Channel Marketing Manager, Commercial

Overview

Let’s be straight with you.

This is not a role for someone who wants to walk into a finished machine and optimize the gears. The commercial channel at WD-40 — automotive, industrial, B2B distribution — is one of our biggest growth frontiers, and the honest truth is: the playbook is still being written. That’s not a warning. For the right person, that sentence is the most exciting thing they’ve read all week.

If you've spend your career doing real work in industrial or automotive channel marketing- if you know the difference between sell-in and pull-through, if you've sat across from a distributor and had to earn their confidence, if you can influence a results driven sales team and the crew protectrive of our brand in the same afternoon - keep reading.

What You’re Walking Into

WD-40 Company is one of the most recognized brands on the planet. The commercial side of our business — automotive wholesale, industrial distribution, and the mid-market accounts that live between the national giants and the local guys — is where our next chapter of growth is being written.

You’ll be working alongside the lead for our commercial channel area who brings deep commercial expertise and has spent the last two years building the foundation you’ll be expanding. You’ll step into a team that knows this space — and expects you to as well.

You’ll own the commercial channel marketing strategy for the US. That means sitting at the intersection of distributor relationships, sales enablement, channel assortment strategy, and end-user pull-through — with accountability for revenue growth, margin performance, and program ROI — simultaneously. It’s a big job. We know that.

The Industry Background That Matters

This role requires real experience in industrial and/or automotive channels. Not because we need you to know our specific account roster — you’ll learn that. But because the dynamics of how product moves through industrial distributors, how automotive wholesale accounts make buying decisions, and what it means to balance distributor economics with end-user demand are not things you can learn on the job in this role. You need to arrive with that wiring already in place.

If your background is in MRO, industrial distribution, hardware, auto parts, fluid management, or adjacent B2B channels — that’s the experience we’re looking for. The specific accounts vary; the channel mechanics transfer.

Bonus points if you’ve had to adapt your approach across different commercial routes to market — because the path from manufacturer to end user looks different in automotive wholesale than it does in industrial distribution, and we’re navigating both.

Your Sales Team Counterparts

You’ll work closely with the sales side. They are experienced, direct and passionate — and they expect their channel partners to match their energy. You’ll need to earn their respect and hold your ground. The phrase "high energy sales culture" should make you lean forward, not back.

Responsibilities

• Building and owning the US commercial channel marketing strategy — multi-year vision, fiscal year execution, and the messy middle between the two
• Developing WD-40’s approach to mid-market commercial accounts where we currently lack a cohesive strategy — this is greenfield work
• Bridging sell-in and pull-through: landing product with distributors AND creating end -user demand that drives sell-through and velocity.
• Leading SKU assortment, packaging requirements, and product lineup decisions for your channels
• Creating account-specific activation plans in coordination with brand, digital, and sales — and making the internal case for the investment to execute them
• Representing WD-40 at trade shows, distributor meetings, and sales team calls as a credible commercial voice
• Building internal buy-in — the organization is growing its commercial fluency. You’ll be teaching as much as executing.
• Leading partnership and agency management for channel programs, activations, and content development – from brief through execution and performance review.
• Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. and should not require sponsorship now or in the future to legally work in the U.S.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in channel marketing or distributor marketing — with substantive experience in industrial and/or automotive channels
• You understand how product moves through a B2B distribution channel. Sell-in and pull-through aren’t concepts to you — they’re things you’ve actually managed, simultaneously, under pressure.
• You’ve influenced people who didn’t ask for your influence — sales teams, brand managers, senior leadership — and done it without burning bridges
• You’re comfortable making a plan with incomplete information and adjusting it when the ground shifts
• Strong financial acumen — you can build a business case, defend a budget, and hold a P&L conversation
• No job is beneath you. If it needs doing and it moves the business, you do it.
• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field. MBA welcomed; a strong track record is more important.

About Us

Our “Why”

At WD-40 Company, we believe that purpose-driven, passionate people guided by our values create amazing outcomes.  Our "why" is refreshingly simple - we exist to create positive lasting memories in everything we do. 

Why You Should Apply

• A strong values-aligned organization where contributions are acknowledged and rewarded, and where 90% of our employees experience a sense of belonging.
• A learning-based culture where 78% of our team believe they can achieve their career objectives.
• Over 94% employee engagement as of the January 2025 global employee survey results.
• 99% of our people report that they “love to tell people that they work for WD-40 Company!"

Do You Align With Our Values?

Please, only consider employment with WD-40 Company if you feel as strongly about our values as we do:  We live, breathe, and play by our values every day.

Thank you for considering WD-40 Company in your career search! 

#PositiveLastingMemories