Customer Engagement Specialist

Customer Engagement Specialist

Farm Table Delivery is seeking a dynamic and motivated Customer Engagement Specialist to join our team. The Specialist will be responsible for engaging with current customers, establishing and fostering relationships, and driving the growth of local food sales. This role requires a self-starter who is passionate about local foods, small businesses, customer service, and achieving goals.

As the Customer Engagement Specialist, you will play a pivotal role in prioritizing customer support and fostering strong connections between our diverse customer base, which includes restaurants, retailers, institutions, home chefs, and our network of local Producers.

Your primary focus will be on increasing engagement of local foods, providing exceptional customer service, and maintaining positive relationships within our community so that local Producers can grow their farms, craft, and reach.

Who is Farm Table Delivery?

Farm Table Delivery is the primary food hub in Western Iowa and manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products from local and regional Producers. It primarily serves wholesale, retail, and institutional demand while secondarily supporting its own retail customers. Farm Table coordinates with six other food hubs throughout Iowa and Omaha, via the Hub to Hub Network to efficiently maximize its reach.

What You'll Do

Customer Service and Support:

• Assists customers with order placement.
• Communicate delivery and receiving details as needed.
• Address customer inquiries, concerns, and issues promptly and professionally.
• Finalize customer orders at the start of the week, ensuring all open orders are confirmed and accurate.
• Place orders with producers through Local Food Marketplace (LFM), allocate inventory, and communicate any product shortages, substitutions, or delivery changes.
• Support warehouse operations by reviewing incoming products and verifying order accuracy during Thursday warehouse hours.

Build and Maintain Relationships:

• Establish and nurture strong relationships with existing and prospective customers.
• Understand customer needs and pain points to provide tailored solutions and exceed expectations.
• Promote Farm Table's mission through in-person appearances, events, and networking to work-site and community groups, and other venues to generate customer interest.
• Upsell or promote featured and seasonal products based on inventory and producer supply.
• Support merchandising efforts by ensuring product listings, descriptions, and visuals are accurate, appealing, and seasonally updated across sales platforms.

Clear Internal and External Communication:

• Maintain accurate records of sales activities, customer interactions, and progress utilizing Farm Table's designated Inventory and CRM software systems.
• Work effectively between Customers and Producers to prioritize opportunities, track upcoming promotions, and forecast revenue.
• Keep budgets and timetables on target.

Marketing:

• Create and schedule weekly marketing materials, including product features, producer highlights, and customer updates.
• Develop physical and digital marketing content (e.g., postcards, emails, and social media posts) using tools such as Canva and MailChimp.Maintain brand consistency and ensure messaging aligns with Farm Table's mission and seasonal product availability.

Other duties as assigned, of course.

A Typical Week

Throughout the week, the Specialist is expected to identify new customers, call, schedule, and facilitate meetings to gain new customers. These are scheduled at-will and in conjunction with the best times for potential customers. This will include additional customer-centric touches as needed. This work is both remote/home and in the communities Farm Table serves.

Monday Mornings are dedicated to resolving the previous week's ordering issues with the Farm Table Team in the weekly recap and move-forward meeting. Your Monday will also include collecting, entering late orders and coordinating with the Operations Director and Admin to make sure all late orders are placed with vendors.

Tuesday Morning is dedicated to FTD's weekly team meeting and additional issues.

Thursday Afternoons are your busiest day. You will be entering all of the pre-orders and begin contacting customers for the following week's orders.

Weekends Over the weekend, you will be free-range, but 'on-call' to assist online customers with ordering questions, troubleshooting, etc., generally via email or text.

Sundays, you will finish up the order period by confirming orders and finalizing them and nudging any frequent wholesale customers who have yet to purchase.

A Typical Week

Throughout the week, the Customer Engagement Specialist is responsible for supporting customers, managing weekly orders, preparing marketing materials, and maintaining consistent communication with producers and the Farm Table team. Most tasks are remote/home-based, with one scheduled warehouse day each week. Customer-centric touches, such as calls, reminders, follow-ups, and email responses, are essential and occur throughout the week as needed.

