Director, International Sales

Company Description

Instinct® is a rapidly growing, family-owned marketer and manufacturer of science based 100% natural pet food for dogs and cats. Instinct® is the Raw Brand, with a mission to get more raw nutrition into every bowl of dogs and cats, for proven healthier and happier long lives. Our company mission is to Empower people to transform the lives of pets. We are committed to hiring and developing a team of passionate, performance-oriented professionals who live by our 4 values of championing raw, empowered to make a difference, collaborating as one team, and striving for excellence through continuous learning and improvement.

Our home office is located in St. Louis, Missouri with our Center of Excellence Raw Food kitchens in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Instinct® is part of the family-owned group, Agrolimen, who owns leading pet food and human food businesses in the US, China, Europe, and Africa.

We are seeking an experienced and driven Director of International Sales to oversee our growing global distribution network with a primary focus on Mexico and Canada, as well as select geographies in Latin America and Asia. This position will have the responsibility for managing our worldwide international distributor/export/retailer partners and will support and expand our international dry, wet, and freeze-dried raw pet food business, driving growth initiatives, and ensuring seamless coordination between sales, marketing, operations, and regulatory activities.

The successful candidate will be comfortable with frequent international travel and adept at navigating cross-cultural relationships and complex commercial operations.

The ideal candidate will have spent time in pet, food and beverage, or in a Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturing company, with international sales experience. Experience working in a smaller, resource-restricted environment that requires a hands-on, entrepreneurial management style is ideal. This role requires a detailed, “roll up the sleeves” type person who thrives on making things happen.

• Expand Instinct’s international sales and distribution, increasing global brand exposure
• Develop and implement strategic plans to achieve international growth targets and financial goals
• Profitably manage and expand export markets and distributor networks in target countries, ensuring partners are well-trained and supported
• Maintain senior-level relationships with key customers and stakeholders; facilitate executive-level engagement where appropriate
• Oversee international sales budgets and P&L, ensuring profitability and efficient resource allocation
• Lead contract negotiations and manage commercial agreements with international distributors and partners
• Partner with Regulatory, Quality, and R&D teams to ensure compliance with international standards and regulations and to manage co-packing relationships and requirements
• Collaborate with the Commercial team to develop compelling promotional and consumer programs tailored to each market
• Coordinate with the Supply Chain team on forecasting, inventory planning, and order fulfillment to meet international demand
• Support international sourcing initiatives by partnering with Procurement and Operations
• Define and track sales KPIs, providing regular performance updates to leadership and adjusting strategies as needed.

• Work ethic based on strong desire to exceed expectations
• Strong time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines and competing priorities
• Collaborative mindset with strong relationship-building traits
• Outstanding organizational and analytical capabilities
• Strong commercial acumen and negotiation skills
• Excellent verbal, written, and cross-cultural communication and presentation skills

• 10 or more years of experience within international CPG sales
• Demonstrable history delivering superior results in a performance-based company
• Knowledge of foreign export processes, requirements, purchasing, and regulations for Pet Food and/or Food/Bev

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Background working within a smaller, leaner organization
• Pet food category experience
• F…