Trade Specialist

ForceBrands; United States; Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus plan

Unlimited PTO

401(k) match

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Job summary

Pre® Brands is seeking a Trade Specialist to join our fast-growing sales team. You will optimize total U.S. trade spend, partner with Sales and Finance to build programs that improve ROI, and maintain brand and item setup at the customer level.

The ideal candidate has 3+ years in pricing, trade management or RGM in CPG, strong Excel skills, and experience with retailer platforms such as Promomash, DemandTec, and Periscope. This role offers competitive pay and a blended work environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 3+ years in pricing, trade management, or RGM within CPG; experience in sales finance or strategy is a plus.
• Strong analytical skills with Excel and data platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead trade promotions management to deliver insights on spend effectiveness.
• Monitor in-market performance and risks, driving corrective actions to meet revenue and brand objectives.
• Provide ad hoc analysis and training on trade data and processes to improve spending decisions.

Skills

Trade management

RGM (revenue growth mgmt)

Sales finance

CPG industry experience

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Promomash

DemandTec

Albertson’s Partner Portal

Periscope

Job description

Location: Seeking candidates located East or Midwest; Chicago preferred

Are you looking for an opportunity to make a real impact at a fast-growing food company? Join a high-performance team leading the way in the Better-for-You beef category. Pre® Brands is a leading provider of 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef and the leading steak brand in the better-for-you beef space.

Pre Brands is headquartered in Chicago, IL. Our team embraces a strong, values-based culture and takes pride in doing what’s right for our consumers, customers, and communities. Every Pre Brands team member has a voice and plays an active role in helping us hit our goals with passion and discipline — we thrive in an engaging, open, and fast-paced environment.

Pre® Brands is a leading maker of 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef in the better-for-you category — available nationwide at grocery, club, and e-commerce retailers, including Instacart. Our cattle are pasture-raised their entire lives in New Zealand and Australia, grazing on nutrient‑rich grasses under the strictest beef standards in the world. Every product is guided by our 15 Points of Curation: no added hormones, no sub‑therapeutic antibiotics, and Non‑GMO Project Verified, Halal compliant, and Whole30, Paleo, and Keto certified. We call it Beef Done Differently® — with full transparency from pasture to package to plate.

Our Sales team is central to that mission — building customer relationships, growing revenue, strengthening trade investment effectiveness, and turning market insight into action. The team partners closely with Finance, Operations, and Marketing to align commercial strategy with business goals, sharpen pricing and planning decisions, and keep Pre competitive, responsive, and growth‑oriented.

We’re a small, fast‑moving team that’s fiercely proud of the product we sell and the standards behind it. Learn more at www.eatpre.com or follow @eatpre on Facebook and Instagram.

The Opportunity

We’re looking to add a Trade Specialist to our high performance, customer centric Sales team. This role assists our Sales and Finance teams by ensuring effective and efficient trade execution across the Pre Brands portfolio — partnering with Sales and Finance to ensure total U.S. trade spend is optimized within approved trade spend budgets, assisting Sales in creating trade programs that improve ROI while driving incremental volume, maintaining brand and item setup at the customer level, and serving as the subject matter expert for our trade performance management platform, Promomash, and retailer‑facing platforms such as DemandTec and Albertson’s Partner Portal. You’ll sit at the intersection of teams, systems, and data — and work closely with Sales account managers to turn trade investment into a disciplined, defensible growth lever rather than a black box.

The ideal candidate is a rigorous critical thinker, a strong communicator, and a detail‑oriented operator who’s equally comfortable building a promotional model, justifying a forecast to Finance, and strategizing with the Sales team on best programming by retailer.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting & Insights

• Lead the trade promotions management process to deliver timely, accurate, and actionable insight on trade performance and spend effectiveness.
• Support Sales account managers by monitoring customer by customer in‑market performance and execution, proactively identifying risks and driving course‑correction actions to ensure revenue, volume, and brand objectives are met.
• Provide ad hoc analysis, reporting, and training on trade data, tools, and processes to continuously improve trade spending and to enable faster, better‑informed spending decisions.
• Partner with Sales and Finance to forecast trade projections, evaluate ROI scenarios, and align to annual growth objectives.
• Drive month‑end close for trade spend, including variance analysis versus forecast and plan, identifying key drivers and communicating insights to Sales, Finance and company senior leadership.
• Act as the Sales function lead for the Annual Operating Plan process, ensuring trade inputs are captured accurately, aligned to strategic objectives, and reflected consistently across planning systems.
• Own Monthly Topline Trade Report for Pre Brands Leadership Team.

Systems & Platform Ownership

• Serve as the primary liaison between Sales and Finance — managing the Promomash system enhancement pipeline, prioritizing business requirements, and driving successful delivery of TPM/TPO and reporting capabilities.
• Manage pricing setup and maintenance at the customer level, including list and promotional price changes, ensuring accuracy and consistency across customer and retailer systems.
• Oversee the Retail Media Network, which includes digital merchandising, coupons, and digital programs, at the customer level. This involves managing promotions and the total budget to ensure accuracy and consistency across both customer and retailer systems.
• Own brand and item setup at the customer level, partnering with Sales and customer teams to ensure new products, attributes, and promotional details are established and maintained correctly.
• Administer retailer‑facing promotion platforms (e.g., DemandTec, Albertson’s Partner Portal, and Periscope) — building, maintaining, and validating promotional events and deals for flawless execution at the customer level.

Experience

• 3+ years of experience in pricing, trade management, revenue growth management (RGM), sales finance, sales strategy, or commercial strategy within CPG; consulting, marketing, or sales experience is a plus.
• Strong analytical capability, with experience using Excel, data platforms, and advanced analytics environments.
• Practical experience supporting trade spend, pricing, key account sales, sales strategy, trade administration, and/or revenue growth management.
• Hands‑on experience with brand, item, and pricing setup at the customer level, including new item setup and ongoing maintenance in customer or retailer systems.
• Familiarity with core RGM principles and performance metrics, and how they translate into field execution with retailers — across grocery, club, and e‑commerce channels.
• Familiarity with e‑commerce and digital shelf dynamics (Amazon, Instacart, retail media networks) is a plus.
• Experience working with retailer‑facing promotion platforms or customer/retailer portals to build, maintain, and execute trade promotions.
• Demonstrated ability to turn data into actionable insight and influence commercial strategy with senior stakeholders.
• Strong attention to detail and discipline in maintaining data quality, process accuracy, and operational rigor.
• Ability to translate business rules into clear planning logic, exception criteria, and reporting requirements.
• Strong cross‑functional partnership skills — able to build trust, drive ownership, and create accountability with Sales account managers and internal stakeholders.
• Hands‑on, solutions‑oriented mindset, with the ability to move fluidly from analysis to execution.

Foundational Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Strong preference for candidates with CPG and/or Better for You (BFY) category experience.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and/or syndicated data (or similar analytical packages) required.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills, with a proven ability to prioritize, allocate resources efficiently, and execute objectives.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to convey ideas clearly, adjust style and tone for different audiences, and use tact and diplomacy with all stakeholders.
• High level of agility, with the ability to adapt to changing environments, proactively recalibrate priorities and adjust work practices smoothly.
• Willingness to thrive in a blended work environment, and seamless collaboration across remote and in‑office settings.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship now or in the future.

What We Have to Offer You

• Competitive base salary, commensurate with experience — $80,000 - $100,000
• Eligibility to participate in the company bonus plan (subject to standard plan terms)
• Unlimited PTO (with manager approval)
• 401(k) with company match, per the company vesting schedule
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• A high‑growth, high‑trust culture where your work visibly moves the business

Pre® Brands is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.