Sales Director

Founded in Japan in 1887, Kao is passionate about making a difference in people's lives with our high quality products and services to create a Kirei Life for all - a beautiful life that respects the needs of our consumers and customers as well as the planet. We never compromise on quality and craft our products with care for the consumer and the environment.

As a company driven by purpose and strong corporate values we pride ourselves to be listed among the World's Most Ethical Companies since 19 consecutive years. Our corporate philosophy, the Kao Way, guides us in everything we do - acting with integrity, courageously driving innovation and treating each other with trust and respect.

The role:

As our sales leader for the United States, you will develop commercial strategies. These strategies will drive profitable, sustainable growth across omni-channel environments, including mass, prestige, specialty, e-commerce, Drug, Mass & Club channels.

Reporting to our US General Manager, you are accountable for building customer partnerships, translating consumer and category insights into winning go-to-market plans, and delivering net sales, margin, and profitable market share growth.

This leader partners with Marketing, Brand, Finance, Supply Chain, and Digital Commerce teams to ensure integrated execution, disciplined trade investment, and long-term value creation across the portfolio. Aligned with Kao Leadership Values, we ask that you have a clear vision for growth, holistic thinking to optimize decisions, and a commitment to building trust internally and externally.

At Kao, we offer amazing benefits that are available to you on your first day of employment (healthcare, 401(k) plus company match), 40 total days off (vacation and holidays and sick) and a competitive salary range of $210,000 - $250,000. We also offer a hybrid work schedule.

What you will do:

Commercial Strategy & Profit Leadership

• Oversee a comprehensive sales strategy aligned to brand ambition, category growth objectives, and financial targets, demonstrating clear vision and adaptability.
• Drive omni-channel revenue growth while optimizing channel mix, pricing architecture, promotional effectiveness, and customer lifetime value, reflecting pursuit of the essentials.
• Maintain P&L accountability for assigned channels, including forecasting, budgeting, trade spend, and margin delivery.
• Identify whitespace opportunities, expansion strategies, and new routes to market that enhance profitable growth, leveraging holistic thinking.

Business Planning & Execution

• Lead annual and quarterly Joint Business Planning (JBP) with retail and digital partners, including volume, assortment, merchandising, media, and promotional plans.
• Translate consumer, shopper, and executional insights into applicable customer strategies that improve sell-through and brand visibility.

Omni-Channel & Customer Leadership

• Develop channel-specific playbooks that reflect unique shopper behaviors across physical and retail, e-commerce.
• Partner with customers to deliver seamless, connected consumer experiences, integrating in-store, digital, and fulfillment strategies.

Team Leadership & Capability Building                                                                          

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing sales organization with clear roles, goals, and performance metrics.

What you will need:

• Bachelor's Degree required in Business Administration or a related field
• 10+ years of progressive sales leadership experience in consumer products, beauty, or personal care.
• Experience leading omni-channel sales strategies across brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, and/or DTC environments.
• Experience working in matrixed or global organizations.
• Experience managing national accounts such as Walmart, Target, Grocery
• Experience in beauty, prestige, or high-growth consumer categories

How we work: Having been selected among the World's Most Ethical Companies for 19 consecutive years, we are a company with a purpose and strong corporate values. We never compromise on quality and create our products with care for the consumer and the environment. At Kao, each employee can actively shape their job and their career. We work collaboratively to achieve our common goals, always aiming to deliver the best for our customers.

What we offer: A friendly and flexible work environment with great compensation packages, benefits package, ongoing development and the opportunity to enhance your skills and deliver tangible results. At Kao your voice will be heard. Your opinion really counts. We believe that change comes from taking opportunities into your own hands, so we value and reward entrepreneurial thinking and innovation.

Hiring Process: Kao embraces the diversity and the individual personalities of its people because we believe it is diversity that makes us strong. This is why we welcome applications from all areas of the global community.

Want to learn more? If you feel you are as unique as our products and want to find out why 33,000 people across the globe opted for a career with us, please visit our Americas website. The website is https://www.kao.com/americas/en/.

Kao USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disabled and veterans.

#LI-BP1

#LI-HYBRID