ABOUT US:
The Dairy Alliance is a non-profit funded by dairy farm families of the Southeast. We work diligently with dairy farmers, schools, sports teams, health professionals, local organizations, state leaders, the media, and the public to promote dairy foods and knowledge about the dairy industry. Our efforts center in eight states: Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Director of Strategic Growth sets the vision and leads The Dairy Alliance's efforts in identifying, developing, managing, and expanding its presence in the food and beverage sector. This role is critical in driving dairy growth and identifies opportunities to establish partnerships that drive dairy growth and channel expansion. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in building successful partnerships, exceptional leadership skills, a deep understanding of the food and beverage industry, and a history of driving growth and achieving measurable results. Partners will include dairy processors, food and beverage brands, various foodservice channels, new markets, and other dairy organizations in the US. Additionally, the role will leverage Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) resources and services within its dairy volume growth initiatives. The Director of Strategic Growth is also responsible for supervising direct reports and overseeing menu innovation, budget development, reporting, research, consumer and sales data analysis, nutrition and dairy trends, market insights, and flavor trend information to build compelling business cases, aiming to drive dairy volume through innovative dairy-based products/menu items.
The role also encompasses overseeing and managing activities that support and fulfill the organization's mission: Everything we do is market-focused and proactively promotes and protects the interests of the Southeast dairy farm families.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Strategy Development - Define and implement the strategic vision for partnerships, aligning with overall business objectives, growth goals, and our organization's values and mission.
- Partnership Identification: Identify and cultivate strong relationships with C-suite executives and decision-makers from partner organizations in the food and beverage sector at the C-suite level. This involves regular communication, developing and pitching product and service solutions, attending industry events, and fostering collaborative and mutually beneficial partnerships.
- Negotiating and Contracting: Lead negotiations with legal counsel to finalize partnership agreements, ensuring mutually beneficial terms and conditions with potential partners are met.
- Monitoring, Managing, and Evaluating Partnerships: Continuously monitoring the performance of partnerships to ensure agreed-upon objectives are met to maximize value. This includes analyzing key performance indicators, conducting periodic reviews, and adjusting as necessary.
- Market Expansion: Develop and execute strategies to expand market presence through new channels and markets, leveraging strategic partnerships to drive dairy growth through menu innovation.
- Innovation Collaboration: Work closely with DMI and other partners to drive dairy innovation for menus.
- Team Leadership: Oversee the team's responsibilities for partnership management, providing guidance, support, and professional development.
- Industry Engagement: Stay informed about industry trends, emerging opportunities, and competitive landscape to inform partnership strategies.
- Reporting: Provide regular updates to the executive team on partnership activities, progress, and results.
- Internal stakeholders Collaboration: Working closely with cross-functional teams within The Dairy Alliance organization, such as ELT, marketing, research, and administration, to ensure seamless execution of partnership initiatives and relationships.
ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY
- Ensures the Vice President of Strategic Marketing is consistently updated on departmental and cross-functional activities, account statuses, budgets, legal updates, opportunities and challenges.
- Submits timely reports to the Vice President of Strategic Marketing.
- Maintains accurate and thorough records and files.
- Ensures prompt vendor payments and proper billing of invoices to the correct program, adhering strictly to Board-approved budgets.
- Supports the Vice President of Strategic Marketing and or CEO in Board of Director meetings.
- Conducts performance appraisals, rewards or disciplines employees, addresses complaints, identifies and resolves procedural problems, and suggests corrective actions.
- Supervises in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws.
- Conducts annual training needs assessments for self and others, develops training and development plans, evaluates training effectiveness, and ensures desired outcomes are achieved.
- Models behavior that supports The Dairy Alliance culture and advocates for cultural commitments.
- Participates in professional development and training seminars.
- Recruits, selects, hires, and trains personnel.
- Performs other duties and responsibilities as necessary.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS:
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, or a related field from an accredited college or university, MBA a plus
- 10+ years of proven, successful experience in cross-channel business development, food innovation, strategic partnerships, or related roles within the food and beverage sector.
- 10+ years of cross-channel direct selling experience within the food and beverage sector.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Proven track record of successful leadership, building relationships and team management.
- Exceptional understanding of business principles in sales, finance, marketing, food innovation, legal, contract law, and operations.
- Skilled negotiation and contract management skills.
- Proficiency in synthesizing research data and extracting insights that drive new food innovation.
- Exceptional interpersonal and relationship-building abilities.
- Deep understanding of the food and beverage industry, including market trends and key players.
- Proficiency in data analysis and performance measurement.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Willingness to travel as needed for partnership development and management.
- Extensive direct selling experience with consistent achievements.
- Proven track record of food innovation.
- Capable of making timely decisions aligned with strategic goals and understanding their business implications.
- Proficient in aligning activities with the company's mission, vision, values, strategic objectives, and policy manual.
- Able to work independently and develop a cohesive team is a must.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite software programs (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook), and teleconferencing software (Teams and Zoom).
- Adapts to changes in the work environment, manages competing demands, open to feedback, changes approach or method to best fit the situation, and takes responsibility for own actions.
- The ability to transport company promotional material to company related functions such as tradeshows, races, meetings, and to lift up to 10 pounds routinely and heavy boxes of at least 25 pounds occasionally.
- Ability to work tradeshows and races that involve at least 4 hours of a combination of walking, bending, stooping, kneeling, and climbing stairs.
BENEFITS:
- Competitive salary
- 401K
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Paid time off (PTO)
- Sick Leave
- Professional Development
- Friendly and supportive work environment