Commercial Manager, Protein

Job Title: Commercial Manager, Protein ODI

Function: Commercial, Ornua Dairy Ingredients (ODI)

Reports to: Head of Commercial

Location: Dublin, Ireland (significant travel & mobility required)

Ornua is a leading dairy co-operative which sells premium dairy products globally on behalf of its Member Co-operatives, Ireland's dairy processors and, in turn, Irish dairy farmers.

Ornua has revenues of €3.4 billion and is supported by a global team of approximately 2,800 employees. The Group operates as a commercial organisation across 10 business units, including 12 production facilities located in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.

The commercial organisation is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua's consumer brands including Ireland's most successful food export: Kerrygold. Consumer markets are served by production facilities in Ireland, Germany and the UK and by in-market Sales & Marketing Teams in Asia, Germany, Ireland, MEA, Poland, Spain, rest of Europe and North and Latin America.

It also manages the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products, the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufacturing and foodservice customers globally, and the implementation of de-risking and trading strategies to manage market volatility. These activities are supported by production facilities and in-market teams in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.

The Role

We are seeking a Commercial Manager, Protein ODI to lead sales and P&L responsibility for Ornua's global Powder Protein category, encompassing Casein & Caseinates, SMP, FCMP and all Whey Powders (excluding FFMP). The successful candidate will own key customer accounts, drive the development of a strategic growth and value creation plan for the category, and build strong global key account relationships in partnership with Ornua's Member Procurement Team and Commercial colleagues.

Key Areas of Responsibility

• Sales, P&L responsibility and account ownership for Casein & Caseinates, SMP, FCMP and all Whey Powders (excludes FFMP).
• Development of a strategic growth and value development plan for the ODI Powder Protein category.
• Creation of a 5-year customer value growth plan for Casein & Caseinates by Region (North America & Canada, Mexico, EU and Asia) and by Application (Sports Nutrition, Weight Management & Wellness).
• Development of a Global Key Account Protein Value Development Plan, created jointly with relevant customers.
• Active use of hedging and derivatives to risk-manage and maximise value.
• Development of strong relationships with the Ornua Member Procurement Team.
• Ownership of annual sales/volume budgeting and rolling forecasts for the category.
• Setting and governing pricing strategy and mechanisms across casein & caseinates, SMP, FCMP and whey powders.
• Tracking global protein market dynamics, competitor positioning and input cost trends to inform the growth plan.
• Identifying new product and format opportunities, working with Innovation/Technical teams, particularly across Sports Nutrition and Weight Management & Wellness applications.
• Working cross-functionally with Supply Chain, Technical/QA and Finance to ensure supply capability aligns with the demand plan.
• Negotiating and managing customer supply agreements and contracts.
• Providing regular reporting on category performance versus budget and strategy to the Head of Commercial and wider leadership team.
• Leadership and mentoring of the Protein commercial team.

Key Skills / Attributes

• 8- 10 years proven commercial sales experience with demonstrated P&L and account ownership, ideally within dairy ingredients or a related B2B food ingredients environment.
• Strong strategic planning capability, with experience developing multi-year customer and category growth plans.
• Commercial and analytical acumen, including familiarity with hedging, derivatives and market risk management.
• Excellent relationship management and negotiation skills, with the ability to build trusted partnerships with global key accounts and internal stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of, or willingness to develop expertise in, global protein ingredient markets and applications (e.g. Sports Nutrition, Weight Management & Wellness).
• Self-motivated and results-driven, comfortable operating with significant autonomy across multiple regions.
• Willingness and flexibility to travel extensively and work across time zones.
• Foreign language skills beneficial.

Ornua Core Competencies

• Customer Focus: Advocates for the customer, balances customer and business needs, and spots opportunities for growth.
• Forward-Looking: Helps others to accept change, implements change, and looks ahead to anticipate change.
• Curious: Open to asking questions and willing to learn and continuously improve.
• Collaboration: Encourages co-operation in own team and supports cross-functional working.

Closing Date: 30 July 2026