Head of Independent Sales - Northern Ireland in Belfast

As the leading foodservice provider across the island of Ireland, Sysco’s success is driven by a team of passionate and dedicated individuals who go above and beyond to deliver every day. We don’t just deliver food and drink to our customers. We deliver new thinking, technology and talent to our industry. We deliver opportunities - to ourselves and to our colleagues ensuring that we can all thrive in work and beyond. We are now looking for new talent to join us as we continue to grow, innovate and deliver.

The Head of Independent Sales, reporting to the Commercial Director, will be an integral part of the Commercial Leadership Team.

Scope of the role

An experienced professional in commercial strategies where you will play a vital role in the strategic growth of the business in Northern Ireland.

Key Accountabilities

• Based in Northern Ireland, the Head of Independent Sales role is a critical addition to growing the Sysco Northern Ireland business through continued innovation and investment in people, products, solutions and technology capability.
• As a leader, the Head of Independent Sales - Northern Ireland will continue the momentum of positive change and growth within the NI business; with particular focus on growth in Independent, recognising developments from a food trends and technology perspective and addressing these through astute, insightful innovation.
• Work with the Sysco Ireland Commercial leadership team along with a range of internal stakeholders cross functionally to maximize the effectiveness of the organisation’s commercial strategy in target markets.
• Build key stakeholder relationships in order to strengthen the standing and corporate reputation of the business in Northern Ireland.
• Support the leadership team with local marketing intelligence, competitor and customer insight.

Requirements

• Likely to be a graduate with a minimum of 7-10 years’ experience at senior level in the FMCG or Foodservice sectors and a history of delivering effective commercial strategies and execution of same.
• Large account commercial experience, comfortable working and proactively partnering with customers, building purposeful relationships with small local independent customers across hospitality and retail environments.
• Identify, attract and retain the best talent in the industry.
• Creating a culture of learning and personal development to ensure the commercial team know how to develop and implement customer segment specific and geographically specific plans to retain and/or grow market share.
• Ability to influence and positively challenge cross functionally, at senior level and across cultures, a natural leader of people with a successful history of motivating, building and developing teams.
• Ambitious, high-energy professional with a creative mind-set and the resilience and presence to deliver at a pivotal time in this dynamic and high growth business.
• Strong knowledge of the Northern Irish marketplace.

Core Competencies

• Understanding Your Customers – acts as a role model in personal approach to internal and external customer goals. Takes time to understand the underlying needs of the stakeholders beyond those initially expressed.
• Flexibility & Adaptability – Demonstrates understanding of how change impacts people. Anticipates resistance to change and works to support effective change initiatives.
• Building Effective Relationships – Is a role model for maintaining constructive and effective relationships with others across departments and other boundaries. Demonstrates effective communication techniques and skills and is seen as a team player.
• Communication & listening – Exceptional communication skills – writes and speaks clearly in a variety of communication settings and style. Successfully delivers messages to all levels of the business and stakeholders achieving the desired effect.

Sysco Ireland Culture

• Customer Focus: We deeply understand our customers' needs, continuously looking at ways to deliver real value.
• Building Relationships: We foster strong, effective relationships across teams, always working together. We embrace change and support each other through it.
• Clear Communication: We communicate clearly and effectively, ensuring our message resonates.
• A Passion for Food: We source and deliver food and drink that inspires excellence and creativity in kitchens for the most memorable dining experiences.

The accountabilities and requirements outlined in this job description are neither definitive nor restrictive and may change in detail from time-to-time to meet the changing needs of the business. Sysco is an equal opportunity employer.