Fine Wine Desk Manager (Wine Jobs: Sales & Marketing)

The Wine Company is a thriving independent and family-led wine business whose head office is based within an idyllic countryside business location benefitting from easy access between Colchester and Ipswich via the A12. Our Wine Cellar shop and local warehouse are located just a few minutes’ drive away.

Independent, Specialist Wine Business

The Wheeler family wine heritage relates back to 1883 and is widely regarded as one of the UK’s leading wine families. Johnny Wheeler is the sixth generation to continue the well respected family wine tradition and in 2014 he founded the Wine Company. The business specialises in the direct to consumer premium wine market and has two trading brands www.mrwheelerwine.com and the recently acquired www.fromvineyardsdirect.com. The company is an independent merchant with dynamic online & direct business and a fast-growing fine wine (under bond) service. Both brands focus on high quality current wines for drinking priced between £10 and £40 a bottle, mostly shipped directly from growers in France, Italy and Spain. The fine wine business (where this role will sit), sells our full range of wine and client services including en primeur broking, fine wine trading and cellar management for private clients. The wines cover the big en primeur campaigns such as the current Bordeaux 2020 vintage, an impressive growing Burgundy portfolio and prestige fine wine releases such as Sassicaia, Cristal, Henschke and Dominus, to name a few.

The Position

We are looking for an experienced fine wine manager to join our expert team and to support our fast-growing fine wine desk service whilst supporting the impressive dynamic growth of the company as a whole. This head office based, client facing role, is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to grasp a new challenge and make a significant impact on the company’s future success and develop their own career.

Positive, enthusiastic, passionate about fine wine, you will be a first-class communicator and team player. You have excellent relationship-building skills and deliver exceptional levels of client service. The right candidate will quickly establish a close liaison with clients and inspire a strong degree of loyalty. A significant part of your role will include creating offers, advising on wines and helping clients to navigate the intriguing world of fine wine. You will support them on a journey as they build their collection for future enjoyment. You will also play a key role in the development of our systems and processes as we continue to fulfil our growing demand whilst maintaining the personal touch.

We require at least 5 years’ experience in business, of which a minimum of 3 will have been in a fine wine private client role, with a track record of building relationships and maximising sales opportunities. You will be comfortable creating sales campaigns and identifying opportunities whether from selected wine stocks or a customer targeted approach. You will be ready to move up to managing our fine wine desk and coordinating our programme of activity in line with our objectives.

The ideal candidate will help nurture and develop our growing clientele and have an in-depth knowledge of wine, as well as a proven track record of increasing sales and private client satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Building and maintaining a portfolio of active private client accounts, ensuring regular and proactive contact with clients, remotely or face-to-face, as well as a timely response to enquiries.
• Managing the program of fine wine campaigns in order to deliver sales and targets.
• Sales campaign management and copywriting for offers.
• Organising and attending tastings and winemaker dinners with clients.
• Offering relevant, quality advice to clients and providing comprehensive and accurate information on client cellars and wine trading opportunities.
• Close management of outstanding receivables on client accounts.
• Convert enquiries and leads supplied into sales and long-term relationship.
• Analysis of sales campaigns and actions for improvement.
• An excellent understanding of the wine market, including fine wine, is essential
• Strong ability to prioritise with superb organisational skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Driven, ambitious and committed to service excellence
• Great attention to detail and strong copywriting skills
• High proficiency with IT especially MS Office / Googledocs
• Minimum Level 3 WSET, Level 4 Diploma preferable
• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• A valid UK driving license will be preferable
• Remuneration dependent on assessment and experience
• Quarterly performance-related bonus scheme
• Wine education and generous wine discount
• International travel to wine regions once or twice per year
• Contributory Pension scheme
• Opportunity to develop a career with a leading private merchant

www.mrwheelerwine.com