Service Manager

JBT Marel•Visalia, CA

14d•$110,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

At JBT Marel, what we do matters, we know that the contribution of our employees leads to the success of our business. Our purpose is to transform the future of food; this guides our vision of being the global leader in food and beverage technology, by harnessing the full power of JBT Marel to partner with our clients and pioneer sustainable innovation. Our values show who we are at our best. As we Create with Collaboration, Serve with Integrity, Grow with Excellence, and Advance with Innovation. The role of the Service Manager is to provide guidance and support to our technical service teams and customers. This position will make necessary recommendations to the various systems to improve performance at our customer facilities. It will also be responsible for improving best practices among the JBT Marel technical service departments in the FPT division (California and East Coast – U.S.). Provide proper support by visiting customer sites to identify potential opportunities for improvement. Ensure customer satisfaction with JBT Marel in responsiveness of technical support. Respond to unplanned events and solve customer technical problems. Be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of JBT products versus the competition by evaluating our competitors’ product performance. Participate in equipment surveys to learn about identifying and correcting areas in customer facilities. With the assistance of senior TSAs, anticipate seasonal trends and warn customers, account managers and technical colleagues of the possible impacts and mitigation measures needed to avoid problems. Maintain open communications with regional TSAs and Account Managers to stay abreast and keep others informed of customer needs, account status, and Technical recommendations. Prepare and present technical seminars to customers and potential customers to support our products and services as required by the business or if requested by the Account Managers. Gather relevant industry information and distribute to customers by special bulletins, contact discussions, and emails. Provide support and assistance to R&D personnel during the evaluation of products and services. Provide accurate and objective feedback to R&D personnel on the performance of new and existing products. Direct customer contact across all product lines in providing sales/technical assistance, quotations, service calls, project management, problem resolution, etc. Must be able to work with customers at all levels of an organization. Counterparts from other JBT manufacturing/sales locations for the purpose of providing or receiving technical information, coordinating on proposals and/or projects, and scheduling resources between us. Subcontractors for the purpose of establishing contracts and scheduling resources and equipment for projects. Frequent interface amongst all departments in the business/division for the purpose of coordination as needed. Responsible for managing an approximate $5.5M annual department budget. Actively manage staff and activity levels to balance absorption and customer satisfaction. Responsible for managing an annual sales volume of around $10M, and maximizing profitability. Must possess outstanding people management skills. Very high degree of supervision required in order to ensure safety, responsiveness, customer satisfaction; and employee development, training and moral. Daily contact with the service technicians is required. Must be willing to spend some of the time out in the field with the service techs, customers and equipment. Must be able to deal with a variety of personalities, resolve personal problems, and coordinate with Human Resource as needed to resolve issues that could negatively impact the business. Must exhibit a high degree of enthusiasm, forethought, creativity, sense of urgency, and must be results oriented. Must exhibit an affinity for positive/value added and continual change. Must be customer focused and results driven, thus developing and promoting positive customer relationships. Position requires significant travel, primarily within the United States, but some international. Approximately 25-50% of the time will be in the field and the rest of the time will be in the Visalia, CA office.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Biology, Horticulture or related discipline.
Minimum of 5+ years of experience in technical service, handling chemicals & working w/ postharvest chemical application systems.
Basic understanding of agricultural practices (pre and post-harvest), preferably in citrus processing.
Strong technical troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Understand and contribute to Food Safety processes.
Bilingual in Spanish highly preferred.
Comfortable multi-tasking and pays attention to detail.
Conscientious and self-motivated; able to work without direct supervision.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Ability to use a computer and Microsoft products (Office, Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint).
Must have a valid Driver’s License.
Willing to work out of town, out of state and internationally if needed.
Availability for extended hours, overnights, weekends and/or variable schedules, especially during the processing season (ex. work 8+ hours per day, up to 7 days per week) if needed.

Responsibilities

Provide guidance and support to technical service teams and customers.
Make recommendations to improve performance at customer facilities.
Improve best practices among JBT Marel technical service departments.
Visit customer sites to identify potential opportunities for improvement.
Ensure customer satisfaction with JBT Marel's responsiveness to technical support.
Respond to unplanned events and solve customer technical problems.
Evaluate competitor product performance.
Participate in equipment surveys to identify and correct areas in customer facilities.
Anticipate seasonal trends and warn customers, account managers, and technical colleagues of possible impacts and mitigation measures.
Maintain open communications with regional TSAs and Account Managers.
Prepare and present technical seminars to customers and potential customers.
Gather relevant industry information and distribute to customers.
Provide support and assistance to R&D personnel during product and service evaluations.
Provide accurate and objective feedback to R&D personnel on product performance.
Direct customer contact for sales/technical assistance, quotations, service calls, project management, and problem resolution.
Work with customers at all levels of an organization.
Coordinate with counterparts from other JBT manufacturing/sales locations.
Establish contracts and schedule resources and equipment with subcontractors.
Interface with all departments for coordination.
Manage an approximate $5.5M annual department budget.
Manage staff and activity levels to balance absorption and customer satisfaction.
Manage an annual sales volume of around $10M and maximize profitability.
Manage staff, ensuring safety, responsiveness, customer satisfaction, employee development, training, and morale.
Have daily contact with service technicians.
Spend time in the field with service techs, customers, and equipment.
Deal with a variety of personalities, resolve personal problems, and coordinate with Human Resources.
Develop and promote positive customer relationships.