Job Description

Job Type
Full-time
Description

About the Company

Founded in 1876, Sapporo is the first beer of Japan, number one selling Asian beer brand in the U.S., and has grown to become a leading player in the global beer market. With a world-class brewing facility in Richmond, VA, Sapporo USA manages the production, marketing, and distribution of Sapporo's beers nationally. Sapporo’s vision is to “connect worlds” through a shared enjoyment of beer and community. We are proud that our beers are enjoyed around the world, and the spirit of bringing people together remains at the core of what we stand for. We take pride in a rich history following our passion and are in search of people who are committed to help build our legacy for the future.

The Strategic Account Director executes the national strategy for key chain and strategic retail partners, ensuring consistent execution, aligned priorities, and long-term growth across all chain channels at the zone level. This role leads Strategic Account Managers, sets annual objectives, and acts as the senior commercial liaison between the Sapporo brand, national accounts, key distributors, and retail.

Responsibilities

• Execute national chain strategy across zone retail partners, ensuring alignment with broader sales and organizational goals
• Establish annual objectives, KPI’s, and priorities for the Strategic Account team
• Oversee and manage zone chain budgets, including resource allocation
• Manage P&L responsibilities as directed by the Zone Vice President
• Translate national initiatives into actionable zone plans
• Drive alignment with distributor growth teams on chain priorities
• Represent Sapporo at the highest levels of retail and distributor chain organizations, fostering strong relationships
• Clearly communicate Sapporo’s retail strategy to key distributor chain leadership and organizations
• Lead, coach, and develop Strategic Account Managers, building a high performing team
• Set performance expectations and drive accountability with team through clear KPIs and consistent follow-up
• Ensure consistent execution of brand and channel strategies
• Partner cross-functionally with Distributor Growth teams, Sales Operations, and Marketing on chain programs
• Align promotional and pricing strategies with Revenue Management team to maximize profitability and growth
• Serve as senior commercial liaison between Brand team, distributors, and retail partners
• Collaborate with Demand Planning team to forecast and communicate needs for upcoming programing and initiatives

Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• 10+ years’ sales leadership experience, including managing national sales and key accounts; experience across off-premise, on-premise and convenience channels preferred
• Established industry network with strong relationships across domain strongly preferred
• Proven track record of managing complex sales, sales programs, and portfolios of initiatives through excellent influence skills. Demonstrated ability and success in driving measurable improvements in process, efficiency, and growth
• Demonstrated leadership capabilities with a strong ability to develop, motivate and guide a high-performing team
• Strong execution skills with a passion for diving into the details to inform effective decision-making and drive results
• Strategic, big picture thinker with an entrepreneurial spirit coupled with the ability to translate functions and business interactions into tactical/detailed processes, workflows and efficiency improvements
• Strong analytical skills, change management, and financial acumen
• Effective and persuasive communicator with outstanding presence, presentation and negotiation skills that consistently drive simplicity and clarity
• Flexibility to travel as needed, including weekends when necessary to drive sales and connect with customers
• Living near a major airport in the Western US is strongly preferred

Salary Description
$135,000 - $150,000