Job Vacancy: Growth Associate

Craft House Coffee is a Sussex-based, independent, specialty coffee company. We’re built on a foundation of ‘no compromise for absolute quality' - it impacts everything we do.

From our farmstead roastery, we source, roast, and hand-pack ethically traded and relationship coffees for wholesale customers worldwide, supplying to like-minded, quality-hooked independents and multi-site operators, including cafes, restaurants, and high-end retail. We also drop our range of coffees to homes around the world through our online shop and subscription service.

Our restless approach to ‘getting it right’ has seen us grow impressively since 2015 and we are now looking for an experienced, dynamic Growth Associate to join our crew, take ownership of our customer-facing activity and to get stuck in, to be frank.

The role will be responsible for account management and acquiring new customers, predominantly in the South East of England. The focus will be on opening high-quality wholesale accounts, both independent and multi-sites, as well as raising Craft House Coffee’s profile with the tribe of specialty coffee lovers up and down the UK.

Winning new business and retaining accounts is what it’s about. We take it personally. You will support our customer base with barista training and sound advice to ensure we are constantly driving quality and consistency, without exception. Your natural ability to build rapport and help businesses grow organically will be baked in.

Applying your strong coffee background to both product and equipment, you can host stellar tastings for new or existing customers and take them on a journey from design to implementation, including coffee selection, equipment recommendations, coffee bar design, barista workflows, and bespoke training plans. The full lot, the whole shebang.

A key working relationship exists with our external techies, to diagnose minor issues, whilst also ensuring equipment is being fully maintained by customers. At times you will be the main point of contact and know when best to triage it, grip it, or pass it on to the experts. You will also work tightly with our huddle of suppliers to ensure our product ranges are always on form.

The Southern region is our heartland, sandwiched between The South Downs and The Weald, and a working knowledge of the area is important. You must be wonderfully customer-obsessed, one to take an opportunity, and not be afraid to put in the graft.

The Highlights:

• Create, grip and land new wholesale business opportunities, locally and regionally, as a core focus.
• Build genuine, lasting relationships, positioning yourself as a trusted partner who deeply understands the commercial opportunities, needs, and operational pressures of hospitality.
• Communicate our unique proposition tailoring your sales approach to highlight what makes our coffee and partnership so valuable.
• Train, educate, and support customers daily, delivering quality barista training and operational expertise both on and off-site.
• Be diligent in managing new business records and documents, including customer information, sales activities, and follow-ups to ensure a smooth, efficient sales process.
• Liaise and leverage our supplier relationships to ensure we are capitalising on all equipment and training opportunities for our partners.
• Use our CRM system to analyse and regularly report on data, developing sales initiatives to maximise new opportunities and effectively get in front of businesses.
• Attend trade events and exhibitions as requested, as a committed Craft House Coffee representative, staying in-tune with specialty coffee developments, trends, and competitors.
• Be committed to future learning. The coffee industry is constantly evolving, and this role requires continuous improvement in your skills and industry knowledge. This positions you as an expert resource for all new business opportunities.
• Work alongside the wider Craft House team to deliver a five star customer experience.
• Any other associated duties as required.

The Standard

You need to be an intentional, relational, industry expert. This role requires a sharp focus on identifying businesses who share our commitment to quality, a drive to forge lasting partnerships, and the commitment to continuously understand and influence spaces.

The things that really matter:

• Experience of working in specialty coffee with a natural talent for creating connections.
• A natural ability to make all customers and prospects feel like they are winning.
• A flare for leading the conversation, being the centre of attention, and putting people at ease, with solid interpersonal skills, including the ability to influence a range of decision makers.
• An ability to self-manage, work independently, be organised, organise others, and stay on track.
• Be commercially astute
• Must be into the detail and not fear IT
• Full UK clean driving license and a will to travel.

A specific set of skills:

• Proven experience within the coffee industry, including time spent in hospitality roles.
• Demonstrable experience of delivering against objectives and targets.
• Fantastic organisational skills.
• Self-led with a natural ability to manage and prioritise workloads.
• Extremely comfortable communicating in person, networking, training, and presenting to people in groups.
• Good working knowledge of all Microsoft Office packages, and an ability to manage basic CRM systems.
• An understanding of CRM is beneficial but not essential.
• Basic espresso machine maintenance and asset management capability.

How you go about it:

• Must love coffee, it’s what it’s all about.
• Self-motivated with an aptitude to drive your own activity to deliver results.
• Excellent verbal and communication skills including the ability to handle a broad customer base, whilst presenting an energetic, proactive, and supportive mindset.
• A continuous drive to keep improving and pushing boundaries.
• Confidence in your own ability
• Comfortable with the idea of travel throughout a working week, with some weekend work as necessary.

The package:

• Competitive salary - £30,500 p/a
• Car allowance £400 p/m + business miles
• Statutory pension
• 28 days holidays (inc. bank holidays)