Specialist, Sales and Marketing; Food Services

FLSA Status: Full Time, Exempt

Reports to: Food Hub Director

Work Location: Marion Barry Avenue Market & Café, 1303 Marion Barry Avenue, Washington, DC 20020, in the field with the occasional opportunity to work remotely

Compensation: $60,000 - $63,654

Dreaming Out Loud, Inc.

Dreaming Out Loud’s mission is to create economic opportunities for the DC metro region’s marginalized communities through building a healthy, equitable food system. We are rebuilding urban, community-based food systems through cooperative social enterprise: increasing access to healthy food, improving community health, supporting entrepreneurs and cooperatives from low-income communities, and creating opportunities for at‑risk residents to earn sustainable, family‑supporting wages and build wealth.

We believe that all communities deserve equal access to fresh, healthy food choices, but that achieving this requires moving beyond the “access” paradigm to a focus on community self‑determination and food sovereignty. Utilizing the food system as a catalyst, we are working to create an integrated pipeline to jobs, economic opportunity, and community wealth‑building for our most marginalized communities.

Dreaming Out Loud achieves its mission by operating a vertically integrated Food Hub, a suite of creative mission‑focused retail programs that include farmers’ markets, produce subscription clubs (CSAs - Community Supported Agriculture), wholesale, value‑added products, catering, and our first brick‑and‑mortar community market with a grocery store and café. Our model is ever‑evolving and retail programs are growing rapidly.

The Sales and Marketing Specialist drives revenue growth by generating new sales, managing client relationships, and supporting brand and marketing strategies across Dreaming Out Loud’s wholesale, retail, and catering channels. This role blends traditional sales responsibilities, account management, and branded marketing with a strong focus on consumer‑packaged goods (CPGs). The Specialist will lead the full sales cycle from lead generation and outreach to proposals and tastings to ensuring excellent customer service and account retention.

The Specialist will execute marketing campaigns, product launches, and utilize brand storytelling to elevate DOL’s visibility.

Sales and Client Relationship Management

• Develop and execute sales strategies in collaboration with the Food Hub Director.
• Manage a portfolio of wholesale, catering, and retail partners, strengthening relationships and ensuring high customer satisfaction.
• Identify and pursue new sales opportunities across CPG, food service, institutional buyers, corporate catering, event clients, and community partners.
• Conduct site visits, client meetings, and product demos and tastings.
• Prepare sales proposals, quotes, catering menus, and service agreements.
• Track leads, contacts, and sales activity using DOL’s CRM system.
• Respond promptly to inquiries, concerns, or service issues and coordinate resolutions across internal departments.
• Support forecasting, reporting, and analysis of sales performance trends.

Marketing and Brand Management

• Assist with marketing calendars, brand campaigns, and promotional initiatives for both CPG products and prepared foods.
• Collaborate with the Partnerships and Communications Team to promote seasonal products, new SKUs, special offers, and events.
• Write and edit content for email campaigns, social media, print materials, and digital assets.
• Maintain brand standards across packaging, signage, outreach materials, and presentations.
• Support market research, competitor analysis, and insights on consumer behavior and product performance.
• Contribute to product development discussions for value‑added and CPG items.

Catering and Events Sales Support

• Manage inbound catering inquiries and bookings, conduct client consultations, and maintain a catering sales pipeline.
• Generate event proposals, menus, contracts, and timelines.
• Enter invoices and track accounts receivable to ensure timely payments.
• Coordinate internally with the Culinary and Logistics Teams to ensure smooth event execution.
• Attend events as needed to support…