Sales Development Associate - Distribution | 2027 Cohort

Job Description

Job Description

Sales Development Associate (Class of 2027) - Launch Your Sales Career with Bunzl Distribution

Are you graduating in 2027 and looking for more than an entry-level sales job? Bunzl Distribution's Sales Development Associate (SDA) Program is designed to accelerate your career through hands-on training, mentorship, and real-world business experience.

As a Sales Development Associate, you will join a cohort of peers and participate in an intensive 12-month training program based in St. Louis, Missouri . During the program, you'll gain exposure to every aspect of our business, develop professional selling skills, build relationships with leaders across the organization, and learn how to drive profitable growth for customers in a variety of industries. The goal of the program is to position you to successfully move into a Sales Representative role in one of our markets. 

At Bunzl, we sell a broad portfolio of essential disposable supplies, including paper products, packaging, food service disposables, janitorial and sanitation products, safety supplies, and PPE. Depending on your post-program sales territory assignment, you may support customers across the grocery, food processing, industrial manufacturing, hospitality, restaurant, entertainment, and distribution markets. We help businesses operate safely, efficiently, and profitably.

This is a unique opportunity to build a long-term career with a market-leading distribution company while gaining the knowledge, tools, and support needed to succeed. We invest heavily in developing future sales leaders, offering extensive training, ongoing professional development, and significant opportunities for career advancement.

• Location: St. Louis, MO (training period)
• Program Length: 12 Months
• Post-Program Placement: Sales territory assignment anywhere within the United States
• Compensation: Competitive salary and relocation/living stipend for the training period

What You'll Do

• Participate in all phases of the Sales Development Associate Program.
• Learn Bunzl's products, customers, distribution operations, and sales processes.
• Develop consultative selling, prospecting, relationship management, and account growth skills.
• Work alongside experienced sales professionals and business leaders to gain hands-on experience.
• Build strong customer relationships through exceptional service and responsiveness.
• Identify opportunities to increase sales and profitability within assigned accounts.
• Present products, promote new solutions, and support customer business growth.
• Collaborate with internal teams including customer service, operations, purchasing, and sales leadership.
• Attend sales meetings, customer visits, training sessions, and professional development activities.
• Successfully complete all program requirements and training milestones.
• Prepare for transition into a field sales territory upon graduation from the program.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree required, ideally in Business, Marketing, Professional Selling, Communications, or a related field.
• Expected graduation between December 2026 and May 2027, or recent graduate with a bachelor's degree. The program starts in July 2027 .
• Strong interest in building a long-term career in sales.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated leadership through internships, student organizations, athletics, work experience, or community involvement.
• Self-motivated, competitive, and driven to achieve goals.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and time management skills.
• Ability to work independently while also thriving in a team environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Excel, and Word.
• Willingness to relocate to St. Louis, Missouri for the duration of the training program.
• Willingness to relocate to a sales territory anywhere within the United States upon successful completion of the program.
• Must be able to travel, with overnight stays a minimum of 2-3 nights per week.

Why Bunzl?

• Structured sales development curriculum.
• Cohort-based learning with other recent graduates.
• Exposure to leaders and decisionmakers across the business.
• Hands-on sales training and real customer interaction.
• Career path into an outside sales territory and beyond.
• Nationwide opportunities for advancement.
• Comprehensive benefits and employee development programs.
• Opportunity to build a career with a global distribution leader.

The perks of being a Bunzl team member don’t stop at being part of a great team or being valued as our #1 asset. We offer a full range of benefits to help our employees take care of themselves and their families today, tomorrow and for the future.

• Medical, Dental & Vision Benefits effective the 1st day of the month after 30 days
• Paid Time Off - Vacation, Sick, Holidays and Personal Time
• 401K with generous company match
• Additional benefit information can be found on the Bunzl Careers home page under Benefits and Perks. 
• Bunzl accepts ongoing applications until the training cohort is filled. 

  So, what are you waiting for? A new career awaits you with endless opportunities.

Bunzl is a global leader in the Cleaning & Hygiene, Food Processing, Grocery, Health Care, Non-Food Retail, and Safety industries. We have grown both organically and through acquisitions to sales in excess of $10 billion. Bunzl North America is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.  Bunzl North America owns and operates more than 100 warehouses and serves all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and parts of the Caribbean and Mexico. With more than 5,000 employees and 400,000 plus supplies, Bunzl is regarded as a leading supplier in North America.

  Bunzl Distribution has a tradition of commitment to equal employment opportunity. It is the established policy to attract and retain the best qualified people without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex/gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, age, disability or veteran status as provided by law.