Sales Planning Manager

The Sales Planning Manager plays a critical role in growing our mission to Kick Sugar, Keep Candy by developing and executing channel and customer level go-to-market plans in support of brand goals and initiatives. This role acts as the primary liaison between our sales team and all functions of SmartSweets to ensure flawless execution. Reporting to the Sr. Director, Sales Planning and Business Development, this role will collaborate closely with the Sr. Director, Sales Planning and Business Development to represent the sales perspective to cross-functional teams and ensure information is communicated effectively to the sales team. This role also manages the annual sales planning process along with trade spend deployment to align with customer and channel strategies. Leveraging deep knowledge of CPG sales and retailer tactics, the Sales Planning Manager will develop and execute market share growth plans across customers and channels.

This role will be remote with a preference in Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Toronto, Washington, or hybrid from Candyland HQ located in Vancouver, BC.

Who We Are:
SmartSweets is revolutionizing the candy industry by innovating the delicious candy you know and love with less sugar. We are passionate about growing and championing a diverse Squad of high-performing individuals and are fueled by our sweet culture. We are proudly Female-Founded and on our way to kicking 5.5 billion grams of excess sugar out of candy in a single year, what we call our Mission to Mars. 🚀

How You Will Support Our Mission (Responsibilities):

Responsible for ensuring sales go-to-market plans and trade deployment across US and Canadian businesses align with brand strategy
Responsible for communicating the brand strategy to the sales team in a clear and actionable manner. This includes creating data-driven and insights-based sales materials for use with customers
Representing sales and retailer perspective within new product development and commercialization teams and processes, driving visibility to customer requirements and sell-in needs
Manages annual sales planning process, including content and logistics for all planning meetings and creation of key planning files for sales
As part of the sales planning process, advise Brand Director on development of Assortment, Merchandising, Pricing, and Shelving (AMPS) strategies and directly translate these strategies into actionable and trackable goals for the sales team
Enhance the sales planning processes, including maintaining Sales Engagement Calendar to keep all functional partners informed of key deliverables to enable sales execution
Manage customer trade spend planning and budgeting, including monthly trade reviews, trade analytics, and providing ongoing analysis of customer and product ROI
Ownership of our third-party trade planning management software system, including liaising directly with TPM contacts and driving enhancements and process changes
Own shopper marketing strategy, execution, and budget adherence across US and Canadian customers. This includes strategically deploying SM funds for major initiatives and working directly with retailer media outlets to execute strategies.
Manage Sales Coordinator who is responsible for creating and maintaining critical sales documents and providing overall selling support to the sales team

What You Bring (Qualifications & Experience):

4+ years of CPG sales planning experience with preference for candidates who also have CPG Account Manager experience
Bachelor's degree is considered an asset
Deep understanding of key US and/or Canadian retailer strategies with experience executing go-to-market sales strategies across channels/classes of trade
Trade management experience, inclusive of managing a trade budget for either a brand or a customer
Strong analytical and statistical skills, with proven experience processing several data-points and simplifying key takeaways to collaborators from a wide range of functions
Experience developing and/or executing shopper marketing campaigns for CPG brand(s)
Ability to influence and navigate cross functional relationships within a fast paced environment
People development skills including providing coaching/feedback to both direct reports and other areas of the organization
Experience working directly in a trade planning management software system
Ability to travel within North America on a quarterly basis as needed
Proficient with syndicated data (IRI, SPINS, Nielsen, 84.51, Numerator)
Proficient in Microsoft Excel & PowerPoint

Compensation and Sweet Perks (Benefits):
The approximate base salary range for this position is $90,000 - $125,000. The actual base salary will be based on various factors, including the candidate’s level of skills, experience and education aligned with the needs of the role, budget and market. This position is eligible for participation in a bonus program based on performance and company results.

In addition to base salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits (Sweet Perks) package:
🍭Bear Benefits (free candy!)
👪Extended Benefits (health, dental, life & disability, EAP)
🥰2 Gummy Days (personal days)
💚5 Paid Restore Days (sick days)
🗓️SweetWeek (company shutdown in December)
🌞Summer FriYAYs (half days flexibility on Friday in the summer)
🕑Life, Work, Flow Philosophy (flexible work environment)
📞Monthly Cell Phone bill reimbursement
💻Home Allowance to optimize your remote workspace
👶Parental Leave Top Up Program (inclusive to all parents)
📚Individual Development Program and funding
💗Community Love (paid Volunteer Day)
🐶Puppy Friendly Office
🥳Regular Squad Social Events

If this sounds like a sweet opportunity for you, apply directly on our Careers Page. Include your resume, cover letter, and let us know what excites you about kicking sugar out of candy!

Our Commitment to Celebrating Individuality (DEI)
We are committed to elevating the voices of Squad and community members on the mission to Kick Sugar, Keep Candy! We believe representing the uniqueness of all makes us stronger as a whole. We are making a difference by encouraging all Squad Members to practice allyship, educate themselves, inspire others to take action and support underrepresented communities.