Associate Director - Field Sales Training

Short Intro and About the Job

Job Summary

The Associate Director, Field Training, is responsible for ensuring the sales organization has the capabilities required to execute current sales strategies while building the skills needed to achieve future growth and sales objectives. This role leads a team responsible for sales capability development, onboarding, curriculum design, leadership development, and learning execution across the organization. The Associate Director oversees the implementation of the sales development curriculum and drives continuous capability development for all sales team members—from onboarding through advanced career stages. Works with sales leadership to build a talent pipeline and competency frameworks.

This responsibility spans all sales channels and functions, including Specialty Sales, Community Sales, National Accounts, Meta/Keto, Distribution, and Sales Management, ensuring consistent development and readiness across the entire commercial organization.

Key Responsibilities

As a key member of our team, you will play an important role in driving our mission forward. The following responsibilities outline the core expectations and contributions for this position:

• Lead the onboarding and early-career development experience for all new field sales team members, ensuring rapid attainment of core sales, product, and business competencies.
• Continuously assess organizational learning needs and identify capability gaps across the sales organization. Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to design and implement development programs that strengthen individual and organizational performance.
• Establish and manage capability measurement frameworks, including key performance indicators, training effectiveness metrics, and business impact reporting to evaluate development initiatives and inform future investments.
• Collaborate with the Senior Manager of Sales Strategy and other key stakeholders (marketing, medical sciences, sales ops) to develop and deliver content, learning experiences, and capability-building programs for National Sales Meetings (NSMs), Regional Sales Meetings (RSMs), and other strategic commercial initiatives.
• Own and evolve the field sales training curriculum, ensuring alignment to commercial strategy and equipping team members with the foundational sales skills, product knowledge, and customer engagement capabilities required for success.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in enterprise selling, strategic account management, and negotiation, providing guidance, coaching resources, and developmental support to the Specialty Sales organization.
• Partner with Sales Directors and frontline leaders to reinforce field execution, coaching excellence, and capability development, ensuring learning is translated into improved sales performance and customer impact.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

• Effectively handle lifting of various objects weighing up to 12 pounds. 
• While performing the essential functions of the job, the employee will be required to bend, stoop, kneel, reach, and climb stairs.\
• This role is primarily performed in a remote office setting and requires the ability to remain in a stationary position (e.g., seated or standing) for extended periods.
• The employee may be required to travel to Danone corporate offices as needed. Requires 30-50% overnight travel for trainings, field rides, internal meetings, conferences, and sales meetings.

The salary range for this position is $106,000-177,000K USD. The exact salary offered will depend on several factors, including the candidate’s relevant experience, geographic location, internal equity, and market conditions. Danone USA additionally offers a performance-based bonus and has a strong benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Drug Coverage, 401k Plan, Wellness Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Flexible Time Off, and Paid Parental Bonding Leave, among other benefit plan options. To give our employees flexibility, Danone is a hybrid work environment.

About You

The ideal candidate will bring a combination of education, experience, and skills that enable them to excel in this position. The following qualifications outline what we’re looking for, including both required and preferred criteria:

Education & Experience:

• Bachelors degree required, in business, marketing, or healthcare related field, advanced degree preferred.
• Healthcare business and/or clinical experience background.
• RD/RN or advanced degree preferred.
• 5-7 years progressive sales experience, with at least 3 years in formula sales or healthcare sales.
• 3-5 years outside industry experience, healthcare related industry experience (homecare, hospital, distribution, DME etc) preferred.
• Field sales trainer experience.
• Direct people management experience preferred.
• Experience in enterprise selling (IDN, GPO, National Homecare etc) and contract negotiation within formula market.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Demonstrated success with working across internal partners and influencing change without direct authority.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Highly organized, strong project management skills and consistently meets deadlines.
  • Ability to work in an environment with changing priorities and deadlines and support a team through re-prioritization of initiatives and change.
  • Strategic thinker with understanding of complex sales cycle as well as negotiation skills.
  • Understanding of sales methodologies (e.g., SPIN Selling, Challenger Sales, MEDDIC) and training techniques for adult learners.
• Proficient in sales tools (CRM, LMS, analytics tools) and data-driven decision-making
• Understanding of medical specialty channels (field sales, distribution, national accounts etc).

About Us, We offer and What's next

Danone North America Medical Nutrition brings together a growing portfolio of mission-driven brands, including Kate Farms, Nutricia, Neocate, Pepticate, Functional Formularies, and Real Food Blends. Together, we deliver science-backed nutrition solutions for infants, children, and adults with complex nutritional needs, whether they consume nutrition orally or through a feeding tube.

Our ambition is clear: to improve health outcomes, expand access to high-quality nutrition, help reduce healthcare costs, and build sustainable growth. We combine trusted, consumer-loved brands with strong scientific and medical expertise to create nutrition solutions that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

By joining our approximately 450-person North America Medical Nutrition organization, you will become part of Danone’s broader North American and global network. You will have the opportunity to contribute to a growing business, collaborate across brands and functions, and help shape the future of medical nutrition in the US.

You will also join one of the world’s largest Certified B Corporations, working for a company committed to creating lasting value for people and the planet.

Danone North America is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. It is our policy to give equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to legally protected characteristics, or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state/provincial and/or local law. For our EEO policy statement and your EEO rights under law click here.

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