Senior Director of Sales

Reports To: Senior Vice President of Sales

Role Overview:

The Senior Director of Sales is a senior commercial leadership role responsible for driving revenue margin and order flow through plant-aligned sales execution contractual negotiation pricing discipline and commercial planning. This role does not oversee field sales representatives. Instead it focuses on inside sales customer service demand management pricing strategy contract negotiation and coordination between customers and manufacturing operations.

The role acts as a critical bridge between customers sales administration and plant leadership across the division ensuring we are positioned for success.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy & Plant Alignment

• Develop and execute sales strategies aligned with plant capacity capabilities and margin objectives
• Balance new business development objectives with profitability goals
• Ensure customer orders align with manufacturing capabilities lead times and cost structures
• Partner with Operations and Plant Sales to support S&OP and demand planning processes

Sales Operations & Inside Sales Leadership

• Lead inside sales customer service and sales operations teams
• Establish standardized processes for quoting order entry pricing approvals market share validation and contract management
• Improve responsiveness accuracy and customer communication throughout the order life cycle
• Drive accountability for order quality and commercial execution

Pricing & Margin Management

• Own pricing strategy and margin performance
• Ensure quoted and booked business meets profitability targets
• Collaborate with Finance Engineering and Operations on cost-based pricing
• Identify opportunities to maximize price with an overall view to increasing margin across the businesses

Forecasting & Demand Management

• Own sales forecasting and demand signals feeding plant production planning
• Drive forecast accuracy to support capacity planning and inventory management
• Ensure customer compliance with contractual obligations
• Identify demand risks mix challenges and opportunities early
• Partner with Production and External Customers on backlog and schedule alignment

Key Customer & Program Oversight

• Serve as senior commercial owner for strategic customers and long-term programs
• Lead contract negotiations across multiple sites with a clear objective to maximize profit while maintaining market share
• Manage customer escalations impacting delivery pricing or quality
• Ensure customer commitments are realistic and operationally executable

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate closely with Plant Leadership Engineering Quality and Supply Chain
• Provide market and customer insights to support capital investment and capacity planning
• Align commercial priorities with safety quality cost and delivery objectives
• Support continuous improvement initiatives tied to customer performance

Talent Development & Leadership

• Develop high performing inside sales and commercial teams
• Set performance standards KPIs and development plans
• Build bench strength for future sales and commercial leadership roles
• Promote a culture of accountability collaboration and customer focus

Qualifications:

Bachelors degree in business Engineering Operations or related field. MBA/advanced degree preferred.

• 10 years of experience in manufacturing-based sales or commercial leadership
• Strong understanding of plant operations capacity planning and cost structures
• Proven experience leading inside sales sales operations or customer service teams
• Demonstrated success in pricing margin management and forecasting
• Ability to operate effectively in complex make-to-order environments
• Experience in metals forgings machining industrial components or heavy manufacturing
• Familiarity with ERP systems (SAP Oracle)
• Experience supporting aerospace or industrial customers

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• Revenue and gross margin attainment
• Pricing compliance and discount control
• Forecast accuracy vs. production plan
• Order quality and rework reduction
• Customer satisfaction and retention
• Plant backlog health and mix alignment