About the role

An exciting opportunity exists for an experienced Business Development Director knowledgeable in the contract catering sector to join the Winnow team and drive growth within one of our most important regions, North America. The role will focus on growing the contract catering sector in the region with the remit to develop and execute upon a growth strategy that targets both global, regional and national contract caterers.

The North America food sector is the largest in the world and Winnow’s success in the contract catering space is critically important and at the heart of Winnow’s commercial strategy to build presence in the region.. Winnow has developed contractual agreements with a number of key market players which will act as a license to hunt. Many regional and national target opportunities are yet to be fostered. This role is all about creating effective and targeted market plans to create momentum behind existing relationships and build new opportunities to scale with the right stakeholders.

The Contract Catering Business Development Director will work alongside the North America MD and the Head of Global Contract Catering Sector to develop the strategic growth plan for the market, taking the lead on execution and the end to end sales process. The identified person will need to work tactically with other internal Winnow functions, such as the Operations, Product and the Data Services team, to maximize the potential for growth across the sector in North America. With significant opportunity to build the pipeline and leverage upon existing relationships this role will suit a self-starter who has the relevant skills to manage an end to end sales process from lead generation, to solution architecture to deal closing.

Key objectives

• Actively drive the development of Winnow’s business in the contract catering sector across North America
• Build and execute upon a strategic market plan for the sector and region; target selection, lead generation, stakeholder engagement and deal closure
• Provide leadership to secure and oversee large scale roll outs
• Generate holistic solutions that are a compelling proposition to the client by addressing their business needs and differentiating Winnow from our competitors while being balanced with commercial requirement
• Develop deep relationships with key influencers and full decision-making units to help win new business and then build additional demand for our products
• Create and maintain strong relationships with the wider network of contract catering
• stakeholders to stay informed on industry trends, competitors and movements relevant to target clients
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of Winnow products, services and propositions through a close collaboration with Product and Marketing
• Actively lead contract negotiations within assigned delegations of authority to close the deal
• Demonstrate financial & contractual acumen
• Demonstrate strong consultative and influencing selling style
• Act as the key communications interface between the contract catering market and relevant Winnow team

About you

Education and experience

• The selected candidate is likely to be degree educated
• 10+ years in experience in contract catering and/or strategic sales
• Proven track record in business development and in large account / strategic account sales. He/she will have experience of strategic account planning, identifying and analysing key stakeholders, mapping decision making units, setting growth targets and creating activity plans
• Large professional network with strong knowledge of the local economic environment
• Have demonstrable examples of hand-on delivery of the strategic plans
• Ability to work in a matrix environment
• Strong analytical and consulting skills
• Self-starter, resilient. Well-organised, ability to prioritise, and meet tight deadlines
• Ability to recognize the values within different cultures and different ways of working globally
• Worked in other high-performing teams who have exceeded their targets
• Some experience in commercialising new technologies, including running pilots and delivering trial projects, a distinct advantage
• Experience in working with Global clients will be preferable; the role will involve some international travel

• Competitive base salary
• Company stock options package
• 401k contributions
• Life insurance
• Company part-funded health insurance
• We finish work on Fridays at 3pm in every Winnow office around the globe
• Employee assistance programme
• Wellness allowance of $40 per month and 2 Wellness hours
• 23 days of paid vacation time (plus the option to buy a further 5 days annual leave) in addition to national holidays
• You will love what you do – waking up every day solving one of the biggest social problems of our generation
• Committed team members with broad experience who share a common passion to build a world class business