Director of Commercial Can Liners

The Director of Commercial Can Liners will lead commercial planning and execution for can liners, trash bags, and related flexible packaging products for roughly have of the US geographic market. This leader will drive profitable sales growth, strengthen customer relationships, and manage commercial performance while partnering with operations, product management, supply chain, and finance to execute business priorities. The role is accountable for assigned revenue, margin, and expense objectives and contributes to business unit planning and financial performance.

The ideal candidate combines strong commercial leadership with a practical understanding of manufacturing and the janitorial, sanitation, foodservice, industrial, retail, and distribution channels.

Key Responsibilities

Business Leadership & Strategy

- Translate business strategy into commercial plans and growth initiatives for the can liner and trash bag portfolio.

- Lead commercial execution and coordinate with marketing, operations, supply chain, product management, and finance to deliver business objectives.

- Develop commercial operating plans, sales budgets, forecasts, and growth initiatives for review with senior leadership.

- Identify and pursue new market opportunities, customer segments, and product categories within agreed business priorities.

- Contribute to EBITDA growth through revenue expansion, margin improvement, and cross-functional cost optimization.

- Provide market and customer insights to support senior leaderships evaluation of partnerships and strategic investment opportunities.

Sales & Commercial Leadership

- Lead and develop a high-performing sales organization.

- Manage and shape the current broker sales model to deliver company goals

- Expand relationships with distributors, wholesalers, and national accounts.

- Develop and execute channel sales plans for:

- Janitorial/Sanitation (Jan-San)

- Industrial distribution

- Foodservice

- Retail

- Healthcare

- Hospitality

- Municipal and institutional markets

- Negotiate customer agreements and commercial partnerships within established approval guidelines.

- Recommend and implement pricing actions within established guidelines to improve profitability and competitive positioning.

- Monitor market trends, competitive activity, and customer needs.

Operations & Manufacturing Partnership

- Partner with manufacturing leadership to improve:

- Productivity

- Quality

- Yield

- Service levels

- Safety performance

- Partner with operations on continuous improvement initiatives that support customer requirements and commercial objectives.

- Share demand forecasts and customer priorities to support manufacturing capacity planning.

- Collaborate with supply chain and finance to improve inventory alignment and working capital performance.

- Provide commercial input and business case support for capital investment planning and execution.

Product Management & Innovation

- Partner with product management and manufacturing to develop and launch new can liner and trash bag products.

- Evaluate opportunities in:

- Sustainable products

- Recycled content solutions

- Compostable offerings

- Specialty and industrial liners

- Monitor product portfolio profitability and recommend pricing, mix, and assortment improvements.

- Collaborate with customers on custom product solutions.

Financial Management

- Manage assigned commercial budgets and contribute to business unit P&L performance in partnership with finance and senior leadership.

- Deliver assigned revenue, gross margin, and expense objectives while supporting business unit EBITDA, cash flow, and working capital goals.

- Develop and monitor commercial KPIs and performance metrics.

- Lead commercial performance reviews and sales forecasting, and contribute to monthly business reviews.

- Identify and execute margin improvement initiatives.

Team Leadership

- Lead and develop the commercial team, setting clear goals and execution priorities.

- Establish a culture of accountability, customer focus, and continuous improvement.

- Mentor and develop future leaders.

- Recommend team resources and role alignment to support commercial objectives.

Qualifications

Required

- Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Operations, or related field.

- 8+ years of progressive commercial, sales, or business management experience.

- 3+ years leading a commercial or sales team in a manufacturing or distribution business, with accountability for revenue, margin, and budgets.

- Proven success driving profitable growth.

- Experience leading teams and coordinating cross-functional initiatives.

- Strong financial and operational acumen.

Preferred

- Experience in:

- Can liners

- Trash bags

- Flexible packaging

- Film extrusion

- Consumer packaged goods

- Jan-San products

- Industrial products

- Experience working with large distributors and national accounts.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a hands-on commercial leader who understands the sales, customer, and operational drivers of a plastics manufacturing business. They have successfully grown revenue, improved margins, and developed teams while serving customers through distribution and direct sales channels. They translate business priorities into actionable commercial plans and work effectively with manufacturing, supply chain, product management, and finance. Experience with polyethylene film products, can liners, trash bags, or related flexible packaging products is highly desirable.

Target Profile:

- Current Director of Sales, Commercial Director, or experienced Senior Sales Manager ready for broader commercial responsibility

- Experience managing a significant sales portfolio, channel, or product category with revenue and margin accountability

- Strong track record of profitable sales growth and margin improvement

- Deep understanding of distribution-driven sales models

- Working knowledge of manufacturing and supply chain processes

- Customer-focused and results-oriented leader

This role offers the opportunity to lead commercial growth for a market-leading can liner business while partnering across functions to improve customer service, support innovation, and deliver sustainable profitability.

Pay Transparency: Base Range $160k - $175k + Incentives + Benefits + PTO