VP of Wholesale and Marketplace Sales

The VP of Wholesale and Marketplace Sales identifies, prioritizes, and executes growth opportunities that increase revenue, improve profitability, strengthen customer relationships, and expand market reach. The role maintains a disciplined pipeline of opportunities, oversees strategic customer engagement, and ensures organizational resources are focused on the initiatives with the greatest potential return. 

Working closely with Marketing, Product, Operations, and Finance, the VP of Wholesale and Marketplace Sales aligns commercial priorities with organizational goals while maintaining direct accountability for revenue growth, gross margin performance, customer development, and commercial execution. 

Success in this role is measured by profitable revenue growth, strong customer relationships, and sustainable expansion of purchases from artisan partners. 

Organizational Leadership   

• Serve as an active member of the Leadership Team, contributing to organizational planning, decision making, and execution. 
• Collaborate with the Leadership Team to establish and achieve organizational goals, priorities, policies, and strategic initiatives. 
• Participate in the annual budgeting and planning process, ensuring commercial objectives align with organizational priorities and financial goals. 
• Provide commercial insights and market intelligence to support organizational strategy and decision making. 
• Champion cross-functional collaboration to align sales, marketing, product, operations, and finance around growth opportunities and business objectives. 
• Adopt and exemplify Ten Thousand Villages values and encourage those values throughout the organization. 
• Support a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and mission-driven performance. 

Commercial Strategy 

• Develop and execute commercial strategies that increase profitable revenue through wholesale growth, major account development, customer acquisition, strategic partnerships, sales channel optimization, and targeted ecommerce initiatives. 
• Lead annual and multi-year revenue growth planning aligned with organizational objectives. 
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize opportunities based on revenue potential, profitability, mission alignment, and organizational capacity. 
• Establish annual revenue, margin, and growth objectives. 
• Evaluate significant growth opportunities and allocate resources toward initiatives that deliver the highest combination of revenue growth, profitability, strategic value, and mission impact. 
• Present regular updates and recommendations to the CEO and Leadership Team regarding commercial performance, opportunities, risks, and strategic priorities. 

Pipeline Development & Business Growth 

• Build, maintain, and actively manage a comprehensive pipeline of revenue growth opportunities. 
• Develop strategies to increase revenue from existing customers while identifying and securing new accounts. 
• Establish pipeline management disciplines, forecasting processes, and opportunity review practices. 
• Maintain visibility into all significant growth opportunities and provide regular reporting on pipeline health, conversion rates, projected revenue, expected profitability, and strategic priorities. 
• Lead business development efforts including prospecting, relationship development, negotiation, and account acquisition. 
• Ensure growth initiatives are prioritized based on expected financial return and strategic value. 

Major Account Management 

• Oversee relationships with key strategic accounts, distributors, marketplace partners, and other high-value customers. 
• Develop and execute account growth plans for major customers. 
• Lead executive-level engagement with strategic accounts and partners. 
• Monitor account performance, profitability, retention, and growth opportunities. 
• Ensure organizational focus remains on the customers and opportunities with the greatest potential impact. 

Wholesale Channel Leadership 

• Lead wholesale growth strategy and execution. 
• Identify opportunities to expand market share, improve customer retention, and increase account productivity. 
• Evaluate channel performance and recommend investments that support profitable growth. 
• Monitor industry trends, customer behavior, and competitive activity to inform strategy. 
• Partner with internal teams to ensure successful execution of commercial initiatives and customer commitments. 

Sales Representative Strategy 

• Develop and oversee the organization’s sales representation strategy, including independent representatives, commissioned sales agencies, distributors, and internal sales resources. 
• Evaluate territory coverage, compensation structures, performance expectations, and return on investment. 
• Recruit, onboard, manage, and assess sales representatives and agencies as needed. 
• Establish performance expectations, accountability measures, and growth objectives. 
• Recommend changes to sales coverage models based on performance and market opportunity. 

Trade Show Strategy & Execution 

• Own the annual trade show strategy, budget, and execution plan. 
• Determine participation priorities based on expected return on investment, customer acquisition potential, and revenue opportunity. 
• Oversee event preparation, customer engagement plans, lead generation objectives, and post-show follow-up activities. 
• Measure and report on trade show effectiveness, lead conversion, revenue generated, and profitability. 

Ecommerce Initiatives 

• Lead ecommerce initiatives that support revenue growth, customer acquisition, account development, and commercial objectives. 
• Identify opportunities where ecommerce can strengthen wholesale relationships and create scalable growth. 
• Evaluate ecommerce investments and initiatives based on financial return and strategic value. 
• Partner with Marketing and Operations to improve acquisition, conversion, retention, and customer lifetime value. 
• Monitor performance metrics and recommend actions that improve revenue and profitability. 

Financial & Commercial Performance 

• Partner with Finance, Operations, Product, and Marketing to ensure commercial strategies align with profitability objectives. 
• Participate in pricing decisions and commercial planning. 
• Analyze customer, channel, and product profitability to guide investment decisions. 
• Recommend resource allocation toward the highest-return opportunities. 
• Contribute to annual budgeting, forecasting, and strategic planning processes. 
• Maintain accountability for revenue growth, gross margin performance, and commercial return on investment. 

Team Leadership 

• Lead, coach, and develop team members. 
• Establish performance expectations and accountability measures. 
• Foster a culture focused on growth, execution, collaboration, and continuous improvement. 
• Recruit, develop, and retain high-performing talent. 

Reporting & Performance Management 

• Develop and maintain key performance indicators for revenue growth, gross margin, profitability, pipeline health, account development, customer acquisition, and customer retention. 
• Deliver monthly and quarterly performance reviews to executive leadership and, as appropriate, the Board of Directors. 
• Ensure systems, processes, and reporting tools support informed decision making and sales effectiveness. 
• Use data and market insights to continuously refine commercial strategies and growth initiatives. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience. 
• Passion for the mission of Ten Thousand Villages and the ability to effectively engage retailers from diverse backgrounds, especially those motivated by Christian faith. 
• Strong knowledge of Christian communities in the US preferred. 
• Minimum ten years of progressive leadership experience in wholesale sales, business development, account management, or commercial leadership. 
• Demonstrated success growing wholesale revenue while improving profitability. 
• Experience managing major retail, distributor, marketplace, or strategic partner relationships. 
• Strong understanding of sales pipeline management, forecasting, and revenue planning. 
• Experience developing and managing sales representative networks and agencies. 
• Experience overseeing trade show strategy, budgeting, and execution. 
• Strong financial acumen, including margin analysis, forecasting, budgeting, and investment evaluation. 
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence organizational strategy. 
• Excellent communication, negotiation, presentation, and relationship management skills. 
• Commitment to the mission and values of Ten Thousand Villages.