Director of Sales Operations

The Set is a new winery in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara County, California. While the two founding brothers, Billy and Christopher Hines, are at the helm, this is truly a family business. The Director of Sales Operations will be our first team member hired who is not a member of the family – with that, we are looking for someone ready to join us in building this brand together. While skill sets are important, we trust we can train where needed. We are more interested in someone who fits into our company and family culture.

Our Values:

• Authenticity: Embracing our Louisiana roots and genuine selves
• Creativity: Fostering innovation and infusing our work with art
• Warmth: Providing a welcoming and generous atmosphere
• Growth: Cultivating trust, critical thinking, and continuous learning
• Joy: We use wine to celebrate life, from milestones to Mondays

Location: This job will be hybrid (virtual and in-person) to start, with a permanent office in the future (either in Buellton or Santa Barbara). For the right candidate, we are willing to discuss relocation compensation.

The Director of Sales Operations is primarily responsible for managing the DTC business operations, including but not limited to wine club membership strategy and operations, e-commerce strategy and support, tasting room team management, supporting on-property experiences, guest engagement, and POS database ownership for the DTC business. Operational functions of this role will focus on managing and executing wine club release planning and processing, wine club P&L management, collaboration with operations on fulfillment strategy for The Set DTC offerings, and being a POS customer database expert in Commerce 7. 

This role will also be responsible for processing 3-tier sales and liaising with our domestic sales team to support their inventory and visitation needs. Currently, wine is stored and fulfilled via Paso Wine Storage in Paso Robles, California.

Most of all, this person is responsible for caring about our customers – both DTC and 3-tier – and selling wine through authentic hospitality. We are creating this winery for multigenerational growth, not to reach an annual number.

Tactical Duties: 

• Wine Club, E-Commerce & Tasting Room Operations Management
• We have future plans to open a Tasting Room, but have yet to nail down an opening timeline.
• Drive day-to- day wine club management activities for The Set. This includes planning, preparing, and executing the quarterly wine club releases and shipments as well as customer communication and care.
• Ensure customer information is current and proactively manage contact information to ensure expired/decline rates are minimal and ensure the best possible customer service. 
• Accountable for wine club annual membership, revenue and profit goals. Own the execution of the wine club membership strategy to reduce attrition, meet membership goals, increase member loyalty and support wine club initiatives. Our goal is to do this through authentic and friendly customer care.
• Understand P&L drivers and manage operational expenses. Forecast volumes and wines needed to support club business.
• Responsible for order processing in our POS system (Commerce 7), shipping services, logistics, and fulfillment. Manage special delivery requests and troubleshoot rejected orders.
• Maintain a positive relationship with winery team and provide necessary communication of wine club activities across DTC channels for knowledge sharing and increased retention.
• Nurture relationships with key VIP customers. Leverage customer service to provide personalized experience and communications via email, phone, and on-property experiences to foster engagement.
• Assist at club release events and other The Set events to support tasting room teams and engage club members.
• Partner with DTC leader to support wine sales strategies in the tasting room to both grow revenue and convert new club members.
• Support all admin duties for e-commerce including updating website copy, email planning and execution, completing sales, etc.

3-Tier Sales Support

• Manage inventory and allocations across all sales channels and 3-tier markets.
• Fulfill and process Purchase Orders (POs).
• Invoice restaurant and wholesale accounts when necessary.
• Pride yourself on being a resource to sales representatives.
• Support trade and sales visits, as needed.

Guest Experience

• We do not have a tasting room (yet), but we will be hosting VIP guests and trade in our vineyards for the time being. When we open the tasting room, this role will work with the Tasting Room Manager to align on brand goals and work together to achieve them with consistency across channels.

Training & Development

• Create departmental standard operating procedures/tool kit and provide ongoing team training and development opportunities.
• Assist with the training of tasting room staff to be able to communicate club offerings and experiences to members and potential members.

Qualifications:

• Minimum 4 years of sales and/or operations experience in the wine, food, or hospitality industry.
• Program and project management skills, including the ability to work effectively independently and as part of a team.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including one-on-one communication and the ability to engage guests and tell the brand story. You have a high degree of customer service skills, and you understand the customer is at the center of everything we do.
• Passion and excellence with attention to detail.
• Excitement and interest in the wine industry.
• Professional demeanor with a positive, enthusiastic and proactive “get in there” attitude.
• Ability to use application software, including Commerce 7 (or other similar POS), WordPress, and Microsoft suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• College degree preferred or applicable experience.
• Willing to be an ambassador for the brand.

Physical Demands/Qualifications:

• Must be able to lift the equivalent of one case of wine / promotional materials.
• Ability to sit or stand for potentially long periods throughout the workday.