Our BULLoved BULLish Market Member Firsthand Foods has an incrediBULL job opportunity to join their mission-driven team. See details BULLow:
Written by Jennifer Curtis, November 2, 2023
Are you a food service professional tired of working nights and weekends? Need a 9-to-5 job that utilizes your culinary background and problem-solving skills? Join the Firsthand Foods team as an Account Manager and help us grow sales of high-quality, pasture-raised local meats!
About Us – Based in Durham, North Carolina, Firsthand Foods is a women-owned, mission-driven company that helps local, pasture-based livestock producers get their meats to market. Our team shares a set of core values, including innovation, collaboration, and accountability, and we are passionate about doing our part to build a more sustainable and equitable meat industry. We operate within a dynamic team environment that requires high levels of communication, adaptability, strategic thinking, and a sense of humor.
Position Description: The Account Manager is responsible for managing and maintaining wholesale customer accounts and uses company tools and databases to plan the production of meat cuts and key products to ensure maintenance of inventory levels. This hire will exhibit professional customer service at all times, building positive relationships with customers so they feel taken care of and value their connection to our company. You will focus on helping to grow sales, especially of products that we need to move in order to sell in balance and follow through on our commitments to our livestock producers. You will work closely with the Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and Chief Marketing Officer as we strive to continuously improve the effectiveness of company processes.
Responsibilities:
- Execute all aspects of the account management process, including order-taking, cross-selling, and retention. Assist with onboarding new customers as appropriate.
- Communicate with customers on a weekly basis, primarily via text and email, to solicit regular orders and identify and create opportunities for cross-selling.
- Solicit and understand customer preferences and be responsive to customer feedback on the quality of our products and operations.
- Respond, resolve, and track incoming wholesale customer complaints.
- Learn and effectively utilize company accounting software (Quickbooks), inventory software (VistaTrac), CRM software (Copper), and spreadsheet-based production planning tools.
- Maintain comprehensive and detailed customer records (e.g., contact information and order preferences) in Copper.
- Maintain detailed records of sales activity, including the volume of products sold on a weekly basis, to facilitate production planning.
- Compile weekly sales and customer service-related scorecard metrics to facilitate tracking of company impacts.
- Identify fabrication needs based on customer needs and participate in weekly “cut sheet” meetings to develop fabrication instructions for our processing partners.
- Participate in and contribute to weekly leadership team meetings, helping to identify problems and make process improvements.
- Prepare and distribute weekly food service and retailer newsletters in collaboration with the Sales Manager and CMO.
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of our mission, product attributes and claims, meat cuts, and fabrication techniques and be able to effectively articulate these with customers.
- Demonstrate a consistent and enthusiastic ability to work as part of a team.
Characteristics & Traits:
High Initiative, Adaptive, Detailed, Confident, Organized, Diligent, Service Oriented, Good Natured, Hard Working, Team-Player
Successful Candidates Must Have:
- Minimum 3 Years of Food Service Experience
- Strong Customer Service Orientation
- Strong Computer Literacy, including familiarity with Excel
- Strong Social Skills, including excellent written & verbal communication
Reports to: Melissa Robbins, Sales Manager.
Salary: $48,000
This is a full-time position.
Hours: Regular (9 am – 5 pm) business hours with the opportunity to flex.
Location: The Account Manager will work in Firsthand Foods’ Durham office. This is not a position conducive to working remotely; however, we have a collaborative team environment that allows for flexibility when needed.
Employee Benefits: Minimum 10 days of paid leave annually plus federal holidays, disability insurance, employer-sponsored retirement, bereavement leave, paid family & medical leave, paid sabbatical after 7 years of continuous service, and $100 monthly credit toward meat purchases.
Please send a cover letter and resume to info@firsthandfoods.com by November 22nd, 2023.