Sales and Operations Assistant

Job Description

This is an exciting opportunity to embark on a career in sales and be part of a growing team, working alongside our Operations Manager and Managing Director. 

As a Sales Assistant at skinflint you will be the first point of contact for all our clients, both private and commercial. You will be focused on providing exceptional customer service and experience at every stage of their journey, from enquiry and administrating paperwork, to selecting products and dispatching orders. Nurturing these relationships, you will simultaneously develop in-depth knowledge of our unique vintage lighting range. The ability to manage your own workload, alongside a resilience to juggling multiple tasks whilst prioritising effectively, is a must.

You’ll be a clear and confident communicator, with a friendly yet professional written and verbal manner. You’ll be self-motivated, organised with a meticulous eye for detail and have excellent time management skills. You will need the ability to work under your own initiative as well as collaborating with a small team, so interpersonal skills are essential. You’ll also be an enthusiastic learner, retaining the confidence and desire to develop your own learning, as well as the wider ethos of the business.

As part of your induction, you’ll undertake an extensive journey of learning through all areas of the business to fully understand the niche position of the company, the diverse range of lighting products we refurbish, and the team we work with. We pride ourselves on our high level of customer service and the exclusive nature of the items we retail, and the successful candidate will reflect all of these qualities.

This full-time role is based in our wharfside warehouse studio overlooking the estuary near Falmouth. It is an exciting opportunity to develop your skills and work alongside an ambitious, passionate team focused on sustainable business and doing things differently.

Responsibilities & duties

• Deliver exceptional customer service whilst maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction.
• Assist the sales team with handling and responding to phone, online and face-to-face enquiries.
• Communicate with clients on a proactive and reactive basis with a friendly yet professional approach.
• Approach every client enquiry with consideration and understanding of their B2B or B2C requirements.
• Build a rapport with clients to understand their individual needs and project requirements, recommending suitable products and ensuring all their needs are met.
• In accordance with skinflint’s evolving sales and client liaison strategy, proactively develop and maintain a close working relationship with existing key and new clients.
• Monitor and effectively follow up all active client leads, actively engaging with clients to drive sales, maximise profitability and achieve targets.
• Assist the sales team with generating and issuing any sales related paperwork to clients in a timely and accurate manner.
• Assist the sales team with all UK and international client enquiries, reviewing and understanding their bespoke requirements.
• Schedule and manage the daily selection of products for packing and dispatch, ensuring our high-quality control procedures are consistently met.
• Develop an understanding for our bespoke shipping requirements ensuring every order is considered and shipped appropriately, and providing international clients with accurate shipping costs.
• Coordinate with the wider team to manage the dispatch of both UK and international orders, ensuring shipments are sent in a timely manner and meet our clients’ expectations. 
• Generate all courier and delivery paperwork accordingly, including all necessary export documentation for international shipments .
• Assisting with handling all client feedback, product issues and complaints proactively in a timely and professional manner, reporting to the wider team when necessary.
• As and when necessary, process card payments and refunds adhering to our GDPR policy.
• Proactively update all client records across all our CRM and CMS platforms.
• Actively participating in weekly sales meetings providing feedback and information for the team on all relevant orders from new and existing clients.
• Assist the sales team with prop hire clients, understanding their niche requirements and ensuring orders are fulfilled, often within tight timescales.
• Welcome client appointments to the studio, and hold face-to face-meeting/video calls to establish their needs and advise on suitable products.
• Assist the sales team in managing product listings with third-party retailers and on online platforms.
• Consult and coordinate with the workshop team for any technical product requests or custom modifications for clients.
• Develop in-depth knowledge of skinflint’s product range, keeping up to date with all available and upcoming lighting stock.
• Develop knowledge and understanding of key technical lighting terminology to be able to respond to any product enquiries or questions accordingly.
• Occasionally there may be a requirement to work unsociable hours including weekends and evenings when necessary for example for trade events.
• As working as part of a small and dynamic team would be happy to take on other responsibilities as and when necessary.

Company Description

At skinflint we’ve combined a passion for classic design with a commitment to sustainability to become Europe’s leading vintage lighting retailer. All of the lights we salvage are exclusively high-quality originals, and each unique piece has a story to tell...

Respecting and preserving the heritage of each light we reclaim, we sensitively restore without compromising character, and expertly refurbish to the highest modern-day standards. We also offer a lifetime guarantee and repairs, and a product buy-back scheme. Our aim? To keep lights out of landfill and in use forever. And more widely, to promote a sustainable circular approach to design and consumption.

This ethos threads through everything we do – from our people, to our products and supply chain - that’s how we became a Certified B Corp in December 20201. Being a B Corp means we’re legally required to consider our social and environmental impact and are held accountable for our actions. We look to initiatives that support a triple bottom line approach to sustainable business, and in doing so balance purpose with profit. We firmly believe that all individuals and businesses, large and small, can make a difference in protecting our planet.

We work with renowned innovative brands, interior designers and architects on high-profile projects across the globe. But we get equally as excited seeing our lights in people’s homes and collaborating with independent, like-minded, forward-thinking start-ups on our doorstep.

Other Application Details

What we offer

We’re a Certified B Corp, which means we always consider our impact on our communities and our people. We offer a wide range of employee benefits, including:

• Social events, including up to six team days every year.
• Career development, including training and learning opportunities, to support personal development.
• A generous holiday allowance, with 28 days (pro-rata), plus +2 days (pro-rata) due to company closure at Christmas.
• LongService +1 day, for every year of service, up to 10 extra days holiday per annum (pro-rata)
• Birthday holiday day redeemed in the week of your birthday (Monday-Sunday)
• Sustainable travel, including a cycle-to-work scheme, and two journey days.
• Volunteering days, to encourage our team to be involved with the local communities, and give back.
•  A range of health and wellness initiatives, including free eye tests, and an employee assistance programme (EAP)
• Rewards, including an employee pension with ethical investment options, employee discount, and Christmas gifts, selected to support the B Corp community. 

What you offer

Essential:

• Proven and demonstrable  sales and customer service experience.
• Passion and aspiration to communicate with clients with a friendly, engaging and professional telephone/email manner.
• Competent in using customer relationship management (CRM) and content management system (CMS) software.
• Meticulous eye for detail, logical and methodical approach to tasks.
• Be self-motivated and organised, while being resilient to handling multiple responsibilities and prioritising effectively.
• Degree level qualification, and English/Maths GCSE at grade C or above. ? Highly competent in all Microsoft Office packages and strong IT skills.
• A creative bringer of ideas and ability to think out of the box!
• A team player.

Desirable:

• Sales qualifications or training an advantage.
• Previous sales and customer service experience with a design or lighting brand.
• Experience in Adobe Creative Suite programmes including Photoshop.
• Creative skills including writing, photography and filmmaking.
• Foreign language.

At skinflint, our people are valued, respected, heard and encouraged to be their unique selves. We know that our people define our success and that a good idea can come from anywhere. That’s why we create and maintain diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and are committed to equal employment opportunities. We will continue to build an inclusive team from a variety of backgrounds, skills and views through a non discriminatory application, interview and hiring process.

If you have questions, or needs that require accommodation, please do get in touch with us.

HOW TO APPLY

• To make an application please click 'register and apply' or 'login and apply', and send your CV and Covering Letter 
• Interviews will be held at our wharfside warehouse studio near Falmouth