Senior Customer Development Manager - Walmart

Smithfield Foods•Smithfield, VA

About The Position

The Senior Customer Development Manager is a strategic, operational excellence, and best-in-class execution across Smithfield’s Case Ready platform and the broader Walmart portfolio. In this role, you will serve as the central point of coordination for all Walmart-specific initiatives—integrating sales strategy, business management, operational execution, and quality assurance to strengthen customer partnerships and protect the Smithfield brand. You will work closely with Walmart merchants, replenishment, and quality teams while collaborating internally with Sales, Operations, FSQA, Supply Chain, R&D, Finance, and Customer Service. You’ll ensure initiatives are executed flawlessly, quality standards are upheld, risks are mitigated early, and opportunities for improvement and growth are proactively identified.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree from an accredited four-year college or university and 8+ years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience, required.
2+ years of demonstrated experience in team management/development or project leadership required.
Knowledge of food industry or retail channel dynamics paired with experience in customer-focused, fact-based selling.
Demonstrate strong critical thinking and problem‑solving abilities along with high-level written and verbal communication skills, organizational planning, and adaptability.
Respectful, approachable and team-oriented while building strong working relationships and a positive work environment.
Possess a valid driver’s license and be able to travel up to 50% of the time, including visits to manufacturing facilities.
Capable of sitting for extended periods of time.
Must be able to occasionally lift up to 25 lbs.
Frequently required to sit; stand; walk; reach with hands and arms.
Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision and depth perception.
Able to travel as needed.

Responsibilities

Walmart Business Leadership: Lead all Walmart-focused initiatives across the Case Ready and broader portfolio while serving as the primary liaison between Smithfield and Walmart teams to ensure strategic alignment, exceptional execution, and strong, results-driven collaboration.
Operational & Performance Management: Drive operational execution with accuracy and adherence to Walmart and internal quality standards while monitoring business performance, identifying risks early, and leading cross-functional problem-solving to ensure a seamless customer experience.
Cross-Functional & Customer Partnership: Lead cross-functional alignment to keep stakeholders informed, engaged, and accountable for Walmart initiative execution while representing Smithfield with professionalism and customer focus to strengthen long-term partnership and reinforce our commitment to Walmart’s success.
Customer Insights & Strategic Growth: Translate customer insights and business trends into actionable strategies, partnering with Sales, R&D, and Operations to drive growth and innovation.
Product Quality Leadership: Champion product quality and brand integrity, collaborating with FSQA and Supply Chain to ensure consistent performance across the supply chain.
Data-Driven Business Analysis: Support data driven decision making by tracking KPIs, sales trends, service levels, and customer feedback, bringing forward solutions and recommendations.
Leadership: Drives a positive employee experience through leadership by way of employee development and coaching.