Head of Foodservice, Catering, Community and Ingredients
SPC Global · Melbourne, VIC, AUS · hybrid
SPC Global (ASX:SPG) is an iconic food manufacturer with a 100-year commitment to playing a positive role in the Australian economy and manufacturing industry. Our commercial business office is located in Melbourne CBD and runs four Business Divisions – SPC, The Original Beverage Co, Nature One and Natural Ingredients.
Our Group has a portfolio of brands with a focus on providing nourishment and wellness for consumers globally. Our Group’s products span packaged fruit and tomatoes, baked beans and spaghetti, ready-made meals, beverages, juice and wellness shots, powdered milk products, and vegetable and fruit supplies to the food service industry.
This is an exciting time to join our agribusiness as we unlock new growth potential and take an iconic Australian brand global. Our On The Go and Independent Retail division is focused on growing where Australians eat, drink and shop beyond the supermarket aisle. Our people come from all walks of life and backgrounds, and the strength of our brands is built on the strength of our people. This is a rare opportunity to join a diverse, supportive workplace during a transformation period and make a real contribution to the growth of SPC.
The Opportunity:
We are looking for a commercial leader to own and grow our Foodservice, Catering, Community and Ingredients channels, building a high-performing team and a profitable, scalable business beyond traditional grocery.
Reporting to the General Manager OTG & Independent Retail, you will set the channel strategy, lead the customer and distributor relationships and carry responsibility for sales, margin and growth across your portfolio. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands how FMCG brands win with operators, distributors, caterers and manufacturers.
Key Accountabilities:
Strategy and Growth
- Develop and deliver a three-year channel strategy for Foodservice, Catering, Community and Ingredients, with clear targets for volume, net sales revenue & sales contribution.
- Build and maintain a forward-looking pipeline of Catering, HORECA and ingredient opportunities that align with our growth ambitions.
- Identify and size whitespace by customer, segment and category, and convert it into distribution wins and new business.
- Match evolving customer needs with our current and future product capabilities, with a focus on solutions for back of house and on the go consumption occasions.
- Secure non grocery, industrial and B2B opportunities and build the business case for new product development and pack formats that suit operators and manufacturers.
- Lead the delivery of the national sales scorecard for the channel.
Commercial and P&L performance
- Own the channel P&L and deliver volume, net sales revenue & sales contribution objectives for the business and our customers.
- Lead all aspects of national account management, including tenders, pricing, price increases, trading terms, contract negotiation and renewals.
- Plan, execute and evaluate promotions, managing trade spend within budget and ensuring a clear return on investment.
- Work closely with Demand Planning, Supply Chain and Finance through the monthly demand review to protect forecast accuracy, availability and service levels.
- Ensure the accuracy of all customer financial information, working with the Sales Administration team.
Customer and channel leadership
- Build senior level relationships with key distributors, national caterers, hospitality groups, petrol and convenience operators, community and institutional buyers and ingredient customers.
- Develop and implement annual joint business plans and run regular business reviews with every key customer.
- Partner with distributor sales teams to drive operator reach, ranging and sell through, and lead the execution of national business plans at outlet level in line with customer and distributor agreements.
- Understand customers' businesses and markets, reconnect with strategic accounts and use that insight to create new business, actively managing and prioritising the leads database.
- Represent the company at trade shows, customer events and industry forums.
Team leadership
- Lead, coach and develop the National Account Manager, Key Account Managers and the satellite Customer Care team, delivering commercial results through others.
- Set clear performance metrics and run a disciplined performance rhythm that drives accountability and strong customer service.
- Build the capability of the field team and the structure of a dedicated channel commercial team to support long term growth.
- Manage external partners and agencies in the channel to deliver value and coverage.
- Lead with a safety-first mindset and take all required precautions before any activity.
Cross functional collaboration
- Work with Marketing, Innovation, R&D, Supply Chain, Quality and Finance to align brand plans, specifications, capacity and customer commitments, and to deliver tailored, value adding solutions.
- Partner with Supply Chain and the surplus and clearance function to identify likely excess raw materials, by products and finished goods, and create channel outlets that recover value.
- Support Marketing and Innovation to make sure planned and unplanned excess materials from new products have a clear plan.
- Review channel processes end to end, identify gaps that create avoidable cost and lead improvements tracked through clear KPIs.
- Ensure compliance with food safety, quality, allergen and customer specification requirements in all customer programs.
About You:
Essential
- Proven experience in a Channel or National Business Manager role in the FMCG industry, specifically in Foodservice or the On the Go channel.
- Has previously led a channel for a medium or large FMCG business.
- Experience in national account and contract management, including pitching, tendering and renewing contracts.
- Has led and built teams and delivers results through others, with a passion for coaching and development.
- A track record of high performance and ownership of sales targets, including P&L, pricing, trade investment and margin management.
- Strong negotiation skills with national distributors, buying groups, caterers or large operators.
- Analytical mindset with the ability to turn sales, scan and distributor data into actionable insight.
- Understanding of category management and promotional strategy.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills at senior and executive level.
- Proficiency in Excel and the ability to learn new systems, with strong attention to detail and accurate record keeping.
- Working knowledge of food safety, specification and tender processes.
Desirable
- A Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing or a related field.
- Experience launching or adapting products and pack formats for foodservice or ingredient customers.
- Existing relationships with Australian foodservice distributors, caterers or institutional buyers.
- Experience implementing process improvements with measurable results; certifications such as Six Sigma are well regarded.
- Experience working with external brokers or field sales partners.
Personal qualities
- Customer obsessed, entrepreneurial and resilient, with a tenacious, results oriented approach to overcoming obstacles.
- A growth mindset and strong self-awareness, comfortable working collaboratively and independently.
- Structured and process oriented, strong in planning, forecasting, project management and follow through.
- Brings SPC's core leadership behaviours: ensures accountability, collaborates, customer focus, decision quality, cultivates innovation, being resilient, drives results, enabling wellbeing, builds effective teams, instils trust, drives vision and purpose, and strategic mindset.
Our Culture:
Our employees come from all walks of life, across many cultures and backgrounds. The strength of our brand