Sales-Service Representative at State of Iowa – Des Moines, Iowa

IPI is seeking a dynamic, self-motivated person to join our team as a Sales-Service Representative in our Des Moines Sales & Customer Service office.
This position’s primary role is sales representation of IPI products and services to eligible customers in assigned markets throughout the State of Iowa.
The position is classified as a State Industries Production Technician and will work with incarcerated individuals within our sales and customer service office, shops, and customer locations.

The primary assigned markets will be County Government, K-12 Education, Non-Profit Organizations, Health Care Facilities, and select Regents Institutions throughout the State of Iowa.

Iowa Prison Industries, a division of the Department of Corrections, trains incarcerated individuals in our work programs skills needed to be successful citizens upon release. IPI markets the products and services produced in our facilities to governmental agencies, colleges and universities, public and private school districts, health care facilities, and non-profit groups. As a self-funded agency, IPI relies on the sales of our products and services to provide our valuable work training programs.

Duties & Responsibilities:
• Sales of IPI products and services to the assigned market segment and management of all aspects of relationships with key customers.
• Coordinate with customer service all activities needed to provide orders to assigned plants.
• Provide feedback and ideas for process improvement within the assigned market segment.
• Responsible for sales quota and growth within assigned market segment.
• Responsible for existing customer accounts and new customer generation in the assigned market segment.
• Provide project management expertise on selected larger Market projects.
• Provides training and consultation to customers and prospects on IPI new products and services.
• Works with and leads internal teams to help develop needed products for assigned market segment.
• Conducts customer seminars and presentations in the showroom or on-site as needed.
• Travel to contract customers on regular schedule to inspect, test, and perform maintenance on IPI chemical dispensing equipment.
• Install new or perform repairs on chemical dispensing equipment upon request of customer.
• Maintain chemical dispensing equipment and repair knowledge.
• Works market appropriate trade shows, customer meetings, etc. as needed.

Preferred Applicants Will Possess:
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to prepare written and oral reports
• Equivalent of three years full-time experience as a direct sales representative OR substitution of thirty hours of post high school coursework in sales, marketing, or a closely related curriculum for each year of the required experience to a maximum substitution of three years
• Sales experience to educational, governmental, and / or non-profit markets highly preferred
• Knowledge of chemicals and cleaning supplies sales and service a plus
• Ability to install, troubleshoot, and repair chemical dispensing equipment
• Selected candidate must pass background check
• Must meet all minimum qualification requirements of State Industries Production Technician job classification

Other:
• Standard hours are Monday through Friday
• Travel and overnight stays across Iowa as needed to meet requirements.
• Assigned markets are subject to change at any time
• Position will work out of IPI's Des Moines Sales Office & Showroom at 1445 E Grand Avenue (just 2 blocks east of the Capitol)
• Position will be assigned a State Vehicle for use during business hours

NOTE: Preferred applicants will have sales experience.

E-Verify and Right to Work
The State of Iowa participates in E-Verify, a federal program that helps employers confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. Within the required timeframe, new hires will be verified through the E-Verify system to ensure authorization to work in the United States. The State of Iowa also complies with the federal Right to Work laws, which protect employees’ rights to work without being required to join a labor organization. For more information, please visit www.e-verify.gov.

Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:

1) One year of full-time work experience in the direction of employees in one of the following areas related to the manufacture/delivery of Iowa State Industries products or services:
a. Wood Furniture Fabrication: cutting, planing, shaping, routing, gluing, staining, and assembling wood furniture.
b. Upholstery Fabrication: cutting patterns, sewing, stitching, tacking, gluing, and assembling fabric and foam upholstery items.
c. Braille Production: translation of printed documents into Literary and/or Nemeth Code Braille using the Perkins Braille writer and/or computer translation programs, thermoforming, binding, producing raised line drawings.
d. Graphics Arts Production: layout, proofing, darkroom operation, screen-printing, press operation (offset, duplicator, desktop publishing), binding, and cost estimating. e. Chemical Formulation: mixing, blending, bottling, packaging, and labeling personal care, floor care, kitchen, laundry, and bathroom chemical products.
f. Sign Fabrication: blanking, shaping, and forming metal, wood, and plastic into sign substrate. Application of reflective or non-reflective sheeting to substrate to produce traffic control signs.
g. Warehouse Operations: receiving, accounting for, storing, and disbursing raw materials, component parts, and finished products. Loading, unloading, routing, and dispatching delivery vehicles.
h. Service Center Operation: receiving, processing, recording, and fulfilling incoming telephonic calls. Initiating, recording, and servicing outgoing calls. Responding to and servicing mailed and electronically transferred requests for information; using computers to provide services.
i. Industrial Safety: implementing and administering programs to ensure compliance with the standards of regulatory agencies (OSHA, EPA, etc.) in manufacturing plants. Providing safety training to personnel in industrial plants.
j. Manufacturing Support Services and Production Control: coordinating the disbursement of raw materials and component parts to production shops; scheduling the output of production shops to ensure efficient final assembly; scheduling and routing delivery of finished goods; coordinating on-site installation of large projects between production, delivery, contracted vendors, and customers; inventory control; quality control; micrographics, or computer-based production control and support.

2) One year of full-time work experience in the supervision and training of correctional residents or employees in the manufacture and delivery of products or services.

3) Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes one year of full-time work in the Iowa Department of Corrections in a position requiring direct offender supervision.

For additional information, please click on this link to view the job description.