Mondays are focused on finalizing customer orders. You will close any open orders, place last-minute orders, and work with the Operations Director and the Administrative team to resolve any issues from the prior week. This includes allocating product from inventory and sending any final communications to customers or producers regarding shortages or delivery changes.

Tuesday is the Farm Table Delivery Team Meeting, a weekly 1.5-hour check-in dedicated to problem-solving, discussing customer needs, and preparing for the week ahead. After the meeting, you will send any follow-up communications and monitor emails for customer questions.

Wednesdays are reserved for Weekly Customer Calls. You'll call current wholesale, retail, and restaurant customers to check in about their previous orders, answer questions, assess product needs for upcoming weeks, and offer suggestions or upsell opportunities. These conversations help maintain strong customer relationships and support demand planning.

Thursdays, you will complete your remaining Weekly Customer Calls, while also handling your Warehouse Day responsibilities, such as reviewing products, confirming quality, and supporting preparation for the upcoming order cycle. This day also includes creating and scheduling Marketing Materials, including weekly emails, social media posts, and physical collateral like postcards or weekly product updates. Additionally, you will manage any outstanding customer follow-up to ensure all communication loops are closed before the weekend.

Saturdays & Sundays. On the weekend, you will primarily Monitor Emails. This includes checking in once or twice per day to answer customer questions, provide support for online ordering, and make sure customers have what they need before the order cycle closes.

Who You Are & Keys to Success (the must-haves)

• Expert customer service: Our customers and Producers deserve the highest level of service.
• Communication skills: Communicates professionally, positively, and effectively via phone, in-person, video calls, email, text, and social media with strong attention to detail and tone in each channel. Close the loops.
• Attention to detail: The ability to find and correct potential order issues to ensure accurate orders and deliveries
• Multitasking skills : Manage multiple responsibilities at once by focusing on one task while keeping track of others.
• Time management skills: Organize and schedule activities efficiently. Create and maintain schedules of upcoming tasks and events. Maximize work efficiency.
• Software proficiency: Must be willing to become highly proficient in Farm Table designated software, including but not limited to Local Food Marketplace, HubSpot, MailChimp, Canva, and Google Workspace.

What Else You Should Know

Hours: This is a full-time position with a semi-flexible schedule. It is expected that the Specialist will work an average of 35 hours per week with seasonal variation. Weekend and evening hours are required in addition to other events as needed.

Physical demands and conditions: Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Frequent phone and video calls. Occasional lifting of equipment and/or packages, setting up tables, lifting banners, etc. In-person events as needed. May be required to deliver customer orders with packages that can weigh up to 50lbs. (Think, a box of potatoes)

Location: It is anticipated that this person is based out of Western Iowa or Eastern Nebraska and can easily be on-site at the warehouse currently located in Minden, Iowa.

Educational/Experience: 2-3 years of sales and/or customer service experience required. Farming, food production, grocery, or food service leadership experience preferred.

Salary/Benefits: $18-22/hour based on experience. PTO, retirement match, personal stipend, and the best local foods the Midwest has to offer.

Age minimum: Must be 21 years or older

Transportation: You must have reliable transportation to in-person events as needed throughout the Midwest. Mileage to approved events is reimbursed; mileage to the warehouse and base location is not reimbursed.

Equipment and Connectivity: Farm Table will provide a computer. The Specialist is expected to have a reliable internet connection and basic office supplies (scissors, stapler, pens, printer, etc).

How to Apply

We encourage all individuals passionate about local food access in the Midwest to apply, even if you feel like you don't meet every qualification. If you are interested, please upload and submit your Resume, Cover Letter, and 3 References to Indeed. Electronic applications are required.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $ $22.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k) matching
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Paid time off

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Minden, IA 51553

Salary : $18 - $22