Account Manager

Account ManagerThe Account Manager is responsible for managing inbound sales leads, onboarding new customers, and overseeing ongoing food and beverage waste accounts, with a particular emphasis on scheduling and logistics management. This position serves as the primary point of contact between customers and the facility's Business Development, Operations, Administrative, Transportation, and Accounting teams.The Account Manager takes ownership of the customer relationship—from the initial inquiry and discovery call through onboarding, scheduling, service management, and ongoing customer support. Success in this position requires excellent communication, attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to coordinate effectively across multiple internal departments.Responsibilities include:Respond promptly and professionally to prospective customers from a variety of sources, including: website inquiry form submissions, emails and phone calls, calls transferred from the company's main line, internal referrals, prospective customers who arrive at the facility without an appointment.Coordinate with the Scale House Manager to obtain contact information for prospective customers and conduct timely follow-up.Conduct friendly and thorough discovery calls to understand each prospect's material, service, scheduling, and transportation needs.Confidently explain the company's facilities, services, capabilities, intake requirements, and operating policies.Maintain consistent follow-up with prospective customers throughout the sales and onboarding process.Take ownership of the onboarding process, from the initial discovery call through account activation and follow-up.Proactively understand the ever-changing needs of the operations team and professionally translate to customers.Establish clear expectations regarding the facility's food and beverage intake processes, including scheduling requirements, material acceptance standards, packaging requirements, and applicable policies.Collaborate with management and internal departments to determine: customer pricing and service rates, feedstock eligibility, anticipated delivery frequency and volume, transportation and hauling requirements, contract requirements and execution.Send customers the appropriate onboarding documents and clearly communicate all requirements.Work with Operations and the Accounting Coordinator to confirm that onboarding documents are complete and accurate before activating a new account.Obtain and verify Certificates of Insurance from approved haulers, when applicable.Ensure required payment arrangements are established before service begins.Manage assigned food and beverage waste accounts.Serve as the primary customer contact for scheduling, service questions, troubleshooting, and account support.Manage daily and weekly inbound tonnage schedule to help maintain appropriate operating capacity.Confirm that incoming material is an approved and viable feedstock.Review how food and beverage material will arrive, including its packaging, transportation method, and condition.Coordinate inbound schedules and communicate daily schedules to relevant internal teams.Ensure customer payments are appropriately arranged.Maintain accurate customer records, service details, and account documentation.Communicate proactively with customers regarding scheduling changes, service limitations, rejected material, contamination, or other operational concerns.Remain accessible by phone and email during business hours—and before or after hours when necessary—to troubleshoot issues, solve problems, and support scheduling needs.Collaborate daily with the following internal teams: Operations, Scale House, Accounting, Transportation and Logistics, Compatibility.Maintain open communication with Operations and the Lead Process Engineer regarding incoming feedstocks, packaging types, delivery methods, and anticipated volumes.Conduct an initial review of Safety Data Sheets, nutritional information, and other supporting documentation before submitting materials to the Lead Process Engineer for approval.Support tote and container swap programs by ensuring that instructions and schedules are clearly communicated to both customers and facility operators.Identify potential recycling opportunities associated with incoming materials, including OCC and PET recovery and baling.Monitor capacity and coordinate with internal teams before confirming customer deliveries or changes in volume.Coordinate the development of Certificates of Destruction when requested or required.Notify Operations, the Scale House, and Accounting when a Certificate of Destruction is needed.Obtain supporting photographs from Q2 and provide them to Accounting.Review Certificates of Destruction for accuracy and ensure they are completed and delivered promptly.Notify Accounting when additional fees should be applied to a customer's account, including disrupted pallet fees, contamination fees, unscheduled load fees, demurrage fees, other applicable service or handling fees.Provide Accounting with the information and supporting documentation needed to invoice customers accurately.Work with the Transportation Manager and third-party haulers to develop hauling rates.Communicate and negotiate hauling rates with customers.Design right-sized transportation programs based on each customer's operational needs, including live loads, drop-trailer programs, trailers staged at customer locations, recurring or on-demand pickups.Schedule hauls with the Transportation Manager and communicate pickup and delivery details to customers.Ensure transportation arrangements are coordinated accurately and completed on time.Gather feedback from the Transportation Manager regarding live-load delays or other service issues.Coordinate applicable demurrage or additional transportation fees with Accounting.Troubleshoot transportation issues and keep customers informed of changes or delays.Minimum Job Qualifications include:Must be able to be at the Southington facility on a hybrid schedule.10+ years of professional experience in a business environment.Bachelor's degree in communications, business administration, or a related field preferred.Experience in business development, sales, account management, or customer service.Experience within the recycling, sustainability, or waste management industry is preferred but not required.Experience supporting customers within a medium- to large-sized organization preferred.Excellent verbal and written communication skills.Strong organization and ability to manage multiple priorities.Professional, proactive, confident, and customer-focused.Ability to remain calm and de-escalate challenging situations.Strong critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to anticipate needs and identify forward-thinking solutions.EEOC: Circular Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind: Circular Services is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Circular Services are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Circular Services will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.