Account Manager

Location: Guardsman Global LLC – 1191 E. Main St. East Dundee, IL 60118 Job Type: Full-time Exempt The Account Manager is responsible for owning the customer experience and coordinating the successful execution of assigned customer projects from initial handoff through production, delivery, and ongoing account support. This role combines project management and client success responsibilities, serving as both the primary day-to-day customer contact and the central internal coordinator across Sales, Purchasing, Scheduling, Production, Quality, Regulatory, Shipping, and Warehouse teams. Key Responsibilities: Customer Relationship Management & Client Success Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for assigned customer accounts and build strong, professional long-term relationships. Maintain proactive communication regarding project status, production schedules, deliveries, approvals, open items, and changes that may affect the customer. Develop a strong understanding of each customer’s products, priorities, expectations, and business needs. Respond to customer questions and concerns promptly, coordinate internal resolution, and escalates critical issues when appropriate. Support customer satisfaction and retention through consistent follow-up, responsiveness, accountability, and reliable execution. Project Management & Execution Manage assigned customer projects from purchase order or internal handoff through final production, shipment, and completion. Develop, maintain, and communicate project timelines, milestones, deliverables, approvals, and action items. Coordinate new product launches, product revisions, packaging or artwork changes, and other customer-specific initiatives. Monitor project progress, identify risks or delays early, and drive follow-up with responsible departments to keep commitments on track. Ensure project documentation, customer requirements, and status information remain accurate, complete, and current. Cross-Functional & Operational Coordination Serve as the central coordinator between Sales, Purchasing, Scheduling, Production, Quality, Regulatory, Shipping, Warehouse, and other departments supporting the account. Coordinate project readiness, including material availability, specifications, artwork, approvals, quality/regulatory requirements, and production needs. Facilitate project meetings and communicate priorities, deadlines, ownership, and next steps as needed. Escalate resource constraints, risks, delays, or unresolved issues that could affect customer commitments. Maintain alignment between customer expectations and Guardsman Global’s operational capabilities. Maintain organized customer and project records within CRM, ERP, and internal systems, including communications, action items, approvals, and account activity. Provide clear project and account status updates to customers, Sales, leadership, and internal stakeholders. Participate in customer meetings, project calls, business reviews, and internal planning discussions as appropriate. Support Sales with account follow-up, project planning, customer-facing materials, reporting, and transition of new opportunities into execution. Identify opportunities to improve service, strengthen customer partnerships, support retention, and contribute to account growth. Identify recurring customer or project challenges and recommend improvements to processes, communication, and workflow efficiency. Help standardize account management and project management tools, procedures, reporting, and communication practices. Follow projects and customer commitments through completion and maintain accountability for open items across departments. Support continuous improvement initiatives that enhance the customer experience and improve internal execution. Qualifications & Skills Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Operations, Sales, Supply Chain, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered. Minimum of three (3) years of experience in account management, client success, project management, project coordination, manufacturing operations, or a related role. Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple customer accounts and projects simultaneously. Excellent written and verbal communication, relationship-building, and cross-functional collaboration skills. Strong problem-solving, critical-thinking, follow-through, and prioritization abilities. Experience working with CRM and ERP systems, Microsoft Office, and project tracking or reporting tools. Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment with changing priorities and deadlines. Manufacturing, consumer packaged goods (CPG), FDA-regulated, or industrial industry experience preferred. #J-18808-Ljbffr Guardsman Global