Trade Manager, Foodservice

Description

WFH Flexible
• Minneapolis, MN or Buffalo, NY Preferred

Ready for more than just a job? Build a career with purpose. At Lactalis in the USA, we’re committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our people to learn, grow, and thrive—whether you’re just starting your journey with us or looking to take the next step in your career. From day one, we offer the tools and support to help you succeed.

As the world leader in dairy, Lactalis is a family‑owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Each day, we’re proud to produce award‑winning dairy products that bring people together.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values—Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We foster a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone’s unique background and ideas are valued.

Even if you don’t meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We want to hear about your PASSION, your STORY, and how your EXPERTISE can help us shape the future of dairy.

From your PASSION to ours

Midwest Yogurt, part of the Lactalis family of companies, is currently hiring a Trade Manager, Food service based in Minneapolis, MN or Buffalo, NY preferably.

The Trade Manager for our Food service business at Lactalis Midwest Yogurt, Inc. (Yoplait, GoGurt, Oui, Ratio, Mountain High) is the financial engine behind our entire Food service commercial operation. This leader is responsible for the overall strategic design, financial modeling, governance, and control of all trade promotional funding and spending across every Food service channel of business. This includes managing trade spend for National Broad liners (e.g., Sysco, US Foods), National Chains, Power Regional Distributors, Buying Groups (Uni Pro), FMCs/GPOs, and all highly regulated channels (WIC, K‑12).

The primary objective is to maximize the Return on Investment (ROI) of every trade dollar, ensure forecasting accuracy, and instill best‑in‑class trade compliance and deduction management practices across the sales organization.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

Trade Investment Strategy & Planning: Own the annual and quarterly trade budget for the entire Food service P&L. Design, model, and recommend optimal trade structures by channel (Broadline, Chain, Regional, FMC, GPO, WIC/K‑12) to align with commercial objectives and maximize net revenue.

Trade Governance & Compliance: Establish, document, and enforce company policies for all trade spending. Serve as the gatekeeper for all exceptions, ensuring that programs align with legal requirements, internal controls, and trade reporting standards.

Trade System Ownership: Oversee the end‑to‑end functionality and data integrity of the Trade Management system. Drive continuous improvement in trade planning, forecasting, and reporting capabilities across the organization.

Deduction Management & Leakage Control: Lead the cross‑functional effort to minimize unauthorized deductions and trade leakage. Work closely with Finance and Sales to validate, investigate, and resolve all claims from distributors and customers in a timely manner.

Commercial Performance & ROI Analysis: Conduct robust post‑contract analysis on major programs and promotions, providing the Vice President of Sales and executive leadership with actionable insights on where to reallocate funds to drive higher ROI and profitable growth.

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance or a related field, MBA preferred
• Experience: 7+ years in Trade Management, Sales Finance, or Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), with significant experience in a high‑volume, promotional industry (Food service, CPG, or related Food Manufacturing).
• Technical
  
  Skills:
  
  Expert‑level Excel modeling and mandatory hands‑on experience as a power user of a major TPM platform (e.g., Vistex, SAP, Blue Planner, Blacksmith).
• Financial Acumen: Deep understanding of the P&L from Gross Sales to Operating Income, with proven success in managing and influencing trade spend to drive bottom‑line results.

At Lactalis, we offer a comprehensive Total Rewards Program with a variety of affordable benefits and coverage options. We support insurance costs significantly, contribute generously to retirement plans, and offer Paid Time Off from day one. We are committed to your professional growth, providing training and development opportunities, including Education Reimbursement. Join us and grow your career.

Lactalis is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally‑recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities. Further, any division of the Company that is an Affir