Our Client is a multi- national food logistics and facilities provider. Founded in 1957 its headquarters are in Europe and are renowned as a market leader and an innovative distributor of wholesale food products and food logistics concepts. They are experts in the handling of customs procedures, cross border transactions and dealing with local cultures, languages and bureaucracy.

They distribute food products across all temperature spans including fresh produce and also deliver soft drinks and bottled water. They have sites in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Near Asia, a fleet of 40 foot multi : temperature trucks and vans delivering to sites on a daily basis, many of which are difficult to reach or in dangerous areas!

Over the years the business has developed from food logistics to include the provision of other complex service solutions. They now provide extensive catering operations- both military feeding and commercial catering and have an expanding Retail Division which includes bakeries, coffee shops, hairdressing and beautician salons and PX / Duty Free retail stores which sell groceries, electrical and other duty free items etc. They also have a Site Services Division which provides construction of buildings and offices, general facilities management, fuel management, vehicle and plant maintenance services.

The Role:

Our Client has just won a major new contract in Afghanistan part of which involves establishing catering operations at a 10,000 man camp in Kandahar.

Reporting into the Catering Services Manager our Client is establishing the new role of Customer Services Liaison Representative.

The primary objectives of the role are as follows:

q To provide a clear communication link between our client and its customers, demonstrating a professional disposition and foodservice business acumen.
q To ensure current customers continue to purchase from our client by meeting and exceeding their expectations of customer service.
q Increase sales revenue by promotion of our client?s product range and logistics with current and potential customers.
q Provide market intelligence about customers in theatre.

Key responsibilities will be:

§ To ensure that supplies are ordered for customer demand, which will enable agreed service levels to be achieved.
§ To ensure that price lists are presented to customers in accordance with company guidelines to ensure accurate ordering is maintained.
§ To recommend range additions and deletions to maintain a competitive range list.
§ To review and monitor customer spending trends and identify/investigate movements, and provide recommendations
§ To establish and maintain effective business relationships with existing and potential customers.
§ To provide in advance a ?Not Available? report with possible substitutions for each customer order.
§ To provide a ?Customer Sales Report? for each call, providing all information necessary to solve any service issues, record complaints/accolades, and review of customer movements and changeovers.
§ To maintain and forward to Purchasing the New Product Request by Customer.
§ To maintain an itinerary and diary of calls to ensure all customers are visited on a regular basis.
§ To ensure that sales reports are completed and dispatched to relevant personnel on time.
§ To ensure that all relevant customer paperwork is filed appropriately.
§ To ensure that all import/export certificates are correct and presented to customers on time.
§ Liaise with the Sales Manager on a regular basis with regards to progress reports and new business opportunities.
§ To liaise with the Customer Service Supervisor, Accounts Supervisor, Transport and Warehouse managers and Buying department, with respect to any new or existing sales issues

Knowledge and Skills:



To meet this unique challenge you will be a sales and / or customer services professional and ideally knowledgeable of catering operations and international food products. With excellent inter-personal skills and a strong customer focus, you will have the confidence to win credibility and make an immediate contribution.

Confident, analytical and always with an eye on the bottom line, you?ll be the guiding force behind the development to gain new business within your sector and to effectively resolve customer enquiries.

You will need to be incredibly organised, able to prioritise workloads and the kind of person who remembers to dot every ?i? and cross every ?t?.

A natural confident communicator and negotiator you must understand what it takes to deliver a quality service to customers. You should possess sound numeracy skills and be IT / PC literate.

You should possess excellent communication skills in English and ideally one other language and be able to adapt to rapid changes in a positive manner and work to tight deadlines.

Superb inter-personal skills and instant credibility are essential as you will be inter-facing with a num