Customer Outreach Manager, Common Market

Posted by on July 15, 2013

Common Market, a mission-driven distributor of local foods to the Mid-Atlantic region, seeks a Customer Outreach Manager. Our mission is to strengthen regional farms while making the local bounty accessible to communities and the institutions [schools, universities, hospitals] that serve them. We are looking for an individual who is highly motivated, results-driven and passionate about sustainable food, in addition to having the professionalism and experience to succeed in a demanding role that is critical to the success of the organization. This position requires an extremely organized individual who is able to work independently with a sense of urgency and great attention to detail – someone who is flexible, collaborative, and possesses excellent communication and problem-solving skills.

Main Responsibilities

• Works closely with Common Market leadership to develop sales & outreach strategy and to execute that strategy

• Establishes, develops and fosters quality relationships with institutional Food Service staff in the mid-Atlantic (Wilmington, Philadelphia, Princeton, Baltimore areas)

• Prospects through networking and other methods of lead generation to schedule appointments and follow up with potential customers

• Educates and advises potential customers on the benefits of incorporating food from local sustainable farms as part of a Food Service operation

• Ensures proactive approach to maintain positive customer relations through ongoing communication, defining needs/expectations and working collaboratively with Common Market staff to find solutions to customers’ needs

• Coordinates with Common Market procurement, operations, finance, IT and communications staff in order to resolve customer problems and ensure high quality customer experience

• Creates local food promotional tools, communications, and campaigns that can be ‘plugged’ into any customers’ operations (ex. emails, newsletters, presentations, farmer profiles)

• Collects data about customer preferences regularly (surveys, focus groups, interviews, complaint log etc)

• Regularly evaluates and makes suggestions about how to improve/adapt to ensure a better customer experience

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience

• 2-4 years experience in an institutional food service environment

• Knowledge of sustainable agriculture and local food systems

• Strong preference for someone with experience in customer outreach, sales and relationship management

• Excellent Microsoft Office skills (Word and Excel)

• Experience and skilled in analyzing data using Excel

Baseline Requirements

• Valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle

• Flexible work hours to accommodate some evening and weekend work

• Ability to lift up to 50lbs

Compensation- Pay commensurate with experience

Send cover letter and resume to hr@commonmarketphila.org