Account Director
This is a full-time, in-office role based in Abbotsford, BC. Candidates must currently reside in, or be willing to relocate to, the Fraser Valley / Metro Vancouver area; remote or hybrid work arrangements are not available for this position.
About Us
Pacific Coast Fruit Products (PCFP) is a leading processor and distributor of premium fruit-based ingredients. We partner with global brands and distributors to deliver high-quality, innovative, and sustainable fruit solutions. We're looking for an Account Director to join our team and play a critical role in driving profitable volume growth, strengthening customer partnerships and expanding into new markets.
You Live and Model the Organization's Values
Invest in Relationships - We build trust and collaborate to develop long-term partnerships.
- You do what's right for the organization.
- You share knowledge freely to ensure organizational strength and sustainability.
- You make time to help and develop others.
Act with Integrity - We are transparent, honest, and ethical in all of our interactions.
- You accept that your colleagues deserve your best, always.
- You exercise excellent judgement and take smart risks.
- You follow through on commitments and own your results.
Excel at Service - We set the standard for delivering exceptional service.
- You ensure quality always comes first.
- You are easy to do business with.
- You consider the customer in discussions and actions.
- You respond to customer needs with urgency and diligence.
Deliver Excellence - We aspire for excellence in everything we do.
- You drive results by making difficult decisions when needed.
- You address the root cause to solve problems.
You Demonstrate Your Commitment Through Defined Action
Communication
- Listen well and seek to understand.
- Communicate concisely, candidly and respectfully.
- You're an avid contributor to discussions and share ideas and solutions.
Curiosity
- Know your business and our products.
- Proactively seek knowledge.
- Passionate about continuous improvement.
Connection
- Embrace diverse backgrounds and cultures.
- Seek out different perspectives and choose the best ideas, wherever you find them.
- Center your approach in the well-being of colleagues and the sustainability of communities.
About the Role
The successful candidate is passionate, energetic, and thrives on building profitable business while exceeding customer expectations. Curious, collaborative, and driven to win both individually and as part of a team, you bring a balance of strategic account leadership, business development, and people management to the role.
As the central link between Pacific Coast Fruit Products and our customers, you facilitate cross-functional collaboration across Finance, Operations, Procurement, and Marketing to create and sustain customer value. You are equally skilled at managing and growing share with existing strategic customers as you are at prospecting, onboarding, and developing profitable new accounts. Your portfolio today is primarily food and beverage manufacturers, but you also lead the way into burgeoning channels such as nutraceuticals, bakery, and snacking, positioning PCFP for long-term growth.
This is a B2B, manufacturer-facing sales role - selling ingredients and raw materials into food & beverage, nutraceutical, bakery, and snacking manufacturers - not a consumer-facing CPG brand, retail, or broker sales role. Success depends on navigating procurement, R&D, and operations stakeholders on the customer side, multi-year contract and pricing negotiation, and ingredient/formulation-level selling, which is materially different from selling finished consumer products into retail.
Genuine curiosity is critical to this role. You have an innate ability to ask great questions - the kind that go beyond a customer's stated needs to uncover what's really driving their business, where their pain points are, and where untapped opportunity sits. You use that curiosity to surface new product applications, new categories, and new accounts that a less inquisitive seller would miss, and to deepen trust with customers who feel truly understood.
You bring a high level of professionalism and commercial discipline - combining business forecasting, pipeline generation, and risk mitigation with exceptional customer management. You understand your customers deeply, identify product gaps, track performance against plan, and deliver regular reviews that drive mutual success. At the same time, you pursue new business opportunities with focus and discipline, ensuring that both your time and PCFP's resources are directed toward initiatives that deliver the greatest volume, margin, and long-term impact. Finally, as a leader of Account Managers, you provide coaching and guidance on strategy, negotiation, and growth planning, strengthening the team's ability to deliver on customer expectations.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Account Management
- Own the overall strategy, growth, and profitability for PCFP's most strategic and complex customer accounts.
- Develop strategic plans for the business, covering volume, pricing, market and category expansion.
- Lead contract negotiations and pricing agreements in collaboration with the Executive Leadership Team.
- Serve as the escalation point for complex issues relating to supply, pricing, or customer service.
New Business Development
- Identify, target, and secure new strategic customers across food & beverage, ingredients, and CPG channels.
- Develop and deliver compelling proposals, pricing models, and commercial terms for new accounts.
- Build strong relationships with prospective customers, positioning PCFP as a trusted and innovative supplier.
- Collaborate with Marketing and Procurement to align new business opportunities with PCFP's product portfolio.
- Track and report on business development pipeline, converting opportunities into long-term customer partnerships.
Team Leadership & Coaching
- Manage and mentor Account Managers, setting clear objectives and providing coaching on complex account needs.
- Oversee execution of customer strategies, ensuring Account Managers deliver against portfolio expectations.
- Build commercial capability across the team, strengthening negotiation, forecasting, and customer engagement skills.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement to align customer demand with production and sourcing plans.
- Collaborate with Sales Finance, Marketing, and Operations to ensure customer strategies are profitable and achievable.
- Act as the voice of the customer and the market in PCFP's internal planning and innovation discussions.
Market & Category Insight
- Maintain a strong understanding of category trends, competitor activity, and industry dynamics.
- Anticipate customer and market needs, positioning PCFP to deliver solutions ahead of the curve.
- Represent PCFP at trade shows, conferences, and industry forums to expand brand visibility and network.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, or related field (MBA or advanced degree preferred).
- 8–12+ years of progressive B2B commercial experience in account management, category management, sales, or business development, selling to food & beverage, ingredients, or CPG manufacturers. This is a manufacturer-facing, B2B sales role (e.g., ingredient, raw material, or private-label supply) - experience limited to consumer-facing CPG brand, retail, or broker sales does not meet this requirement.
- Proven track record of managing complex, multi-million-dollar customer accounts with full revenue and margin accountability.
- Demonstrated success in customer P&L ownership, contract negotiation, and multi-year account planning.
- Experience leading new business development initiatives, including securing new strategic customers or expanding into new categories/markets.
- Leadership experience managing Account Managers or commercial teams, with a track record of developing talent.
- Advanced strategic commercial acumen: able to design and implement growth strategies that balance customer expansion with profitability.
- Deep financial understanding: expertise in understanding customer contribution models, portfolio and SKU mix, expense management, ROI analysis, budgets and long-term forecasting.
- Ability to translate category and market trends into actionable strategies for both existing and prospective customers.
- Entrepreneurial mindset: able to identify new opportunities, build compelling business cases, and secure long-term partnerships.
- Inspirational leader with proven ability to coach, mentor, and develop Account Managers and Customer Service teams into stronger commercial professionals.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence internal leadership and senior customer stakeholders.
- Strong relationship-building skills, with credibility in managing complex customer structures (multi-site, multi-category, or national scope).
- Collaborative leader who aligns Finance, Supply Chain, and Operations behind organizational goals.
- Proficiency with CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar) to oversee account planning, track pipelines, and ensure team adoption.
- Strong working knowledge of ERP systems (SAP, NetSuite, JD Edwards, or similar) for monitoring account performance, supply, and financials.
- Comfortable with BI and analytics tools (Power BI, Tableau, Qlik) to validate forecasts, monitor KPIs, and support decision-making.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (scenario modeling, pricing structures, margin sensitivity analysis) and PowerPoint for executive presentations.
- Ability to leverage digital sales platforms, dashboards, and reporting tools to manage complex accounts and track performance across portfolios.
