: we’re a farmer-owned co-op where everyone rolls up their sleeves to get the job done. Three maverick farmers started it all — and we’ve been making our own way ever since.
As Senior Key Account Manager for Ocean Spray Ingredients, you will lead business development and strategic account management, primarily focused on China’s bakery and food manufacturing channels. You will own end to end strategic key account management and the acquisition of new top tier customers, overseeing a portfolio of high priority national accounts well positioned for multi year partnerships and joint business planning rooted in Ocean Spray’s value proposition. You will develop high value national accounts, build multi level executive grade stakeholder relationships, identify and grow new business opportunities and project pipelines, and drive full cycle business development across enterprise clients. You will build business cases for new customer initiatives and represent the company throughout contract and commercial deal negotiations. You will fuel demand creation to deliver volume growth and improved profitability, solidifying Ocean Spray as a trusted strategic ingredient partner in the China market. You will engage a broad set of cross functional internal stakeholders — including R&D & culinary, application, marketing, planning, supply chain & operations, grower relations & sourcing, legal and finance — to meet customer needs, grow revenue and expand margins. Leveraging value driven solution selling, you will elevate partnerships beyond transactional ingredient supply to deliver joint innovation and shared value creation.
A Day in the Life...
- Focus on high‑value national key accounts across China’s bakery and food manufacturing sectors. Own end‑to‑end new‑customer acquisition: identify, prospect and onboard new top‑tier enterprise accounts alongside managing the existing strategic customer portfolio. Conduct deep customer insight analysis, build comprehensive stakeholder maps spanning procurement, R&D, QA, marketing, culinary, sustainability and manufacturing plant contacts up to C‑suite executives. Nurture multi‑level trusted relationships to foster sticky, long‑term partnerships, maximize wallet share and establish Ocean Spray as the preferred incumbent ingredient supplier. Uncover demand‑creation opportunities, lead commercial evaluations and drive new‑business closure.
- Develop, own and execute annual sales plans, long‑range plans (LRP), individual account plans and multi‑year Joint Business Plans (JBPs) for the assigned key‑account portfolio. Deliver committed AOP and LRP performance targets covering sales volume, gross margin expansion, wallet‑share growth, innovation project pipeline and customer retention. Conduct regular Quarterly Business Reviews (QBR) with customer senior leadership to track performance, align strategic initiatives and unlock further growth potential.
- Lead full‑cycle, value‑driven solution‑selling activities. Interpret customer innovation roadmaps and core business pain points, build business cases for new customer initiatives and represent Ocean Spray in contract and deal negotiations. Build close working ties with customer R&D stakeholders to fuel volume and margin growth via product innovation. Coordinate and steer internal R&D, culinary and application‑lab resources to deliver custom‑tailored cranberry‑based ingredient application solutions, elevating collaboration from transactional ingredient supply toward joint innovation and mutual value creation. Manage end‑to‑end project workflows for key customer innovation projects.
- Oversee sales forecasting for key accounts to ensure adherence to forecast KPIs, maintain high‑quality, accurate CRM records, and closely partner with supply‑chain and planning teams. Mitigate supply risks for large‑volume orders and new product launches, support customer volume fulfilment and enable new‑footprint initiatives. Resolve escalated complex commercial, technical and supply‑related customer issues by orchestrating cross‑functional alignment across R&D, culinary, application, marketing, planning, supply‑chain & operations, grower relations & sourcing, legal and finance teams. Build strong working relationships with global, regional and local internal stakeholders to align priorities, translate business goals into actionable plans and capture commercial opportunities.
- Collaborate with the global OSI account‑manager network; participate in external global and regional key‑account governance forums, negotiate multi‑region supply agreements where feasible, and provide support to resolve high‑priority challenging business incidents.
- Gather, analyze and assess China‑focused market intelligence including category trends, competitive landscape and consumer insights. Leverage market data and analytics to shape customer‑engagement strategies, craft new‑business proposals and build category thought‑leadership, positioning Ocean Spray as an essential strategic advisor for customers. Represent Ocean Spray Ingredients at relevant trade events, industry summits and customer forums to promote the brand. Align closely with peers across the broader Asia sales team to drive consistent regional go‑to‑market execution.
- Influence and guide team members to elevate commercial performance, ensure robust sales‑process execution and support ongoing capability development across the commercial organization.
What We Are Looking For:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing or related fields; Master’s degree preferred.
- 10‑12+ years China B2B food ingredient commercial experience, deep focus on key‑account management. Solid track record in acquiring strategic top‑tier customers and driving profitable growth for large account portfolios; industry exposure to bakery & snack manufacturing.
- Strong hands‑on capabilities in key‑account joint business planning, high‑level commercial negotiation and value‑based solution selling; end‑to‑end project management experience for customer NPD‑to‑launch initiatives.
- Working knowledge of food‑ingredient applications, China food regulations and bakery/snack market trends.
- Proven ability to build trust and influence C‑suite / senior customer stakeholders; skilled in executive‑level presentation and business‑case development.
- Proficient in MS Office and CRM systems; data‑driven for sales forecasting and KPI tracking.
- Excellent cross‑functional influence to deliver business results without direct line authority.
- Business‑level English for APAC & global collaboration, fluent Chinese.
- Up to 50% domestic travel required for customers, plant visits and industry events.
Education:
Bachelor's or University Degree (Required)
Master's Degree (Preferred)
Work Experience:
At least 10 Years of Experience
Benefits:
- Comprehensive insurance package that includes many health & wellness programs, including medical coverage while traveling for work
- Short-term incentive/performance bonuses
- Flexible scheduling options
- Vacation pay
- Holiday pay
- Career development and growth opportunities
- Tuition/education assistance programs
- Access to LinkedIn Learning
- Scholarship programs for children of employees
- Adoption and Surrogacy reimbursement
- Parental leave
- Bereavement leave
- Fitness & wellness reimbursement
- Employee appreciation events
- Employee discounts
- Charitable giving
Who We Are:
You might have our iconic cranberry juice in your fridge or have gotten into heated holiday debate about what’s better - canned or fresh cranberry sauce. But did you know that the hardworking people growing the superfruit in our products are 700 family farmers that own our cooperative? They entrust us with what is most precious to them to create new and innovative products that will delight consumers and grow this beloved brand today and into the future.
Team members, farmers, consumers and communities alike--we value what makes us unique and strive to connect our farms to families for a better life by living our values:
- Grower Mindset – We embrace our grower-owners innovative spirit and heritage through confidence, learning and focus on the future.
- Sustainable Results – Guided by purpose, we are focused on delivering results for our grower-owners.
- Integrity Above All – We are ethical, doing the right thing for our grower-owners, customers, consumers and each other
- Inclusive Teamwork – We build diverse and inclusive teams that strengthen our cooperative.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.
