Director, Strategic Initiatives, Client Sales & Insights

Let's be unstoppable together!

Circana is a leading provider of technology, AI, and data solutions for consumer packaged goods companies, manufacturers, and retailers. Our predictive analytics and Liquid Data platform help clients measure market share, uncover consumer behavior, and drive growth-powered by six decades of expertise and an expansive, high-quality data set.

At Circana, we are fueled by our passion for continuous learning and growth, we seek and share feedback freely, and we celebrate victories both big and small in an environment that is flexible and accommodating to our work and personal lives.  We're a global company dedicated to fostering inclusivity and belonging. We value and celebrate the unique experiences, cultures, and viewpoints that each individual brings. By embracing a wide range of backgrounds, skills, expertise, and beyond, we create a stronger, more innovative environment for our employees, clients, and communities. With us, you can always bring your full self to work.  Join our inclusive, committed team to be a challenger, own outcomes, and stay curious together. Circana is proud to be Certified by Great Place To Work. This prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Circana.

Learn more at www.circana.com.

Our Critical Sales Skills

At the heart of our commercial success is a team of professionals who combine strategic insight, customer-centricity, and executional excellence. These skills represent the core capabilities required to drive value for our clients and sustainable growth for our business.

• Effectively Presents Solutions: Delivers tailored, compelling solutions that align with customer needs and drive action.
• Knows the Buying Influences: Identifies key decision-makers and understands their motivations and influence.
• Manages Buyer Indifference: Recognizes and explores customer hesitation to uncover new needs or opportunities.
• Understands Customer Needs: Operates as a recognized expert to articulate customer needs in the customers business language and business context.
• Being Resilient: Bounces back from setbacks with composure and positivity; helps others stay productive during tough times.
• Manages Ambiguity: Stays focused and calm in uncertain situations; guides others through change.

What will you be doing?

Lead the development, execution, and performance of strategic sales growth initiatives aligned to the Hardlines sector & total GM revenue and long-range growth objectives. In partnership with department leadership, this role will define client targeting and prioritization strategies, drive sales programs, and ensure alignment across client teams, solution groups, and executive stakeholders. The role is accountable for advancing pipeline and revenue performance through disciplined planning, execution, measurement, and continuous optimization. The ideal candidate is a proactive, collaborative leader who can identify growth opportunities, simplify complex challenges, and translate strategy into clear, actionable plans that drive results

Job Responsibilities

• Lead the strategy, planning, execution, and tracking of key sales growth initiatives, ensuring clear accountability, measurable outcomes, and revenue attainment.
• Define client segmentation, targeting, and prioritization frameworks that enable client teams to focus resources on the highest-value growth opportunities.
• Build Strategic Relationships: Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders across client organizations, including decision-makers and influencers.
• Develop and implement sales programs that drive pipeline creation, solution adoption, cross-sell opportunities, and revenue growth across the department.
• Establish performance metrics, monitor pipeline and revenue results, identify risks and opportunities, and recommend actions to improve business outcomes.
• Partner with client-facing teams, product leaders, finance, and executive stakeholders to align priorities, remove barriers, and accelerate sales execution.
• Leverage deep knowledge of Circana solutions, client needs, and the sales cycle to identify growth opportunities and guide go-to-market strategies.
• Simplify complex business challenges into scalable processes, actionable plans, and clear communications that drive consistent execution across teams.
• Proactively identify improvement opportunities, lead change initiatives, and influence organizational performance through strategic problem-solving, innovation, and cross-functional leadership.

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelors degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in sales strategy, commercial operations, business development, consulting, client leadership, or strategic initiatives.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide growth initiatives with measurable impact on revenue, pipeline generation, or market expansion.
• Demonstrated success partnering with executive leaders to develop and execute strategic business plans.
• Experience within syndicated data, analytics, consumer insights, SaaS, retail, CPG, or related industries preferred.

Strategic Leadership

• Proven ability to translate organizational growth objectives into actionable sales strategies and execution plans.
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen with the ability to identify market opportunities, growth levers, and competitive advantages.
• Experience designing client segmentation, account prioritization, and go-to-market frameworks.

Revenue & Commercial Excellence

• Deep understanding of sales processes, pipeline management, forecasting, and revenue acceleration strategies.
• Experience analyzing performance metrics and using insights to optimize sales effectiveness and business outcomes.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Influence

• Experience leading complex initiatives across multiple business functions without direct authority.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to communicate recommendations and business cases to senior leadership.

Program & Change Management

• Advanced project and program management capabilities with experience leading multiple strategic initiatives simultaneously.
• Skilled at creating structures in ambiguous environments and driving disciplined execution against organizational priorities.
• Proven ability to establish KPIs, governance processes, and performance measurement frameworks.

Technical Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint, SharePoint.
• Experience with CRM platforms (Dynamics, Salesforce, or equivalent).
• Familiarity with sales enablement, reporting, and project management tools (Monday.com, Power BI, Tableau, Unify+, etc.).
• Experience leveraging data and AI-enabled tools to improve commercial decision-making preferred.

Circana Behaviors

As well as the technical skills, experience and attributes that are required for the role, our shared behaviors sit at the core of our organization. Therefore, we always look for people who can continuously champion these behaviors throughout the business within their day-to-day role:

• Stay Curious: Being hungry to learn and grow, always asking the big questions.
• Seek Clarity: Embracing complexity to create clarity and inspire action.
• Own the Outcome: Being accountable for decisions and taking ownership of our choices.
• Center on the Client: Relentlessly adding value for our customers.
• Be a Challenger: Never complacent, always striving for continuous improvement.
• Champion Inclusivity: Fostering trust in relationships engaging with empathy, respect, and integrity.
• Commit to each other: Contributing to making Circana a great place to work for everyone.

Location

This position can be located in the following area(s): Remote, USA.

The below range reflects the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, any collective bargaining agreements, and business or organizational needs. The salary range for this role is $95,000.00 to $102,000.00 USD.

This job is also eligible for bonus pay.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.

An offer of employment may be conditional upon successful completion of a background check in accordance with local legislation and our candidate privacy notice. Your current employer will not be contacted without your permission.

You can apply for this role through the Circana careers website or Intranet site for internal candidates. This role is subject to AI-assisted screening. Circana uses artificial intelligence (AI) to assess resumes for alignment with job requirements by helping locate details in resumes that relate to the job description.

This position is expected to remain open for approximately 30 days and may close earlier if sufficient qualified candidates are identified.

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