Sales Operation Specialist I

Job Description

Job Description

Join a team that nourishes life from farm to table! Upstate Niagara Cooperative, proudly owned by 200+ local family farms, is one of America’s largest and most stable dairy cooperatives. Guided by farmer- and employee-led values, we process and market high-quality milk, yogurt, dips, sour cream, cottage cheese, and more under our trusted brands: Upstate Farms®, Bison®, Milk for Life®, and Intense Milk®. Here, you’ll support sustainable farming, strong communities, and the mission to deliver fresh, local dairy to families every day.

The Sales Operations Specialist I will work very closely with the sales team, reseller channel partners, & distributor partners to help drive channel relationship execution and ease of partnership. The Sales Operations Specialist I is customer-oriented and will build customer loyalty by facilitating a frictionless sales process as the customer-facing front line team member.

Work Location: In Office

The Sales Operations Specialist I provides overall day-to-day support to ensure the effective data management of all sales proposals and opportunities. Administrative tasks include managing multiple inputs on updates to customer portals, sales revenue, and opportunity forecasts, participating in business development/opportunity tracking calls and providing support to the marketing department.

Additionally, this role will maintain effective communication with managers across the company to ensure proper sensitivity to the needs of the sales force and provide outstanding customer support. This position works to ensure all sales objectives are completed in a timely fashion. Proactively monitoring and striving to maintain high levels of quality, accuracy, and process consistency in the sales organization’s planning efforts.

Being an initiative-taker is critical, as this person will work directly with cross-functional teams to develop, plan, launch, manufacture, and market their assigned customer accounts.

Ideal Candidate:

• Prepare and manage on-time and accurate reporting (weekly, monthly, quarterly).
• Support bid management and submission processes as needed.
• Monitor and track customer complaints, orders, and production statuses.
• Support pricing requests, document requests, and handle reporting RFIs/RFQs.
• Customer portal request and facilitate product release reviews.
• Support customer meetings and new product/item code launches.
• Collaborate with the Customer Relations team to manage inventory issues (short code, overruns, etc.).
• Support customer sample requests with communication, tracking and follow up on any issues.
• Manage item transition process to support the purchasing team and minimize obsolescence while meeting customer objectives.
• Collaborate with the internal teams to ensure compliance with customer programs and document trade allowances and deductions.
• The ability to navigate the organization to address challenges and get answers.
• Adhere to cross-training plan as assigned by your manager.
• Desire to learn product portfolio.
• Interest in gaining knowledge of the financial drivers of our business and that of our customers.
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications:

• Proficient in MS Office, especially Excel, with strong data analysis skills.
• Experience with financial modeling and analytical tools.
• Able to analyze raw data creatively and produce actionable insights.
• Strong team player with excellent organizational, multi-tasking, and project management skills.
• High attention to detail, strong communication (both written and oral), and negotiation abilities.
• Capable of working independently, setting priorities, and meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Creative, resourceful, and willing to explore new approaches to problem-solving.

Education and Experience:

• College Degree/Diploma in relevant course of study preferred, or high school diploma with equivalent relevant work experience.

Pay: $23.00-$27.00 per hour*

* The salary range listed for this position represents the good faith and reasonable minimum and maximum pay for this role at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, training, knowledge, education, and overall qualifications. The posted salary range reflects just one component of our total rewards package. Other components of the total rewards package may include participation in group health and/or dental insurance, retirement plan, wellness program, paid time away from work, and paid holidays.

Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc. is committed to equal employment opportunity for all, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic.