BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & ACCOUNT MANAGER

SQF Food Manufacturing

Department: Sales / Business Development
Reports To: [Director of Sales /CEO]
Position Type: Full-Time
Location: Carolina CoPacking, LLC

POSITION SUMMARY

The Account Relationship Manager is a relationship-driven role at the intersection of account management, sales support, and customer service within a food manufacturing environment. This person owns the day-to-day health of assigned customer accounts, including national brand partners, building the kind of trust and rapport that keeps customers loyal, drives repeat business, and supports revenue growth alongside the sales team. Success in this role requires genuine relationship-building instincts, sharp problem-solving skills, and working knowledge of food manufacturing operations and SQF (Safe Quality Food) standards, since customers increasingly expect their point of contact to speak fluently about quality, safety, and compliance. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced plant environment and motivated by building long-term customer partnerships. This role also carries an active business development mandate: the right person will not wait for inbound leads to arrive but will proactively pursue new co-manufacturing opportunities, represent CCP at trade shows and industry events, and work qualified prospects through the full sales cycle from initial outreach to signed agreement.

Key Requirements

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent required; associate’s or bachelor’s degree in Business, Communications, Food Science, or a related field preferred.

Experience

• 5+ years in a customer success, account management, or inside sales role, ideally within food manufacturing, CPG, or a related industry.
• Experience supporting or managing accounts for national or branded customers is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated history of new business development in a B2B environment: outbound prospecting, pipeline management, and closing new logo accounts, ideally within food manufacturing, co-manufacturing, CPG, or food ingredients.
• Existing relationships within the food and beverage brand or CPG community are a meaningful differentiator.
• Comfort owning a full sales cycle, from cold outreach and qualification through capability presentations, pricing negotiations, and contract execution.
• Familiarity with SQF, HACCP, or other GFSI-recognized food safety programs strongly preferred.
• Experience with order management systems, CRM tools), and customer service software.

Skills

• Excellent relationship-building instincts: able to build genuine rapport and trust with customers, understand their business goals, and become a go-to resource rather than just an order-taker.
• Strong account management skills: proactively monitoring account health, spotting growth opportunities, and flagging risk before it becomes a problem.
• Comfort supporting sales conversations with national or key accounts, including pricing discussions, contract details, and program rollouts.
• Working knowledge of SQF requirements and how food safety/quality certifications (organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, allergen programs) affect customer decisions.
• Proven ability to prospect and qualify new co-manufacturing opportunities, including cold outreach, discovery calls, capability walkthroughs, and managing multiple active opportunities simultaneously in a CRM.
• Ability to build a credible financial case for prospective customers: landed cost modeling, freight impact, contribution margin awareness, and contract structure basics.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to multitask and manage multiple customer accounts and orders simultaneously.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and CRM software.

Work Environment

• Office-based, with regular phone, email, and video communication with customers.
• Regular travel (estimated 15-25% of time) to customer sites, trade shows, and industry events to represent CCP, develop prospect relationships, and advance active opportunities.
• Fast-paced manufacturing environment requiring adaptability to shifting customer needs and production realities.

Key Responsibilities

Account Management & Relationship Building

• Serve as the trusted day-to-day point of contact for a portfolio of customer accounts, including national brand partners, building relationships that go beyond transactional support.
• Proactively check in with key accounts to understand evolving needs, flag opportunities for growth, and identify risk of churn before it surfaces.
• Partner closely with the sales team on national account strategy, attending business reviews, supporting renewal conversations, and helping translate account history into sales opportunities.
• Own the customer experience through onboarding, ramp-up, and ongoing account life, ensuring every touchpoint reinforces reliability and partnership.

Customer Interaction

• Serve as the primary point of contact for customer inquiries via phone, email, or online channels.
• Provide accurate, timely information on product availability, pricing, and specifications.
• Resolve customer complaints related to orders, product quality, delivery, and service.

Order Processing and Management

• Enter and manage customer orders, coordinating with production and logistics for accurate fulfillment.
• Track orders from submission through delivery, proactively communicating delays or changes.
• Monitor shipping and delivery timelines and provide ongoing status updates.

Product & Food Safety Knowledge

• Maintain in-depth knowledge of product lines, manufacturing processes, and SQF/food safety standards.
• Confidently answer customer questions about ingredients, manufacturing processes, and certifications (organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, allergen-free, etc.).
• Serve as a credible resource on quality and compliance topics that matter to national brand customers and their own downstream retailers.

Problem Solving and Issue Resolution

• Investigate and resolve product discrepancies, delivery delays, or quality concerns in partnership with production, QA, and logistics.
• Deliver fast, effective solutions and escalate complex issues to management when needed.

Sales Support and Business Development

• Partner with the sales team on account maintenance, product information, pricing support, and order tracking for national and key accounts.
• Handle requests for samples, promotional materials, spec sheets, and certifications.
• Lead new customer onboarding, ensuring accurate account setup and CRM data entry.
• Own outbound prospecting activity: identify target brands and CPG companies whose product and volume profiles align with CCP's wet co-manufacturing capabilities, initiate contact, and move qualified opportunities through the pipeline.
• Represent CCP at trade shows, food industry conferences, and networking events with a clear objective of generating qualified leads and advancing active prospects.
• Develop and deliver capability presentations and facility overviews tailored to prospective customers, translating CCP's SQF certification, fill capabilities, and operational strengths into a compelling commercial story.
• Manage the full new-business sales cycle from initial outreach through signed co-manufacturing agreement, coordinating internally on pricing, capacity, and contract terms.
• Maintain accurate pipeline records in HubSpot, including lead source, stage, estimated volume, and next steps, to support forecasting and leadership visibility.

Data Management and Reporting

• Maintain accurate, up-to-date customer records in the CRM.
• Generate and analyze reports on order volume, customer feedback, and resolution rates for management and sales leadership.
• Track and report on business development pipeline metrics, including outreach volume, conversion rates, pipeline value, and new logo closed revenue.

Team Collaboration

• Work cross-functionally with production, sales, logistics, QA and accounting to ensure seamless order fulfillment and account support.
• Participate in team meetings to share customer feedback, account insights, and service improvement ideas.