Director of Insights & Business Development

General Purpose

Reporting to the VP, Business Development – Cultured, this role provides dedicated leadership for two critical Cultured growth priorities: customer development support for the MULU expansion (primary focus) and growth of DFA regional cultured brands (secondary focus). This leader turns customer, category, and shopper insights into actionable plans, builds the regional brand distribution pipeline, and partners with Sales and Customer Development to deliver profitable growth.

This individual-contributor role connects Cultured strategy with customer and marketplace realities and aligns Sales, Customer Development, Marketing, Innovation, Finance, and Operations around priority opportunities. It creates clear ownership so the VP can focus on overall MULU business development and how it fits into the broader DFA Cultured strategy across multiple plants.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

MULU Customer Development (Primary Focus)

• Serve as the dedicated Customer Development (CDT) leader supporting MULU expansion across 16oz and SSCC
• Maintain a cross-customer and cross-channel view of performance and execution as distribution expands
• Deliver real-time data with actionable recommendations to the VP, leadership, and Marketing
• Identify issues and opportunities early and mobilize the right teams to respond
• Bring retailer, category, and shopper insights into the MULU go-to-market strategy
• Capture customer feedback and marketplace learning to inform future expansion
• Coordinate CDT support across customers for consistent focus and accountability

Regional Brand Business Development (Secondary Focus)

• Partner with Marketing to own the growth strategy for DFA regional branded cottage cheese
• Identify whitespace by customer, geography, brand, and assortment, maximizing existing freight lanes
• Develop customer-specific expansion priorities and business cases for incremental distribution
• Partner with Sales and CDT to translate opportunities into customer plans and fact-based selling stories
• Provide visibility to the opportunity pipeline, distribution gains/losses, and barriers to growth

Commercial & Financial Management

• Maintain pricing architecture and promotional cadence for regional brands, balancing volume growth, profitability, and competitive positioning
• Support trade investment, forecasting, and customer profitability reviews for assigned brands and customers
• Evaluate growth initiatives through rigorous ROI and financial analysis
• Partner with Finance to achieve revenue, margin, and profit objectives

Category & Consumer Insights

• Become the category expert in cultured dairy, leveraging consumer, shopper, and retailer insights
• Utilize Circana, NielsenIQ, Kantar, retailer loyalty data, and syndicated resources to identify growth opportunities – partner with CDT resources
• Deliver actionable customer recommendations that strengthen category performance

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Align Marketing, Innovation, Finance, Operations, Sales, and CDT around priority MULU and regional brand opportunities
• Support commercialization efforts for new products, product line extensions, and innovation initiatives
• Resolve customer service, inventory, and supply chain challenges while protecting customer relationships
• Influence organizational priorities without direct authority
• Ensure alignment between customer strategies and internal business goals

Negotiation & Influence

• Support the VP and Sales in customer negotiations involving pricing, trade investment, distribution, assortment, and promotional programs
• Effectively communicate value propositions that differentiate the cultured dairy portfolio
• Influence internal and external stakeholders to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes

Accountability & Partnership

• Ensure clear roles and accountability across the VP, Director, CDT, and Sales
• Foster a culture of customer-centricity, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Strategic Agility

• Adapt strategies to evolving market conditions, retailer consolidation, and competitive activity
• Monitor industry trends, private label growth, and emerging consumer preferences
• Leverage technology, analytics, and AI-driven insights to improve decision-making
• Work through ambiguity while maintaining focus on priority growth objectives