Job Title:        Vice President of Sales

Company:      Confidential

Location:        Burlington, Vermont

Reports To:    President

Supervises:    Sales and Account Managers

 

COMPANY & HISTORY

COMPANY is a successful, stable, and growing full-service brand development partner to some of the world’s most innovative brands. Since 1988, they have built a unique toolkit to connect their brand partners to their consumers in meaningful ways. From design and identity to branded merchandise and apparel, from content creation to retail activation, they know success is built on equal parts creative vision and a relentless attention to detail. Some of COMPANY’s hundreds of global clients include Timberland, Facebook, Jim Beam, Dunkin Donuts, Pepsi, Tinder, Google, Ben & Jerry’s...to name a few. COMPANY is privately-owned by its original founders. Recently the owners decided to step back from daily business management and hired a new President to run the day-to-day operations of the company. President is focused on building his senior leadership team.

 

LOCATION

In 2017, Burlington, Vermont was named among the “Top 100 Best Places to Live” by Livability. Nestled on the shores of Lake Champlain, Burlington is surrounded by some of the most dramatically beautiful landscapes in the country. It mixes historic charm with modern amenities, enjoys a vibrant intellectual and cultural life, and offers unparalleled outdoor recreational opportunities year round. With an economy strong in health care and education, Burlington is home to the largest hospital in the state, the University of Vermont Medical Center, as well as the University of Vermont and Champlain College. Conveniently located near two major interstate systems and the Burlington International Airport, Burlington has a solid infrastructure that offers convenience to residents and tourists alike.

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This position will be located in Burlington,Vermont but will be expected to travel to the Asia office in Shanghai, China approximately 2-3 times per year.

 

CULTURE

COMPANY boasts a flat hierarchy, with a functional structure in an iconic, edgy workspace and with staff who have a “can-do” attitude. They are 100 people strong and make up a diverse and creative team that’s united in its commitment to always deliver, while still having fun. COMPANY describes its culture as client-focused, outcome-based, and thrives on problem-solving. With trust and integrity at its core, COMPANY is able to move fast with agility allowing for employees to experience both high responsibility and high autonomy. Staff are rewarded for being both self-directed AND team-oriented.

 

POSITION SCOPE

As a key member of the Senior Leadership Team and reporting directly to the President, the Vice President of Sales plays an integral role in driving the Company’s profitable revenue growth and participating in strategically developing and implementing goals, directives, and activities that will enable the Company to achieve its full market potential, without sacrificing a best workplace culture.

 

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

 

Thought Leadership

• Participates in and contributes to senior leadership meetings to develop Company’s strategic direction and future evolution using knowledge of the industry landscape and understanding of key client practices and insights

• Leads sales strategy process in conjunction with senior leadership

• Executes sales operating plans tied to strategic direction and vision by utilizing a long-term, holistic view of of the business

• Creates strong, effective, and trusted internal partnerships and collaborates across the Company; listens and values the opinions of others; supports both the leadership and sales teams by pitching in at any level and effectively working across the organization to meet the needs of the business

 

Team Leadership

• Provides daily servant leadership to the sales team by coaching and motivating; creates a culture that drives and celebrates growth, goal achievement and successes

• Maintains existing business relationships with assigned clients by staying closely connected to internal project teams, monitoring progress of ongoing client projects, as needed, and helping to address and resolve promptly, accurately, effectively, and to the client’s satisfaction, any issues or problems that may arise

• Communicates timely, relevant information to sales team, as appropriate, so they understand Company performance, business direction and initiatives, and how they contribute to and benefit from the Company’s success

• Sets high and clearly defined standards for direct reports; provides current, objective, and complete positive and constructive feedback and addresses performance concerns directly, fairly, and in a timely manner

• Defines and oversee sales staff compensation and incentive programs that motivate the sales team to achieve their sales targets

• Defines and coordinate sales training programs that enable staff to achieve their potential and support Company sales objectives

 

Expanding Revenue

• Responsible for all aspects of the sales process; from identifying targets, establishing a pipeline, identifying and creating compelling proposals through to closing and converting new client business for the Company

• Puts in place infrastructure and systems to support the success of the sales function

• Builds successful partnerships with client business leads and key decision makers; provide on-going strategic insights and continually identify future value-add solutions based on the changing market dynamics and industry trends

• Leads the new business development efforts of the Company by identifying, securing, and expanding strategic, profitable long-term client engagements that utilize the multifunctional resources and services via a team-selling approach

• Implement an overall account structure and team that will excel in sourcing, procurement, production, and execution of all client jobs and projects

• Provides detailed and accurate annual and quarterly sales forecasting

• Compiles information and data related to client and prospect interactions; monitors client, market and competitor activity and provide feedback to other members of the senior leadership team

 

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

• Bachelor’s Degree in a related discipline. MBA preferred

• 10+ years of senior-level sales management/leadership experience with strategic planning and full P&L responsibility

• 10+ years of experience within a manufacturing, consumer goods, client, and/or agency environment. Experience working in founder-led, entrepreneurial, private organization a plus

• Successful experience building a go-to-market strategy and corporate sales plan

• Proven track record of profitable business growth through new client/new account acquisition

• Demonstrated ability to build new relationships and nurturing existing relationships with internal and external clients

• Strong knowledge of business models, objectives, financial metrics, etc. used in decision-making; ability to build sound business cases to support innovative initiatives

• Strong understanding of effective Creative Design practices, trends, techniques, and processes across various touchpoints or mediums (e.g. design, packaging, branded apparel, POP/POS & displays, etc.)

• Successful experience and demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and manage a team of 20+ salespeople; monitoring and evaluating sales team progress against stated expectations, in addition to aligning and changing behavior with performance expectations; creating a strong internal desire for both personal achievement and team successes

• Experience leading change management

• Strong problem-solving skills; ability to proactively identify and implement effective solutions

• Demonstrated ability to influence decisions at all levels; excellent negotiation skills

• Demonstrated ability to make effective decisions in challenging situations and/or under pressure

• Entrepreneurial minded with an internal drive to continuously hit goals and succeed

• Demonstrated ability to manage heavy workloads, prioritize work appropriately, and meet assigned deadlines; excellent organizational and analytical skills (including attention to detail)

• Highly proficient with MS Office software, especially Excel, and Google Chrome

• Outstanding communication and presentation skills with the ability to interface with all levels of professionals

• 25% travel to client locations as needed

 

SUCCESS FACTORS/CHARACTER COMPETENCIES

• Builds effective teams by operating in a team format. Talks “we”, “us”, and “the team” versus “I”. Gets the whole team motivated and enthused. Runs participative meetings and processes. Shares credit with the team for successes. Trusts the team to perform.

• Intellectual horsepower. Described as intellectually sharp, capable, and agile.

• Business acumen. Is aware of how strategies and tactics work in the marketplace. Knows the competition.

• Action-oriented. Enjoys working hard. Full of energy. Seizes opportunities.

• Drives for results. Can be counted on to exceed goals. Bottom-line oriented.

• Client-focused. Dedicated to meeting the expectations of clients. Establishes and maintains effective relationships and gains their trust and respect.

• Priority setting. Spends time on what’s important. Creates focus. Quickly zeros in on the critical few and puts the trivial many aside.

• Strategic agility. Sees ahead clearly. Can anticipate future consequences and trends. Can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.

 

COMPENSATION and BENEFITS

COMPANY is offering a strong compensation package, including competitive base salary, annual target bonus, retirement and healthcare benefits, etc.

 

RELOCATION

COMPANY will pay to relocate the Vice President of Sales and his/her family to the Chittenden County of Vermont.

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