Vice President Customer Experience

The Vice President, Customer Experience (CX) serves as a strategic and operational leader responsible for driving customer satisfaction, retention, and growth across Whitsons’ School Nutrition division. This role ensures a consistent, customer‑centric experience at every stage of the client journey — enhancing engagement, strengthening relationships, and aligning our services with each district’s goals and community expectations.

The VP of Customer Experience will work cross‑functionally with Operations, Sales, Marketing, and Legal to lead client retention, risk mitigation, and rebid efforts. The ideal candidate brings strategic vision, exceptional relationship management skills, and a deep understanding of K–12 food service. This position plays a critical role in ensuring that Whitsons delivers on its mission:
Nourishing lives—one meal at a time.

• Build and maintain strong, multi‑level client relationships through proactive and strategic communication.
• Conduct client interviews, surveys, and feedback sessions; analyze trends to drive continuous improvement.
• Represent Whitsons at Board of Education meetings, wellness committees, and community events.
• Partner with Operations and District Managers to ensure leadership engagement aligns with client visitation schedules.
• Lead comprehensive account reviews to assess performance, satisfaction, and alignment with client objectives.
• Monitor retention and risk indicators; develop targeted mitigation strategies in partnership with field leadership.
• Drive retention and relationship strategy meetings, ensuring all outcomes are documented and tracked in Salesforce.
• Oversee all aspects of the rebid process, including client engagement, proposal development, presentations, and negotiations.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to develop compelling proposals that highlight Whitsons’ value, performance, and community impact.
• Lead and participate in client site visits, board presentations, and consultation sessions.

• Develop and implement strategies that enhance Whitsons’ visibility, reputation, and impact within school communities.
• Represent the organization at district, regional, and industry events.
• Partner with internal teams to align customer engagement initiatives with Whitsons’ mission and strategic objectives.
• Work closely with executive and field leadership to ensure alignment of customer experience strategies with business goals.
• Mentor and develop field leaders on relationship management and client communication best practices.
• Foster a culture of excellence and accountability centered on customer‑first values.

• Bachelor’s degree in Food & Nutrition, Business, Food Service Management, or related field required.
• Advanced degree or professional certification in leadership, customer experience, or business preferred.
• Serv Safe certification is required.

• Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in food service management or food service sales, with at least 3 years in K–12 nutrition programs.
• Demonstrated success in managing district or regional‑level client relationships.
• Proven experience leading proposals, rebids, or contract renewals in a service‑based organization.
• Strong financial acumen and the ability to translate data into strategic business actions.

• Exceptional communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Strategic thinker with operational discipline and strong analytical abilities.
• A skilled collaborator able to influence across all levels of the organization.
• High integrity, professionalism, and a commitment to Whitsons’ mission and values.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and Salesforce (or equivalent CRM).

This is a full‑time exempt position. Days and hours of work are generally Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. As an exempt position, it is expected that Team Member will devote whatever time necessary to accomplish the goals and responsibilities. This may require extended work hours, evening, and/or…