ALL ABOUT LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHOCOLATES

Born from a dare to do better, we at Lake Champlain Chocolates are driven by our passion to change the world one delicious piece of chocolate at a time. Since the first truffles we made in 1983 to our Five Star Bars® rolling off the line today, our goal has always been about combining creativity and craftsmanship, while sourcing only the best ingredients to create premium chocolate that is truly unforgettable. We infuse passion, integrity, and an unrivaled commitment to community in everything we do to make the world a better and more joyful place. Every employee’s contributions make our company what it is today: a warm, welcoming, inclusive and successful certified B Corporation® committed to being a force for social and environmental good. We are committed to making a positive impact on our local and global communities through the choices we make sourcing materials and while operating our facilities and stores. Our community of employees work hard, care about each other, care about the integrity of our products, and share a passion for delicious confections.

POSITION PURPOSE – WHAT YOU WILL DO

As the Wholesale Sales Operations Specialist, you’ll be responsible for ensuring that our customer service and sales activities support the vision, mission, values, and brand of Lake Champlain Chocolates. Through your efforts, sales and customer service activities will drive sales revenue results while maintaining profitability. You will also perform a wide range of intermediate level administrative, selling, and marketing duties in support of our wholesale customers and the LCC Sales team.

THE WHEN AND WHERE

Your regular schedule will be full-time at approximately 40 hours each week, Monday – Friday in our clean, vibrant, and safe office in Williston, Vermont. Your schedule may include remote/offsite, evening, and weekend hours as special events or seasonality dictates. We value your health & wellness, so we offer many programs to keep employees healthy & engaged and recognize them for the important work that they do.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONTRIBUTIONS

PROVIDE A HIGH-QUALITY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Provide high-quality customer service to our external and internal customers and brokers.
Serve as the primary point of contact for brokers & customer service staff (out-of-stocks, promotions, information).
Work closely with Sales and Customer Service team members using customer knowledge to drive continuous improvement in customer experience.
Ensure that customer orders are received, processed, and shipped accurately and timely. Work directly with the Shipping Supervisor and the Shipping & Warehouse Manager when needed to resolve issues and introduce new initiatives.
Oversee and direct the resolution of customer complaints and problems. Maintain service ticket program via Alchemer Tool. Follow up on issues in weekly report; work with National Sales Director to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
Gather, summarize, and communicate critical customer feedback to various departments including Sales, Marketing, Quality, and Product Development to improve products as needed and prevent recurrence of problems.
Serve as the EDI power user for the team. Assist Customer Service Representatives with daily EDI issues and help solve or escalate more complex EDI finance, order, or shipping issues with IT.
Serve as back-up, second in line to answer phones, monitor sales inbox, take/enter/resolve orders, and encourage customers to increase their order sizes by suggesting new items or quantity increases by analyzing their past purchases and understanding their business needs.
Assist with external outbound telemarketing to sales prospects to follow up on marketing campaigns and/or to reactivate customers who have lapsed/have not purchased recently.
Serve as the Cyberstore power user: support customers with account set up and password resets and perform basic product merchandising set up and maintenance, and assist with testing during upgrades and seasonal launches.
Serve as the store administrator for Faire and other web platforms the Company might choose to use.
Complete new item paperwork for IX One product submissions and process sample orders.

SALES COLLATERAL AND MARKETING SUPPORT

Create the annual email marketing circulation plan and maintain automated email flows. Ensure plan is in alignment with sales objectives, promotional strategy, and brand goals.
Provide content direction & copy to the Marketing Specialist and work closely with them to ensure high quality communications and sales materials are sent. Proofread emails before publishing.
Adapt circulation as breaking events occur or sales trends change.
Analyze results from email marketing efforts to ensure sales goals are achieved; report on findings.

SALES COLLATERAL AND MATERIALS COORDINATION –

Support National Sales Director, Inside Sales Representative, and Territory Manager with content creation including, but not limited to Customer PowerPoint/Category Review Presentations, development of Image Relay Collections & Catalogs, Digital Assets for emailing or merchandising, and One Pagers for sales campaigns/product line drives (content will vary for New Business Development vs. repeat/nurture campaigns).

Work closely with the Product & Content Manager to create wholesale catalog and collateral. Proofread & edit final files. Assist with placing photoshoot product orders. Assist in creating Image Relay Product Collections and Catalogs for specific customers.
Maintain and update: annual wholesale pricelist document (Excel); pricelists and product attributes in key account (i.e. – Chex, UNFI) portals.
Customize customer-specific pricelists for those who have delivered pricing or other special pricing considerations.
Obtain quotes for mailing services; coordinate mailing services and postage costs.
Coordinate mailing of catalogs and product samples to Sales team members, working with the National Sales Director.

SALES REPORTING & ANALYSIS

Run reports in Destini monthly and share them with the Sales team.
Assist other Sales team members with sales reports and order boards from Syspro as needed.

