Key Account Director

Interface is a global flooring solutions company and sustainability leader, offering an integrated portfolio of carpet tile and resilient flooring products that includes Interface® carpet tile and LVT, nora® rubber flooring, and FLOR® premium area rugs for commercial and residential spaces. Made with purpose and without compromise, Interface flooring brings more sophisticated design, more performance, more innovation, and more climate progress to interior spaces. A decades-long pioneer in sustainability, Interface remains “all in” on becoming a restorative business. Today, the company is focusing on carbon reductions, not offsets, as it works toward achieving its verified science-based targets by 2030 and its goal to become a carbon negative enterprise by 2040.

The Key Account Director (KAD) will lead the sales team in developing the key account opportunities in the region. The KAD will report directly to one of four Americas Sales Area Vice Presidents (AVP) and be a strategic partner to the Regional Sales Director.  The Key Account Director demonstrably contributes to the regional business objectives through key account business development responsibilities including:  working with the Regional Sales Director and local Account Executive in selecting, researching, and purposefully pursuing the largest revenue opportunities in assigned region; communicating account expectations to all stakeholders and leading on the implementation of strategic account plans and monitoring performance.

This position will be based in Chicago, IL.

Responsibilities

1)    Strategic, non A/D, end-user focused, account development role
a.    Enabling and working alongside the responsible account owner (the Account Executive), the KAD is responsible for long-term account development of key acccounts in:
•    Corporate (non-GAD)
•    Education
•    Government
•    Retail
•    Multi-Family (Affordable, Market Rate, Senior Living, Privatized Student Housing, Military)
b.    Identification, research and purposeful pursuit of accounts based upon account assignment and alignment with Regional Sales Director, and Account Executive. Any/all accounts with said potential should be included.Company reserves the right to add more Account Executives or KADs to address, if necessary.
c.    KAD will build/maintain/curate/rank/value these accounts and be responsible for strategic movement, recording key business development activities in SalesForce.

2)    Bias for Business Development
a.    In partnership with the Regional Sales Director, revitalize the Interface culture of “making the call”, inside assigned region.
b.    Provide example to Account Executives of how to successfully create a personal/regional bias for business development.

3)    Learning
a.    Develop industry leading presentation skillset in order to speak proficiently to vertical segment stakeholders.  Partner with the RSD and deliver the value proposition AEs aspire to emulate.
b.    Develop sufficient research skills necessary to know more about the customer than they know about themselves.  Knowing our customer’s purpose, sustainability position, financial status, ESG and procurement policies are key to success.  
c.    Responsible for delivery of end-user oriented CEUs in the above mentioned segments.

4)    Professional Association & Contract Leader
a.    Membership/participation/lead in all relevant regional associations in the aforementioned verticals, including but not limited to IFMA, CORENET, APPA, ASHE, APPA, ACUHO, NAEP, NAA, NIGP, NHA, SPLC etc.
b.    The goal is not simply to be a member, but to get involved in committee assignments, leadership and to develop principal to principal relationships.
c.    Regional expert and point person for regional contracts, national contracts and purchasing cooperatives.

5)    Making Carbon Matter - 
a.    Regional expert/issue raiser/activist/community organizer – goal is for the KAD to be as fluent/connected/vocal/networked regionally, in the designated end-user segments, as VP of Sustainability  is nationally across all stakeholders.

6)    National Perspective
a.    When business opportunities are discovered that could go beyond the local region assignment, it’s the KADs specific responsibility to engage other KADs to insure opportunites are fully investigated/leveraged/successfully handed off such that our customer has the best possible experience.
b.    If the situation has potential national implications (business across all regions), engagement of the Vice President of Partner Development is recommended to insure the appropriate resources are allocated.

Educational requirements:

Bachelor’s degree required with MBA preferred

Skills and experience:

•    Excellent communication skills, including strong listening, written, verbal and presentation skills required
•    Strong organizational and negotiation skills
•    Minimum of 7-10 years sales experience and proven track record of growing sales in B to B environment, particularly within the commercial flooring industry.  
•    Experience managing and building a team of successful sales professionals
•    Proven leadership ability to attract, influence, develop and empower employees to achieve objectives with a team approach
•    Strong track record of exceeding company sales quotas in a multi-stakeholder sales environment
•    Experience in territory management and planning, at the regional and account levels
•    Proven expertise with teaching, coaching and training sales methodologies
•    Willing to travel as needed throughout the region
•    Residence within the region required.

Physical demands: 

Some Lifting Required (up to 40 lbs.)
Predominately in-region travel.  Regional, national meetings required periodically.

Work environment:

Primarily in the field meeting with key account principals in the Education, Government, Multifamily and Corporate segments

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