KIT Recruitment has partnered with a leading organization in the food ingredients sector to hire a General Manager, Food Ingredients. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, this executive leadership role is responsible for driving the growth, profitability, and transformation of the Food Ingredients business across North America and Europe.
This is more than an operational leadership position—it is a strategic growth opportunity for a commercially driven executive who can lead the business from farm to fork, balancing commercial leadership, financial ownership, and operational excellence. The successful candidate will oversee sales, operations, production planning, freight, logistics, procurement, and manufacturing while maintaining full P&L accountability for the business unit.
This opportunity is ideal for an experienced leader with a background in food ingredients, food manufacturing, agri-commodities, or a related industry who thrives in fast-paced environments and has a proven track record of growing businesses, developing high-performing teams, and driving continuous improvement.
General Manager, Food Ingredients - Details
- Salary: $130,000–$180,000 depending on experience
- Full-time, permanent position
- Location: Mississauga, ON
- Reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer
- Travel throughout North America and Europe as required
- Must be legally eligible to work in Canada
General Manager, Food Ingredients– Responsibilities
- Provide strategic leadership and full P&L ownership for the Food Ingredients business across North America and Europe.
- Develop and execute business strategies focused on revenue growth, profitability, operational excellence, market expansion, and long-term business transformation.
- Drive financial performance through budgeting, forecasting, working capital management, margin improvement, and cost optimization initiatives.
- Present financial performance, business forecasts, and strategic recommendations to executive leadership while driving accountability across the organization.
- Identify and pursue new market opportunities, strategic partnerships, product development initiatives, and value-added growth opportunities throughout the food ingredients value chain.
- Lead all commercial activities including sales strategy, customer development, pricing, contract negotiations, and business development.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with key customers, suppliers, and strategic industry partners.
- Oversee manufacturing operations to ensure safe, efficient, high-quality production while maintaining compliance with food safety and regulatory requirements.
- Lead Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) activities to align customer demand, inventory, production capacity, procurement, and supply chain performance.
- Collaborate with procurement teams to optimize raw material sourcing strategies while balancing quality, availability, and cost.
- Oversee freight, transportation, logistics, and cross-border supply chain operations throughout North America and Europe.
- Lead capital improvement projects including facility expansions, equipment upgrades, and process improvement initiatives.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, throughput, operational efficiency, yield, and overall business performance.
- Develop, coach, and mentor high-performing teams across Sales, Operations, Production Planning, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Supply Chain.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement, and leadership development.
- Support succession planning, talent development, and organizational growth
General Manager, Food Ingredients – Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Food Science, Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related field required.
- MBA or equivalent advanced degree considered an asset.
- 15+ years of progressive leadership experience within food ingredients, food manufacturing, agri-commodities, or a related industry.
- Proven experience leading a business unit with full P&L ownership and accountability for revenue growth, profitability, and operational performance.
- Demonstrated success improving both revenue growth and profit margins through strategic commercial and operational initiatives.
- Strong commercial leadership experience including business development, sales management, pricing strategy, customer relationship management, and contract negotiations.
- Experience expanding into new markets and building long-term strategic customer partnerships.
- Deep operational knowledge across manufacturing, production planning, supply chain, freight, logistics, inventory management, and procurement.
- Experience leading multi-site operations across multiple geographic regions, ideally throughout North America and Europe.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing performance metrics including throughput, yield, inventory management, and operational efficiency.
- Experience managing capital projects, facility improvements, or major operational initiatives.
- Strong financial acumen with expertise in budgeting, forecasting, working capital management, cost control, and performance reporting.
- Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop high-performing cross-functional leadership teams.
- Strong understanding of food safety and quality systems including HACCP, FSMA, SQF, BRCGS, or equivalent standards.
- Excellent leadership, communication, negotiation, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
- Demonstrated ability to successfully lead business transformation initiatives while balancing strategic priorities with day-to-day operational execution.
- Experience working across diverse markets and cultures with the ability to build credibility and influence at all levels of an organization.
- Ability to travel throughout North America and Europe as required.
What Will Make You Successful
The ideal candidate is a commercially minded executive who combines strategic vision with operational expertise. You are equally comfortable presenting financial results in the boardroom, developing customer relationships, and leading operational improvements within a manufacturing environment. You are resilient, adaptable, and thrive in transformational leadership roles where you can build high-performing teams, drive accountability, and deliver sustainable business growth.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: $130,000.00-$180,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
- Vision care
Application question(s):
*
Are you willing to travel throughout North America and Europe as required?
- Please briefly describe your experience selling food ingredients, including the types of ingredients and customers you supported.
(Short answer)
- Do you have a minimum of 10 years of sales experience within the food ingredients industry?
*
Do you have experience managing a P&L and leading a business unit or commercial team?
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree (preferred)
Willingness to travel:
Work Location: In person
