Sales Operations Specialist, FM

Sales Operations Specialist, FM

Location: Chicago, US, 60654

At Barry Callebaut, we are on a journey to transform the cocoa and chocolate industry. As the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, our actions truly shape the future of our industry. We are a business-to-business company, serving the entire food sector, from the cocoa bean to the finest chocolate product. We are a company with a purpose, we believe in doing well by doing good and reinvesting in the communities we operate. We have a long-standing commitment to sustainability and our goal is to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future. We are headquartered in Zurich, and have more than 12,000 passionate Employees working in more than 40 countries worldwide. We are very proud of who we are and what we do. And of course, we are always looking for talented people to help us have a positive impact on our industry and beyond!

About the Role

Barry Callebaut is a global organization poised for growth; a company which has embraced the vision to delight its customers, while out-performing its competitors, a business which is committed to sustainability, has innovation in its DNA, is a leader in complex manufacturing and supply chain solutions and is focused on being a best-in-class employer. Barry Callebaut seeks diverse and passionate people who thrive in a dynamic environment, focused on continuous learning, living BC's Values and of course loving chocolate.

The Sales Operations Specialist plays a vital role in elevating the customer experience and enabling the commercial team to focus on strategic growth. This position serves as the operational backbone for key food manufacturing accounts—connecting people, processes, and data across Sales, Customer Service, Pricing, R&D, Planning, and Global Business Services (GBS). With a focus on executional excellence, the Sales Operations Specialist ensures that customer initiatives and internal workflows are managed seamlessly, efficiently, and with urgency. This role requires a balance of big-picture thinking and precise tactical execution, supporting business development through proactive coordination, issue resolution, and data-driven insights. By bridging cross-functional gaps and anticipating customer needs, the Sales Operations Specialist contributes directly to delivering best-in-class service and sustained commercial success.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Serve as the operational backbone for the FM Sales team, ensuring seamless execution of workflows across Sales, Customer Service, Pricing, Supply Chain, and GBS.
• Monitor customer forecasts, proactively identifying gaps versus contracted volumes and flagging issues for Account Manager follow-up.
• Coordinate resolution of day-to-day service issues, including orders, samples, documentation, escalating as appropriate.
• Manage the pricing process by requesting quotes, coordinating approvals, and ensuring accurate and timely bookings.
• Submit requests to GBS partners (e.g., samples, documentation, master data updates) and follow up to ensure timely and complete execution.
• Support Account Managers with contract management, pricing inputs, item setup, and reporting.
• Generate and maintain sales and customer reports (e.g., volume tracking, pricing files, open orders, contract usage).
• Contribute to ongoing improvement of reporting tools and dashboards that provide actionable insights to the Sales team.
• Contribute to S&OP and demand planning processes by providing accurate inputs, historical insights, and commercial context.
• Maintain CRM system hygiene (i.e. opportunity entry and pipeline stage management).
• Identify process improvements and opportunities to increase team efficiency and customer satisfaction.
• Build strong internal relationships and serve as a key resource for operational support, enabling commercial teams to focus on growth.
• Act as the secondary point of commercial contact for customers, stepping in as the primary when sales is traveling, out of office, etc.
• Supports the Food Manufacturing (FM) Customer Business Development team across assigned accounts, in coordination with Account Managers and Sales Directors.
• Collaborates cross-functionally with Pricing, Supply Chain, Demand Planning, Customer Service, R&D, Finance, and Global Business Services (GBS) to ensure seamless execution of commercial and operational deliverables.
• Interfaces with multiple internal systems (e.g., Salesforce, SAP) and stakeholders to enable account planning, pricing execution, service performance, and data integrity.

About You:

• Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, operations, or related field.

• 2+ years in a customer-facing, operational support, or commercial support role; prior experience in food or CPG experience is a plus.

• Exposure to supporting commercial teams in a cross-functional environment.

• Familiarity in Salesforce.com or similar CRM platforms is preferred, willingness to learn is essential.

• Solid Excel skills required; experience in PowerPoint and data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) is a plus.

• Strong communication and organizational skills with high attention to detail.

• Ability to manage day-to-day responsibilities while contributing to team objectives and commercial priorities.

• Self-starter with a sense of ownership, follow-through, and a willingness to learn.

• Travel requirements: Travel is infrequent and typically limited to a few times per year for team meetings, customer visits, or training sessions. Frequency may vary slightly depending on the candidate's location and business needs.

• Ability to prioritize and manage deadlines in a changing environment.

What You Can Expect From Barry Callebaut:

• Salary Range of $60,000-75,000, based on experience and location, plus bonus and our comprehensive benefits package

• Paid time off, plus generous holiday time

• Environment that welcomes workplace flexibility

• An atmosphere where diversity is embraced, and inclusivity is second nature. We call it #OneBC! Just ask our champions with the Americas Women's Forum and the Racial Equality Forum!

• Ability to grow personally and professionally within an organization that values development and internal career growth

• Be part of our mission in making sustainability the norm through Forever Chocolate with priorities centered around prospering farmers, zero child labor, carbon and forest positive, and creating 100% sustainable ingredients in all of our products.

At Barry Callebaut, we are committed to Diversity & Inclusion. United by our strong values, we thrive on the diversity of who we are, where we come from, what we've experienced and how we think. We are committed to nurturing an inclusive environment where people can truly be themselves, grow to their full potential and feel they belong. #oneBC - Diverse People, Sustainable Growth.