Associate Director, Performance Nutrition, Ingredients

Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) is seeking an experienced Associate Director (Head of Sales) to lead the global sales of our whey- and milk-based ingredients for the Medical and Early Life Nutrition industries. This is a pivotal leadership role with a unique opportunity to shape the future of our Performance Nutrition business and drive value creation in B2B markets worldwide.

As Head of Sales, you will set strategic direction, lead a high-performing global team, and build long-term partnerships with our customers that bring innovative nutrition solutions to life. The role is based in Aarhus and reports directly to the Head of the Strategic Business Unit, Performance Nutrition. Due to the leadership responsibility for a team of 5 direct reports and a team of 9 members, regular presence in Aarhus is required
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How Will You Make An Impact
You will play a central role in shaping our business agenda through strong commercial leadership, customer-centric thinking, and cross-functional collaboration. Together with your team of account managers and sales supporters, you will drive commercial execution while working closely with regional and functional teams to achieve strategic goals.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Lead, mentor and manage local sales team in EMEA to meet and exceed sales targets
• Collaborate closely with AFI's regional sales teams in Asia-Pacific and the Americas to be a global voice on pricing, volume allocation and sales operations for the business unit
• Set strategic direction in collaboration with the business unit leadership, aligned with market and customer opportunities
• Build strong, lasting relationships with key global customers and distributors
• Represent AFI in top-to-top customer interactions and strategic partnerships
• Negotiate major agreements and commercial contracts with top-tier accounts
• Oversee sales operations, including forecasting, pricing, and performance tracking
• Co-lead portfolio development and market rollouts together with Sales Development
• Develop annual sales plans aligned with global and regional business priorities
• Shape and execute go-to-market strategies across regions and customer segments

What Will Make You Successful
You bring a strong commercial profile, having worked with large B2B customers in the food ingredients, Sports Nutrition, life science, or nutrition sectors. You combine strategic thinking with operational excellence, and you thrive in leading teams and complex stakeholder landscapes.

Your Qualifications Ideally Include

• A commercial MSc degree, or a technical background or MSc in the Biosolutions, Life Science of Food industries coupled with strong commercial flair and sales management experience
• 7–10+ years of experience in global B2B sales, business development, or commercial leadership
• Proven success managing strategic accounts and driving innovation to market
• Experience with leading diverse teams across geographies and cultural contexts
• Strong analytical and strategic planning capabilities
• Excellent commercial acumen with a track record in pricing and product mix optimization
• Proficiency in CRM and business tools
• Proven success in selling high-value ingredients and bioactives, such as diary proteins, enzymes, probiotics, or similar products.

Additionally, you thrive in a matrix organization with a complex stakeholder landscape and have ideally worked in international roles. As an Associate Director, you will need to inspire confidence and trust in your team, stakeholders, and customers. For the right candidate, this is a great opportunity to work with our key global customers as part of a great team of colleagues and with the opportunity to develop further within Arla Foods and AFI, both in Northern Europe and across other geographies.

What We Offer
In Arla Foods Ingredients, we are characterized by collaborative innovative, and entrepreneurial culture. Your colleagues will be as smart and driven as you.

You can look forward to becoming part of an international, fun and sociable team. We prioritize work life balance and building a positive team spirit and have both social activities and team events on a regular basis.

Ready to join us and shape the future of nutrition?
Please apply as soon as possible. We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis and will close recruitment once the right candidate is found. For more information, contact our business unit Senior Director Peter Schouw Andersen at

Shape the Future of Dairy
Arla is a global leader in the dairy industry, committed to enabling good food choices that make life better, providing people with natural, sustainable nourishment, while taking care at every step to ensure Arla is a choice they can feel good about. If you are looking to shape the future with an ambitious global cooperative that truly cares about your growth, where everyone feels valued and empowered, and collaboration is the core of culture, Arla is a choice you can feel good about.

AGBER

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