Distillery Commercial Coordinator in Kilmarnock

Location: Lochlea Distillery

Employment type: Permanent, full time

Reporting to: Commercial Director

Salary: £27-£31k dependent on experience

Lochlea is an independent, family-owned Single Estate Single Malt Whisky Distillery based in the heart of South Ayrshire, Scotland. An award-winning Lowland whisky producer, we grow our own barley, distil and mature our whisky on our working farm. Farming is at the core of everything we do, making Lochlea a distillery born from the land rather than simply located on it.

The Role

The Commercial Coordinator is an integral part of the Commercial Team, working with the Commercial Director and the wider commercial team to support the development of our UK and International markets through the provision of exceptional sales and marketing support. The role is the key link with colleagues in Operations, Sales, Finance, External Agencies and Distributors, delivering service excellence to customers.

Key responsibilities

• Sales support
  • Liaise with the commercial team to maintain and communicate accurate price lists, Advertising and Promotion (A&P) levels and product data
  • Assist the commercial team with customer set-up, liaising with customers and finance to create new customer accounts and obtaining and providing the necessary trading terms
  • Maintain customer forecasts, updating relevant systems and liaising with Production to ensure adequate stocks
  • Assist with new business enquiries, providing proformas and price lists where required
  • Deal with ad-hoc sales enquiries that come through via the website
  • Supply sales sheets, marketing collateral and any other relevant information that a customer requires
  • Maintain the CRM and support sales reporting for the Commercial Director
  • Work with the finance department to ensure A&P and commission records are correct
  • Act as a key point of liaison for our customers
  • Communicate customer complaints to the relevant departments and follow up where required
  • Coordinate customer visits to the distillery, assisting with travel, accommodation and catering where required
  • Take and circulate notes at company team meetings
• Marketing support
  • Act as the key liaison between Lochlea’s marketing and PR agencies and the Commercial Director
  • Support customers with information sheets, samples and distributor communications
  • Coordinate the logistics for events, tastings and trade shows, including bookings, stock and materials
  • Provide brand information including photography, guidelines, artwork and adverts
  • Ensure the Brand Asset Library is up to date
  • Keep product and stockist information current on the website and supply assets for social media and newsletters
  • Maintain a running log of press coverage, awards and reviews
  • Work with agencies and the commercial team to ensure industry competitions are entered, for both the distillery and its whiskies
  • Work with Creative Manager to source best price and quality point of sale materials to support sales team
  • Arrange and despatch point of sale, samples and supporting documentation for customers and the commercial team
• Visitor centre support
  • Run the online booking system on tour days, managing reservations and controlling availability
  • Answer the tour enquiries telephone line whenever tours are running
  • Reply to email enquiries about tour and private bookings
  • Brief the wider Lochlea team on the day’s operations when the distillery is open to visitors
  • Pass on details of upcoming visits, bespoke bookings and special requests
  • Look after experience collateral, including glassware, tasting stock, leaflets, driver’s dram bottles, labels and bags
  • Be the contact for affiliate partnerships with hotels, B&Bs, concierges, tour operators, golf courses and Ayrshire Tourism

About you

• A background in first-class customer and sales support
• Used to providing administrative support to several stakeholders at once, inside and outside the company
• Articulate and confident when engaging with customers
• Tact and integrity when handling queries and complaints
• Strong analytical and organisational skills
• Confident with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Teams
• Comfortable working across a small business like ours
• Familiar with supporting non-UK markets in a sales, marketing, administrative or customer liaison capacity
• Knowledge of the spirits industry helps but is not essential
• Foreign languages are welcome, though not required
• The right to work in the UK

What we offer

• Competitive salary
• Workplace pension
• Supportive leadership in a collaborative culture
• 28 days annual leave plus 4 statutory holidays
• Staff discount on Lochlea products