Chain & National Account Distribution Manager

Drink Ysidro; Santa Barbara (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Influence over channel strategy

Ground-up growth opportunity

National expansion potential

Job summary

Drink Ysidro Inc. in California is seeking a Chain & National Account Distribution Manager to own the chain and distributor infrastructure, ensuring calendar deadlines are met and distributor partnerships are optimized.

This role focuses on precision, calendar governance, and effective cross-functional collaboration with founders. Based in California with national expansion plans, you will manage chain submissions, pricing, product specs, and direct relationships with chains and distributors to

Qualifications

• 3+ years of beverage alcohol experience with chain submissions, distributor management, or accounts operations.
• Fluency with chain reset calendars, new-item forms, and submission processes required by major retailers.
• Proven track record managing distributor relationships and accountability.
• Ability to build relationships with chain buyers, KAMs, Directors and Presidents.
• Strong problem-solving skills to recover stuck orders and optimize distributor performance.
• Excellent organizational and data-driven approach for multiple deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Own every chain submission calendar and maintain a master calendar of deadlines.
• Prepare and file chain submissions, pricing sheets, and product specs ahead of deadlines.
• Build direct relationships with chains and with distributor's chain teams.
• Manage distributor relationships day-to-day as the business grows.
• Rescue lost chain accounts and track blockers to get orders placed end-to-end.
• Drive distributor performance through depletion and reorder-rate tracking.
• Maintain accurate product data in distributor systems and shared drives.
• Create sales enablement materials to aid distributor selling.
• Report on chain and distributor health for leadership.
• Anticipate upcoming calendars to prevent last-minute scrambles.

Skills

Beverage experience

Distributor management

Accounts operations

Calendar management

Data analysis

Stakeholder relations

Written communication

Problem solving

Organizational skills

Job description

Chain & National Account Distribution Manager

Drink Ysidro Inc. | California-based | Full-Time

About Ysidro

Ysidro is a premium, California-made sake spritz redefining the low-ABV, ready-to-drink category. Since launching in 2021, we've built a loyal base of 300+ California accounts and a standout reorder rate. Right now, our focus is California — but we have our sights set on national expansion, and this role is built to grow right along with that trajectory. We're a small, fast-moving founder-led team, and this role sits right at the center of our next growth chapter.

The Role

We're hiring a Chain & National Account Distribution Manager to own our chain and distributor infrastructure — the person who makes sure Ysidro never misses a calendar deadline and never leaves a Distributor relationship underperforming. This is not a street-level sales role chasing new independent accounts. It's a precision, detail-driven position: tracking every chain's reset and submission calendar, preparing and filing every form correctly and on time, and managing the Distributor partnership so their team is set up to sell Ysidro successfully.

The scope of this role is California-focused today, with the expectation that it expands as Ysidro grows into national distribution and adds distributor partners.

If you're the person who color-codes deadlines, double-checks every submission before it's due, and never lets a calendar slip through the cracks — this role is built for you. You'll report directly to the founders.

What You'll Do

• Own every Chain's submission calendar — build and maintain a master calendar of reset dates, new-item deadlines, and program submission windows across all chain retailers, both the ones we currently sell into and the ones we don't sell into yet
• Prepare and file Chain submissions — complete new-item forms, pricing sheets, product specs, and any required documentation accurately and ahead of deadline, every time
• Build direct relationships with the Chains themselves — become a known, trusted point of contact for buyers at each chain, not just a name on a submission form
• Build the relationship with Distributor’s Chain team — develop direct working relationships with the Key Account Managers (KAMs), Directors, and President of Chains, so Ysidro has real advocates at every level of the organization
• Manage the Distributor relationship day-to-day — serve as Ysidro's primary point of contact for distributor reps, category managers, and ops teams; as Ysidro adds distributor partners over time, this role will own those relationships as well
• Rescue lost Chain accounts — identify accounts that already want Ysidro but have fallen through the cracks in Distributor systems, track down what's blocking them, get the order placed, and help the account complete the process end to end
• Drive distributor performance — track depletions and reorder rates, flag underperforming markets or accounts, and work with Distributor to fix issues before they become losses; this may coincide with a social media strategy to support the account
• Maintain product data accuracy — keep SKU information, specs, and pricing current in distributor systems, and manage a shared Drive folder ensuring all product information stays updated, complete, and submission-ready at all times, including with every change in design or formulation
• Build sales enablement materials — playbooks, one-pagers, and pricing sheets that make it easy for Distributor's team to sell Ysidro with confidence
• Report on chain and distributor health — clear, simple recaps for leadership on submission status, upcoming deadlines, and distributor performance
• Anticipate what's next — track chain calendars far enough in advance that nothing is ever a last-minute scramble

What You Bring

• 3+ years of experience in beverage alcohol with direct experience on chain submissions, distributor management, or accounts operations
• Fluency with chain reset calendars, new-item forms, and the submission processes major retailers require
• A track record of managing a distributor relationship — you know how to keep a partner accountable and set them up to win
• Comfort building relationships at every level — from a chain buyer to a KAM to a Director to a President — and knowing how to work each one
• A problem-solver's instinct for tracking down a stuck order — you'll dig through a distributor's systems, find out where an account got lost, and get it fixed
• Exceptional organization — you can track a dozen deadlines across a dozen chains without dropping one
• Comfort with data — depletion reports, reorder trends, and account performance are second nature to you
• Strong written communication — you'll represent Ysidro to distributor partners and chain buyers regularly
• A proactive, detail-obsessed mindset — you catch what's coming before it's urgent

Why Ysidro

• A seat at the table with the founding team, with real influence over how this channel scales
• The chance to build the chain and distributor management function from the ground up — and grow with it as Ysidro goes national
• A product and brand people are genuinely excited about — you'll be representing something you can be proud of