Description

Job Title: Vice President, Tobacco Sales

Reports To: EVP, Tobacco

FLSA Status: Exempt

Status: Full-Time

Department: Commercial / Tobacco

Location: Remote

Job Summary

The Vice President, Tobacco Sales leads Tarbell Management Group's tobacco revenue growth organization by building the systems, leadership, customer partnerships, and field execution capabilities required to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.

This executive leads the tobacco sales organization, strategic accounts, sales operations, and performance management. The role serves as the bridge between commercial strategy and marketplace execution, ensuring that TMG's growth priorities are translated into consistent customer relationship development, operational excellence, and business results.

This role requires deep tobacco category experience, with cigarette experience strongly preferred. The Vice President must understand both large-company tobacco discipline and smaller, entrepreneurial tobacco environments, including manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, Tribal, independent retail, chain, and convenience channels. This leader develops future sales leaders, strengthens customer and Tribal Nation partnerships, builds commercial capabilities, creates organizational accountability, and advances TMG's mission of Empowering Economic Sovereignty for Tribal Nations and Trusted Partners.

Success in this role is measured by tobacco sales performance, sales leadership development, customer relationships, execution excellence, organizational effectiveness, and profitable growth.

Primary Responsibilities (includes but is not limited to)

• Leadership, Management & Accountability: Lead, coach, and develop Area Sales Directors, Strategic Account Leaders, and Sales Operations while building a culture of accountability, ownership, teamwork, continuous improvement, and execution excellence.
• Recruit, develop, train, and retain exceptional sales and operations talent; conduct talent reviews, succession planning, and leadership development activities; and establish clear performance standards, sales competencies, and organizational accountability.
• Tobacco Revenue Performance & Growth: Own tobacco revenue, carton volume, profitability, market share, distribution, and sales performance objectives.
• Lead annual planning, budgeting, forecasting, quota allocation, market prioritization, customer segmentation, route-to-market strategy, and resource deployment across tobacco channels and territories.
• Monitor commercial performance, implement corrective actions when needed, and partner with Finance and executive leadership to support disciplined tobacco business management.
• Strategic Customer, Channel & Tribal Partnerships: Build trusted long-term relationships with Tribal Nations, distributors, wholesalers, strategic accounts, independent retailers, chain customers, and key partners.
• Collaborate on executive customer engagement, business reviews, complex negotiations, strategic planning discussions, and growth initiatives.
• Leverage tobacco industry expertise to strengthen TMG's position in Tribal, general market, wholesale, distributor, convenience, and independent retail channels.
• Revenue Operations & Sales Excellence: Lead the Revenue Operations team in forecasting, business reviews, CRM, analytics, reporting, planning, sales enablement, and performance management processes for the tobacco sales organization.
• Maintain forecasting accuracy, pipeline visibility, business intelligence, commercial decision-making, disciplined operating rhythms, execution standards, CRM utilization, data quality, and reporting capability.
• Develop scalable sales enablement systems, tools, and processes that support growth while reducing complexity and improving productivity through continuous sales process improvement.
• Tobacco Market & Customer Intelligence: Translate customer feedback, competitive activity, tobacco category trends, field intelligence, pricing dynamics, and market insights into actionable recommendations and plans.
• Maintain a strong understanding of cigarette category economics, value brand dynamics, trade programs, distribution models, retail execution, regulatory considerations, and customer purchasing behaviors.
• Partner with Marketing, Operations, Customer Experience, and Finance to ensure customer and market insights influence business priority planning, pricing decisions, promotional strategy, and growth initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in tobacco/cigarette sales, sales operations, and/or related leadership roles.
• Direct tobacco industry experience required; cigarette category experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated understanding of tobacco category economics, cigarette pricing strategies, value brand dynamics, trade programs, distribution models, retail execution, and customer development.
• Experience serving or leading sales organizations across large strategic customers and smaller independent customers.
• Proven experience delivering profitable revenue growth through multi-layered sales organizations.
• Experience building revenue and sales operations, commercial analytics, or sales enablement capabilities.
• Demonstrated success leading forecasting, planning, analytics, CRM, and commercial performance management processes.
• Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, profitability analysis, pricing, trade investment management, resource allocation, and business planning.
• Experience leading strategic customer relationships, negotiations, and complex partnerships.
• Strong people leadership, coaching, succession planning, and organizational development capabilities.
• Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence executive-level stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Preferred Qualifications:

• MBA or advanced business degree preferred.
• Cigarette category experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with Tribal tobacco, Native-owned businesses, or Tribal enterprise partnerships preferred.
• Experience with distributor, wholesaler, chain, convenience, independent retail, and general market channels preferred.
• Experience working in both large-company tobacco environments and smaller, entrepreneurial tobacco or closely related businesses strongly preferred.

Physical and Work Requirements:

• Ability to perform work in a professional office, remote, customer-facing, and field-based environment.
• Ability to travel as needed for customer meetings, Tribal Nation and partner engagements, business reviews, industry events, site visits, and internal leadership meetings.
• Ability to sit, stand, walk, speak, hear, read, write, and use a computer, phone, and other standard office equipment for extended periods.
• Ability to communicate effectively in person, virtually, and by phone with employees, customers, vendors, Tribal Nation representatives, executive leaders, and external partners.
• Ability to review data, reports, presentations, contracts, sales plans, and business documents with attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, adapt to changing business needs, and make sound decisions in a fast-paced commercial environment.
• Ability to occasionally lift, carry, or move materials such as files, presentation materials, laptop equipment, or other work-related items, typically up to 20 pounds.