About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Sales.

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

---

About the role

Confidential Client is hiring a Junior Sales Manager based in the greater Chicago area (Morton Grove / Skokie). This entry-level B2B sales role focuses on food-ingredient customers (starches, proteins, sweeteners) and provides structured training, customer-facing experience, and an opportunity to grow into ownership of accounts and a product category.

---

What You’ll Be Doing

• Support new business development by identifying and connecting with food manufacturers, co-packers, and ingredient customers.
• Conduct daily outreach to prospective customers by phone, email, LinkedIn, and other channels to build pipeline and sales skills.
• Follow up on customer inquiries, sample requests, pricing, quotations, and active opportunities to move deals forward.
• Prepare quotes, coordinate samples, and assist with customer documentation and product information.
• Maintain accurate customer and opportunity records in the company CRM and internal systems.
• Build and maintain long-term customer relationships through timely, professional communication and service.
• Collaborate with suppliers, commercial colleagues, logistics, and supply-chain teams to ensure orders are executed smoothly.
• Develop technical knowledge of the food-ingredient portfolio (starches, proteins, sweeteners) and their applications.
• Monitor market trends, ingredient pricing, supply conditions, and competitor activity to identify new opportunities.
• Assist with sales forecasting, account planning, reports, and internal commercial meetings.
• Travel approximately 2–3 days per month for customer visits, trade shows, and industry events.
• Grow into greater responsibility over time, with the opportunity to manage your own food-ingredient category and customer portfolio.

---

Who We’re Looking For

• Recent graduate or early-career professional with an interest in sales, business development, food ingredients, agriculture, or international trade.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, food science, agriculture, supply chain, or a related field preferred.
• Strong communication, organizational, and relationship-building skills.
• Self-motivated, curious, results-oriented, and eager to learn.
• Comfortable working independently while collaborating closely with a team.
• Able to manage multiple priorities and follow through on customer requests in a timely manner.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office; experience with ERP or CRM systems is a plus.
• Bilingual ability (English/Spanish) is a plus but not required.
• Based in, or willing to relocate to, the greater Chicago area (Morton Grove / Skokie).
• Willing and able to travel approximately 2–3 days per month.

---

Compensation & Benefits

Confidential Client offers competitive base pay, a bonus opportunity, comprehensive benefits, and a 401(k) match. This role provides an entrepreneurial, collaborative, international environment and strong opportunities for professional growth. The source posting lists an estimated annual salary of $57,818 (estimated).

---

Location & Travel

• Primary location: Morton Grove / Skokie, Illinois (greater Chicago area).
• Travel: ~2–3 days per month for customer visits, trade shows, and events.

---

Employment Type

• Full-time

---

Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.