Regional Account Manager

Rishi Tea & Botanicals is one of the fastest-growing and category-leading premium tea brands in the U.S. Our remarkable teas and botanicals are served in tens of thousands of premier cafés, restaurants, and hospitality destinations globally, as we partner with the most respected names in the culinary and hospitality world. Founded in 1997 by Josh Kaiser, Rishi charted a new course for the tea industry: sourcing teas and botanicals from the world’s best producers, building long-term relationships directly with farmers, and bringing exceptional quality to market without compromise and with culinary creativity. As a result, Rishi has become a vanguard of Direct Trade within the tea industry. This philosophy defines our brand as both consumers and operators alike increasingly seek transparency, authenticity, and excellence. Today, Rishi is a rapidly scaling omnichannel brand expanding across eCommerce, Away From Home, and retail with a diverse product portfolio spanning loose leaf tea, sachets, matcha, iced tea, tea concentrates, and ready-to-drink sparkling tea. The pinnacle of our assortment is our limited-release Garden Direct tea program. Garden Direct represents the highest expression of Rishi’s sourcing expertise: ultra-small-lot teas selected directly from exceptional gardens, often harvested seasonally and produced in limited quantities. These teas showcase rare varietals, distinctive terroir, and craftsmanship that cannot be replicated at scale. As Rishi continues to rapidly scale and redefine the premium tea category, this is a moment to join a brand with momentum, purpose, and the ambition to shape the future of how the world experiences tea. Position Summary The Regional Account Manager (RAM) is a highly knowledgeable, professional, and courteous guide to the world of Rishi Tea & Botanicals responsible for building strong partnerships with new and existing customers within their assigned territory by delivering best-in-class customer service and effectively managing the order lifecycle for these customers. Poised to have frequent communications with the region’s customers, the RAM will play a critical role in supporting sales initiatives with customers, and ensuring customer feedback and insights are captured, documented, and shared with the Regional Sales Manager, and/or the Territory Sales Executive supporting the account. In addition to managing the order lifecycle, the RAM will support several aspects of the account management activities and database upkeep, such as setting up new customers in our ERP system, and supporting customer sample orders. This is a great opportunity for the right candidate to learn the business, with a 6-12 month runway to becoming a Territory Sales Rep. Key Responsibilities Embody the Rishi mission: To be the authoritative, vanguard practitioner of tea and botanical arts Deliver a consistent, exceptional level of Customer Service to new and existing customers Own the order lifecycle and tangential information to process wholesale and distributor orders within the assigned territory: Enter into ERP wholesale and distributor orders and provide customer confirmation within 24 hours of receipt Inform customers of any known OOS items, manage the backorder process for those items, inform customers of estimated back in stock dates, and suggest available substitutions If unexpected OOS items are removed from sales orders at time of fulfillment, reach out to the customer to communicate through the backorder process Coach customers on our wholesale guidelines for order minimums and free shipping thresholds, and upsell curated suggestions to present options for the customer to reach those thresholds Update customers with order ETA and shipment tracking information Respond and advise customers on questions relating to product availability, in stock status, product ingredients, customer specific pricing or wholesale pricing Coordinate with finance team and Regional Sales Manager prior to releasing orders with any past due balances, or if the entered order would exceed customer credit limit Collect LTL (Less than Truck Load) customer receiving requirement information and keep BC and LTL forms accurately updated to reflect this information Coordinate order updates with fulfillment and any other necessary parties Support the customer lifecycle for new and existing customers: Collect wholesale customer applications and set up accounts in company ERP system (Business Central) Field and support customer calls within territory Under advisement from the Regional Sales Manager, support upselling activities, and consultative menu design for wholesale customers Support market research to identify customer trends, competitive threats, or potential prospective customers, as requested by the Regional Sales Manager Occasional in market support and regional travel with the Regional Team or Marketing Team to support pop up customer events, tastings or tradeshows As assigned in periods of e-commerce sales or high call volume, support scheduled shifts to answer and support consumers who call into Rishi customer service line Be the voice of and often the customers first impression of Rishi Accurately and efficiently transact orders received by email, voice, fax, or order portal Accurately modify or cancel orders; communicate order changes to relevant parties Work successfully with other departments to ensure the customer’s requests and/or concerns are accurately addressed (fulfillment, accounting, compliance, sales, R&D) Understand the needs and time sensitivities of VIP and high touch customers Must adhere to all food safety protocols as required by Rishi Tea's food safety management system, as they relate to this position Other duties and responsibilities as assigned Qualifications To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Education and/or Experience Required: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in a related field 2+ years Customer Service experience Self-motivated and proactive Enthusiastic and flexible with a positive attitude Organized with the ability to manage multiple ongoing tasks Proficient in Microsoft Office applications Experience with CRM or ERP systems Resourceful; Ability to solve problems and resolve conflicts independently Works well as a team and independently Strong attention to detail Excellent time management, prioritization, and organizational skills Strong sense of timeliness and inquire response times. Preferred: Experience with coffee, specialty food, wine, or tea Experience with CRM or ERP systems Core Values Enduring Relationships – Values establishing new and existing relationships; follows through on their commitments; considers the impacts of their decisions on others around them; shows respect and courtesy to others, has a positive attitude and effectively communicates in both written and oral conversation; resolves conflicting viewpoints constructively. Creative Solutions – is open to and offers new ideas and ways of accomplishing goals; adapts well to changes in work, methods, personnel and surroundings; offers suggestions and anticipates needs; takes notice of areas for improvement and takes appropriate action. Freedom with Responsibility – Effectively uses time to plan and prioritize work, set and accomplish goals and adhere to commitments on schedule; exercises the ability to decide correctly or choose the best course of action when a decision must be made; is available and responsive in a timely manner. Always Seeking – is familiar with, and where applicable, the subject matter expert, for their functional area and is familiar with the methods, practices and equipment needed to be successful; seeks out opportunities to advance their knowledge, is open to the opportunity to do so when asked; has a curiosity around learning how other functional areas work and are affected by the work they do; maintains an up to date understanding of their field including understanding of industry, competitors, regulations, advancements in tech, etc.; has an ongoing desire to enhance product knowledge. Best in Class – puts forth the most accurate, presentable and complete work possible and has a clear level of pride in the quality of work produced; consistently meets or exceeds goals, KPIs and performance targets; shows a willingness to accept supervision and feedback in order to improve; shows a concern for food and people safety in their day to day decision making. #J-18808-Ljbffr Rishi Tea & Botanicals