Directing the Client Success and Inside Sales team is the core of this leadership role, driving organic growth across an established client base for a leading specialty foodservice distributor. This highly visible position is responsible for revenue growth, client retention, expansion, and team performance, overseeing multiple books of business and developing Client Success Representatives. The Director will also help shape the systems, processes, and commercial strategy for the Client Success function, with potential for expansion into broader sales leadership.
Responsibilities
Own organic revenue and gross profit growth across the existing client base, including retention, expansion, share-of-wallet, and margin targets
Lead, coach, and develop a team of Client Success/Inside Sales Representatives, including hiring, onboarding, training, performance management, and professional development
Oversee multiple books of business and ensure client coverage is balanced, responsive, and aligned with each account's potential
Manage the team's daily order cycle, ensuring order accuracy and proactive communication around out-of-stocks, short-ships, substitutions, and same-day changes
Develop account growth strategies using purchasing patterns, menu analysis, order guide reviews, and product sampling to identify expansion opportunities
Monitor client health using purchase history, order frequency, drop size, and engagement data to identify at-risk accounts and lead proactive retention efforts
Manage account pricing and margins within company guidelines and partner with Finance on credit terms, collections, credits, and returns
Leverage ERP and CRM systems to track account performance, identify growth opportunities, and provide visibility across the portfolio
Build scalable processes, playbooks, service standards, reporting, and CRM/ERP workflows for the Client Success organization
Establish and report on key performance indicators including retention, sales per account, gross margin, drop size, order accuracy, credits, and returns
Partner closely with Outside Sales, Sourcing & Procurement, Logistics, Finance, and Marketing to ensure seamless client onboarding, ordering, fulfillment, and service
Serve as the escalation point for complex delivery, product quality, billing, and client-service issues and address root causes to prevent recurring problems
Build strong relationships with key chefs, owners, operators, and buyers and represent the voice of the client internally
Stay closely connected to restaurant, culinary, and broader food-industry trends to help inform product assortment and client recommendations
Requirements
8+ years of experience in inside sales, account management, or client success within a foodservice distribution environment, including broadline, specialty, produce, protein, imported, or specialty ingredients
Millions of jobs, with real people getting hired every day
200,000+
New jobs added daily
7,000,000+
Verified job listings
1,000,000+
Tailored applications submitted
2+ years of direct people-management experience, ideally leading a team of approximately 5–10 inside sales, account management, or customer service professionals
Demonstrated success growing revenue and gross profit across an existing portfolio of foodservice accounts
Strong understanding of food distribution operations and economics, including order cutoffs, routing and delivery windows, drop size, pricing, gross margin, credits, and accounts receivable
Strong food and product knowledge, including storage requirements, shelf life, seasonality, availability, and substitutions
Understanding of how chefs, restaurant owners, operators, and purchasing managers buy, including order guides, par levels, menu changes, and price sensitivity
Highly analytical and comfortable using data to manage client portfolios, identify opportunities, and measure team performance
Hands-on experience with ERP, CRM, and B2B ordering platforms
Demonstrated ability to build processes, systems, and teams in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence clients, colleagues, and executive leadership
Client-first mentality with a hands-on, solutions-oriented approach
Availability for early-morning starts tied to the foodservice order and delivery cycle and occasional off-hours support for urgent client needs
Nice to have:
Established relationships within the New York restaurant and hospitality community
NetSuite experience strongly preferred and HubSpot experience a plus
Bachelor's degree in business, hospitality, culinary arts, or a related field preferred; equivalent industry experience will be considered
Culinary, restaurant operations, or hospitality experience
Fluency in an additional language, particularly Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, or Spanish
Genuine passion for specialty ingredients, global cuisines, and the New York restaurant scene
Benefits
Performance-based bonus opportunity
Comprehensive benefits package
Important Details
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
About the Company
A leading specialty foodservice distributor supplies high-quality specialty and international ingredients to some of New York's most innovative restaurants, cocktail bars, bakeries, cafés, hospitality groups, and food retailers.
``
