Sales Executive Food Advisory

As Sales Executive Food Service and Retail, you will be responsible for improving market share of NSFs developing your sales pipeline to ensure generation of new sales revenue. The position will involve focusing on NSFs Food Advisory Services (Regulatory, Technical support, Consulting), and Retail audits business.

This role is focused on both inbound sales and outbound prospecting—qualifying, quoting, and closing new applications from core accounts while proactively identifying and developing new opportunities. The ideal candidate will possess strong technical acumen, exceptional collaboration skills, and a deep understanding of scope development for complex solutions.

This role is pivotal to our sales cycle and has a significant downstream impact on project execution and turnaround time. You will work closely with technical teams and project managers to ensure accurate qualification and quoting, enabling seamless project delivery.

• Proactively identifying, targeting and winning new business through disciplined hunting activity, including cold calling, cold outreach, networking and strategic prospecting to build a strong pipeline of opportunities. Qualify inbound opportunities and conduct outbound prospecting to identify, develop, and advance new business opportunities.
• Researching competitor accounts and successfully converting key clients through relationship development, consultative selling, contract negotiation and tailored service solutions.
• Driving net-new revenue growth by creating opportunities where no existing relationship exists, engaging decision-makers and overcoming barriers to entry. Meet revenue and quota goals by consistently managing pipeline activity, advancing opportunities, and closing business in alignment with sales targets.
• Supporting and representing NSF at trade shows, industry events and seminars to generate leads, build market presence and identify new business opportunities.
• Responsible for developing new customers and strategically growing accounts.
• Preparing for and leading prospect and client meetings, both onsite and virtually (50% face-to-face / 50% virtual), with a strong focus on new business acquisition and opportunity progression.
• Collaborating with internal business units to develop compelling customer solutions and ensure successful delivery of strategic projects.
• Maintain detailed records of customer interactions, quotes, and closed deals in CRM systems.
• Developing and executing territory sales plans, pipeline strategies and accurate forecasts to achieve and exceed new business targets. Meet or exceed sales quotas and performance metrics related to sales activities
• Analysing local market trends, competitor activity and customer needs, partnering with Marketing to develop and execute targeted lead generation and demand creation campaigns.
• Building and maintaining strong customer relationships throughout the Territory/ Programme while continuously identifying opportunities to expand NSF's service offerings.
• Demonstrating expertise in territory management, account planning, market mapping and prospect prioritisation to maximise sales effectiveness.
• Displaying exceptional communication, presentation, negotiation and influencing skills with customers, prospects and internal stakeholders across all levels of the organisation.

Hybrid position based in Diegem (Brussels area); expected to travel throughout Europe up to 30-40% of time (car/train/plane) with a focus on BENELUX, and potentially other EU countries

• Higher degree Business, Engineering, Environmental Science, Business, or related field
• Strong experience in business development within Food Industry, Food Ingredients
• Demonstrated experience in a corporate environment.
• Understanding standards and ability to effectively communicate requirements to all stakeholders.
• Strong sales acumen, hunter mindset.
• Ability to work successfully in a (complex) cross functional environment.
• Proven experience of project management.
• Demonstrate agility to adjust to industry changes and/or direction of the business.
• Strong English proficiency. Fluent in French and Dutch.
• Strong interpersonal & communication skills.
• Managing forecast accuracy on a regular basis.
• An first experience working in Consulting, Regulatory, Food Processing, or Hospitality is preferred
• Knowledge of the TIC industry is an asset (Testing, Inspection, Certification).
• Experience in the use of CRM Tools, such as Salesforce
• Demonstrated experience in a corporate environment.

Notice to Agency and Search Firm Representatives: Please note that NSF is not accepting unsolicited resumes from agencies and search firms for this role. Resumes submitted to an NSF employee by a third-party agency without a valid written and signed search agreement between NSF and said third-party agency will become the sole property of NSF. No fee will be paid if a candidate is hired as a result of an unsolicited agency or search firm referral. Thank you.