What are the responsibilities and job description for the Account Manager - Grain position at CPKC?
Join CPKC, North America’s first transnational railroad connecting U.S. Canada and Mexico, where your career drives progress and safety is paramount. We connect communities, fuel economic growth, and provide meaningful work in a culture that values diversity, accountability, and pride. With opportunities for training, development, and advancement, you’re not just building a career—you’re part of something bigger. Together, we move goods, connect people, and create lasting change. Your future starts here.
PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:
The Account Manager, Grain, will serve as CPKC’s primary customer interface for a defined customer base, encompassing both annual and multi‑year sales cycles. Revenue growth will be generated primarily through an existing portfolio of customers by building and managing strong relationships, leveraging deep knowledge of the merchandise market, and developing existing business accounts.
As a member of the CPKC Sales team, you will be part of a proven sales and marketing organization that has driven success in the transportation industry for over a century. You will play a key role in working with customers across our rail network. This role offers a competitive sales incentive plan and will support CPKC’s growth through new sales opportunities and customer development.
POSITION ACCOUNTABILITIES:
- Develop and execute sales account strategies and plans for assigned accounts and new business opportunities
- Meet and exceed yield, price, revenue and market share targets and standards as set out corporately by the Grain team
- Execute contract and tariff renewals within established trading space, looking to best leverage all contractual traders, while utilizing effective negotiation skills
- Progress qualified sales leads (pipelines of opportunities) and convert them into new revenue and positive operating income
- Highlight and document customers’ “terms of sales” for key internal stakeholders to facilitate execution and measurement of product sold
- Obtain, synthesizes and concisely articulates key customer and market information, collect and verify market information
- Work with the marketing and pricing team in order to offer customers the most competitive pricing options
- Be the customer advocate within CPKC for all commercial issues
- Communicate, context and carry CPKC’s corporate strategy and key business messages to our customers and our external market
- Act as the primary contact for sales counterparts at other class one railroads in regards to joint line business and opportunity development
POSITION REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, supply chain or a related field or possess equivalent professional work experience
- Minimum of 3 years’ professional sales experience managing larger, high profile, accounts (railroad, transportation, logistics or supply chain industry experience is an asset but not required)
- Grain industry and market knowledge and intelligence is an asset
- Negotiating skills, strategic planning, critical thinking and financial analysis/acumen
- Track record in successfully closing deals and willingness to ask for the business or the sale
- Ability to learn commercial systems such as pricing systems, customer relationship management tools
- Ability to travel up to 40 - 60% across the network
- Excellent communication skills – written, verbal and presentation skills
WHAT CPKC HAS TO OFFER:
- Sales Incentive Plan
- Flexible and competitive benefits package
- Competitive company pension and/or retirement plans
- Employee Share Purchase Plan
- Annual Fitness Subsidy
- Part-time Studies Program
PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS:
Drug Testing
This position is subject to a negative company drug test.
Background Investigation
- Criminal history check
- Education verification
- Professional references
- Driver’s license verification and driving history
- Passport verification
- Social Security Number verification
BECOMING A RAILROADER:
As an employee with a North American presence, the possibility does exist that the location of your position may be changed based on organizational requirements.
Management Conductor Program
Becoming a qualified conductor or locomotive engineer is the single best way for a management employee to learn the business at CPKC. You may be required to obtain a certification or to maintain your current certification/qualification as a conductor or locomotive engineer.
CULTURE OF INCLUSION:
For our U.S. applicants, CPKC is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, inclusive of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For Canadian applicants CPKC is an employment equity employer committed to the principles of employment equity and inclusion. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply including: women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), members of the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities. Accommodations for the job application process can be provide, as appropriate, upon request. All applicant information will be managed in accordance with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
- Req ID: 105806
- Department: Sales & Marketing
- Job Type: Full-Time
- Position Type: Non-Union
- Location: North Dakota Wide, North Dakota
- Country: United States
- % of Travel: 40-50%
- # of Positions: 1
- Job Grade: 4
- Job Available to: Internal & External