Director of Sales Marketing

About John Bead

John Bead Corporation is one of the largest distributors of jewellery making accessories in North America. A family owned business of more than 80 staff, with over 50,000+ products and growing steadily, John Bead is one of the front runners in the beading industry for over 70 years, with two major locations in Scarborough, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.

The John Bead team of professional’s pride themselves on working together to meet customer needs. Successful people who work here are flexible, attentive, and friendly, adept at figuring out how to get things done while being both realistic and entrepreneurial.

About the role

The Director of Sales & Marketing owns John Bead's revenue across its selling channels, including inside sales, national accounts, and retail, and builds the revenue growth strategy, direction, structure, and team those channels need to grow. Marketing reports into the role. E-commerce is led by the Director of E-Commerce, a peer, and the two work in close partnership where selling and online demand reach the same customers. The work is to lead the commercial operation on strategy and structure: building on the business John Bead already has, developing demand and orders and then handing each order off to the departments that fulfil them.

This role partners with other senior leaders including the Financial Controller, HR and Ownership to strategize, set priorities, develop efficiencies and drive success. Together with front line managers and all staff, this role will foster ideas, expand opportunities and deliver continued success. This is a role for someone who leads through a team rather than by carrying accounts personally, and who wants to help take long-established business further than it reaches today.

What you will do

• Build John Bead's revenue growth strategy and set the direction of the commercial operation across sales, marketing, and retail, aligning processes, commercial rules, and how the business prices and protects margin across the whole, and shaping an operation that can carry the business further than it reaches today.
• Partner with Ownership, the Financial Controller, and HR as part of John Bead's senior leadership group, setting shared priorities, aligning commercial and financial decisions, and drawing front-line managers and staff into how the operation moves forward.
• Lead selling across all channels, wholesale and reseller accounts, national accounts, and retail, as one cohesive effort, and work with e-commerce where selling and online demand reach the same customers, so the channels reinforce each other.
• Direct marketing strategy so it creates demand in new and existing markets and gives the sales effort the tools it needs to win more business.
• Lead and develop the commercial team: set expectations, build capability, manage performance, and grow the team into what the wider operation needs.
• Drive new business and open new markets, winning customers new to the business, and personally open relationships with significant new customers before handing them on to the team.
• Build and use customer, prospect, pipeline, and results information to run the function, see where things stand, find where the growth potential is, and implement strategies towards success.
• Establish a CRM for the commercial operation and put it into daily use across the team, so customer, prospect, and pipeline information is kept in one place.

What you bring

• Ownership of revenue in a multi-channel commercial operation, setting direction and targets and running the function on evidence.
• A record of leading through strategy and structure and getting results through a team, rather than by carrying accounts personally.
• The ability to work as part of a senior leadership group, partnering with finance and ownership to set priorities and shape the biggest commercial and financial decisions together.
• Experience bringing selling channels together into one cohesive effort, wholesale and reseller, national accounts, and retail, and coordinating with e-commerce where they reach the same customers, so the channels reinforce each other.
• The ability to direct marketing at a strategy level, judging and guiding it without running it personally.
• Proven leadership and development of an experienced team, including setting expectations, building capability, and managing performance.
• A track record of opening new markets and winning customers new to a business, including personally opening the largest national accounts and other significant new customers.
• Experience leading a commercial or sales operation in wholesale, distribution, or a related product business.
• Experience growing a retail or e-commerce channel.
• Aptitude and experience in maximising software programs to support business needs including MS Office, AI, ERPs, & CRMs.
• Sound commercial and financial judgment on pricing, margin, and commercial terms across the whole operation, so opportunity is pursued deliberately and profitably.
• Experience leading change in a long-established business, building on existing strengths rather than replacing them, and bringing people along.

An asset

• Familiarity with the bead, jewellery, or craft and hobby trade.

Compensation

Base salary of $120,000 CAD per year, subject to experience and capabilities, plus a performance bonus. Competitive benefits program. 3 weeks vacation.

Location

Based on-site at John Bead's office in Scarborough, Ontario, working across both the Scarborough and Buffalo, New York sites.

Regular Office Hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

Weekend and Evening work on occasion.

Travel to the United States for work is required, including regular travel to the Buffalo, New York site.

Requirements

Must be legally eligible to work in Canada

Must be legally able to travel to the United States

Must have a full driver's license and access to a vehicle here in Toronto.

About this posting

• This posting is for a new position.
• John Bead does not screen, assess, or select applicants using AI.
• John Bead provides accommodation for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you need an accommodation at any stage, let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

How to apply

Please provide your Resume

We appreciate all applications. We will be contacting only candidates we are interested in moving to the next stage with.