Sales Coordinator

Sales Coordinator/Representative

Iowa Prison Industries (IPI) is seeking a dynamic, self-motivated person to join our team as a Sales Coordinator/Representative in our Des Moines Sales & Customer Service office. This position's primary role is the sales representation of IPI products and services to eligible customers in assigned markets throughout the State of Iowa. The position is classified as a State Industries Production / Sales Coordinator. The primary assigned markets will be County Government, K-12 Education, Non-Profit Organizations, Health Care Facilities, and select Regents Institutions throughout the State of Iowa. Iowa Prison Industries, a division of the Department of Corrections, trains incarcerated individuals in our work programs skills needed to be successful citizens upon release. IPI markets the products and services produced in our facilities to governmental agencies, colleges and universities, public and private school districts, health care facilities, and non-profit groups. As a self-funded agency, IPI relies on the sales of our products and services to provide our valuable work training programs.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Manages assigned key accounts in assigned market/territory through comprehensive needs assessment, account planning, and customer engagement to drive sales and products and services.
• Develops and maintains sustainable, long-lasting working relationships with key customers by performing follow-up meetings, regular business reviews and ensuring consistent communication.
• Manages key projects from initial customer contact through order placement ensuring customer satisfaction throughout the project process.
• Analyzes customer data to identify opportunities for growth via upselling and cross-selling.
• Ensures customer satisfaction by bridging the gaps between customer requirements and innovative solutions.
• Works with internal teams (sales manager, plant managers, customer service team, shops) to resolve customer issues or challenges.
• Responsible for the sales representation of all divisions of IPI products and Services to assigned market/territory.
• Prospects and cold-calls potential new customers in assigned market.
• Conducts product demos and gives presentations either on-location or in the IPI showroom.
• Coordinates with Customer Service all activities needed to provide orders to assigned plants.
• Provides marketing data to internal teams consisting of shop incarcerated individuals, shop staff, marketing, and customer service directed to specific market segments for products and offerings.
• Achieves sales budget and growth goals within specific market segments.
• Generates new customers in specific market segments.
• Provides project management expertise on selected larger Market projects.
• Provides training and consultation to customers, prospects, and incarcerated individuals on IPI new products and services.
• Works with Marketing Team to help develop needed products and marketing plans for assigned market segments.
• Works market appropriate trade shows, customer meetings, etc. as needed.

Preferred Applicants Will Possess:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to prepare written and oral reports.
• Sales experience to educational, governmental, and / or non-profit markets highly preferred.
• Selected candidate must pass background check.
• Must meet all minimum qualification requirements of State Industries Production / Sales Coordinator job classification.

Other:

• Standard hours are Monday through Friday.
• Travel and overnight stays across Iowa as needed to meet requirements.
• Assigned markets are subject to change at any time.
• Position will work out of IPI's Des Moines Sales Office & Showroom at 1445 E Grand Avenue (just 2 blocks east of the Capitol).
• Position will be assigned a State Vehicle for use during business hours.

E-Verify and Right to Work: The State of Iowa participates in E-Verify, a federal program that helps employers confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. Within the required timeframe, new hires will be verified through the E-Verify system to ensure authorization to work in the United States. The State of Iowa also complies with the federal Right to Work laws, which protect employees' rights to work without being required to join a labor organization. For more information, please visit

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:

1. Three years of full-time work experience in the direction of employees in one of the following areas related to the manufacture and delivery of Iowa State Industries products or services:
• Wood Furniture Fabrication cutting, planing, shaping, routing, gluing, staining, and assembling wood furniture.
• Upholstery Fabrication: cutting patterns, sewing, stitching, tacking, gluing, and assembling fabric and foam upholstery items.
• Braille Production: translation of printed documents into Literary and/or Nemeth Code Braille using the Perkins Braille writer and/or computer translation programs, thermoforming, binding, producing raised line drawings.
• Graphics Arts Production: layout, proofing, darkroom operation, screen-printing, press operation (offset, duplicator, desktop publishing), binding, and cost estimating.
• Chemical Formulation: mixing, blending, bottling, packaging, and labeling personal care, floor care, kitchen, laundry, and bathroom chemical products.
• Sign Fabrication: blanking, shaping, and forming metal, wood, and plastic into sign substrate. Application of reflective or non-reflective sheeting to substrate to produce traffic control signs.
• Warehouse Operations: receiving, accounting for, storing, and disbursing raw materials, component parts, and finished products. Loading, unloading, routing, and dispatching delivery vehicles.
• Service Center Operation: receiving, processing, recording, and fulfilling incoming telephonic calls. Initiating, recording, and servicing outgoing calls. Responding to and servicing mailed and electronically transferred requests for information; using computers to provide services.
• Industrial Safety: implementing and administering programs to ensure compliance with the standards of regulatory agencies (OSHA, EPA, etc.) in manufacturing plants. Providing safety training to personnel in industrial plants.
• Manufacturing Support Services and Production Control: coordinating the disbursement of raw materials and component parts to production shops; scheduling the output of production shops to ensure efficient final assembly; scheduling and routing delivery of finished goods; coordinating on-site installation of large projects between production, delivery, contracted vendors, and customers; inventory control; quality control; micro-graphics, or computer based production control and support.
2. Three years of full-time work experience in the supervision and training of correctional residents or employees in the manufacture and delivery of products or services.
3. A total of three years of education and/or full-time experience in sales or marketing, where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university coursework in sales or marketing equals one year of full-time experience.
4. Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes one year of full-time work as a State Industries Production Technician.

Additional Qualification Requirements:

Within a period of time after hire, as determined by the appointing authority, persons in this class may be required to obtain a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and endorsements.

Travel, including overnight travel, may be required for positions in this class. Employees must arrange transportation to and from assigned work areas.