SALES AVAILABILITY MAINTENANCE FOR THE WHOLESALE CHANNEL

Prepare weekly order status and product projection vs. sales report in Excel weekly or more frequently as needed.

Monitor out-of-stock products & backorders; work closely with Customer Service & Sales teams to minimize lost sales.

Communicate out-of-stocks to team members and ensure Cyberstore is updated.

TRADESHOW MARKETING

Work with the National Sales Director on the annual trade show marketing strategy.

Planogram the booth layout for each show.

Secure fixtures and promotional materials needed.

Work closely with the Marketing team on pre-show marketing and promotional efforts.

Prepare and present post-show recap and analysis (sales generated, leads generated, AOV, PR exposure).

COMMUNICATIONS & SUPPORT

Assist National Sales Director and Sales and Finance teams with resolving customer deductions, promotional reconciliation, and other trade promotions.
Assume responsibility for establishing and maintaining effective communication, coordination, and positive working relations with LCC personnel and management.
Communicate relevant information to customers, vendors, co-workers, and other departments as needed.
Provide assistance and support to related departments, as required.

OTHER IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITIES

Apply best customer service practices and ensure that LCC customer service supports the vision, mission, values, and brand of Lake Champlain Chocolates.
Attend sales & marketing trade shows and events, as appropriate.
Attend relevant meetings and other professional development events as needed to keep current in the field.

SUCCESS FACTORS FOR THIS ROLE

Customer service is timely, friendly, and professional.

Data entry, orders, documentation, and reports are thorough, timely, and accurate.

Efforts contribute positively to driving sales results and profitability.

Recommendations for customer service improvements are communicated to the National Sales Director.

Customer service activities are completed in accordance with LCC policies, procedures, and standards.

Good communication and effective working relations exist with other departments.

Highly effective file, data and time management, and organizational skills are consistently used to complete all tasks.

LCC professional reputation is projected in all contacts.

Issues are identified and effective solutions are introduced.

Flexibility and adaptability are demonstrated to accommodate a fluctuating, seasonal workload (high intensity: August – March; lower intensity: April – July). Work tasks and priorities are shifted accordingly as the seasons progress (i.e. – category review cycles vs. heavy sales and transaction support).

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Must be able to work at a desk and use all job-related computer hardware and software.

Must be able to exert up to 30 lbs. of force.

Understand that worker and food safety is the responsibility of every employee and always work in a safe manner.

Exemplify company values and look for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Strive to continually improve our processes and reduce our environmental impact.

Be positive, cooperative, and professional with all employees, consumers, and vendors.

Ability to follow directions and ask clarifying questions when unclear in order to master your role.

WHAT LCC OFFERS – OUR CULTURE

An inclusive workplace where diversity is championed.

Excellent health, dental, vision and 401K plans

Ample paid time off

Competitive compensation with eligibility for pay increases

Wellness benefits such as chair massages, monthly healthy snacks, and recognition lotto

Sweet chocolate perks!

As a community, we expect and encourage our employees to make positive contributions to the Lake Champlain Chocolates’ culture by aligning personal behaviors with the company’s vision, mission, and core values. We consistently AMAZE our customers; VALUE and encourage team member excellence and well-being; CARE for our community and environment; and GROW through innovative leadership, planning and execution. We respect individual initiative and creativity, demand attention to detail, and strive for the highest measures of quality in all that we do. It is through dedication to this vision that Lake Champlain Chocolates can become the gold standard of gourmet chocolate.

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

College coursework and training in Sales, Marketing, or Customer Service or an equivalent combination of experience and training; three or more years of experience in Customer Service, a call center environment, Sales, or Marketing

PLUSES

Experience in the food business with distributor understanding; video and digital asset management/creation experience

KEY SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Impeccable writing & PowerPoint skills.

Ability to write with persuasion and create digital materials in alignment with brand standards.

Ability to bounce back from setbacks and conduct service positively with resilience.

Must become familiar with and follow all company and handbook policies and procedures.

Highly self-motivated

Enthusiastic, pleasant, and positive personality.

Strong analytical skills and proficient use of Microsoft Excel, Word, and Teams. As well as Syspro data base.

Honest with a high degree of integrity and able to use tact and maintain information confidentiality.

Able to give, receive, and act on feedback.

Able to work well with and support others and to build and maintain positive employee relations.

Well-organized, accurate, and strong attention to detail.

Strong proficiency in data analysis, marketplace or eCommerce platforms, and software programs such as excel, PowerPoint, Word, Teams and Syspro.

Effective speaking, presentation, and written communication skills.

Proficiency in copier, fax, computer, telephone, and other basic office equipment.

In accordance with the American with Disabilities act, requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. Job descriptions are not intended as and do not create employment contracts. The organization maintains its status as an at-will employer. Employees can be terminated for any reason not prohibited by law.

Please include a cover letter with your application. Thank you, we look forward to receiving your application materials!

Lake Champlain Chocolates Jobs

Wholesale Sales Operations Specialist