Brand Ambassador/Distiller (Wine Jobs: Sales & Marketing)

  Francis Ford Coppola Winery

  Geyserville, California

Job Summary: New position as a Brand Ambassador and Distiller for our recently established spirits venture.   It’s exciting times ahead for us at The Family Coppola with a range of spirits that honors famous, yet lesser known, women throughout history.   This person will be critical to our growth and success.   If you have a passion for talking about the brands you help to create, have a love for all things liquid and distilling and an eagerness to develop a pipeline of new spirits, then this might be for you. 

Reasonable Accommodations Statement: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable Accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Safety Statement All employees shall follow safe practices according to the injury and illness Prevention Policy (IIPP), render every possible aid to safe operations, and report all unsafe conditions or practices immediately to any management employee or People Operations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:   

60% Brand Ambassador:

• Become an authority on our new line of spirits and of the craftsmanship of distilling– both from a historical perspective and from a contemporary viewpoint.
• Be the credible and passionate voice that educates consumers and trade on our brands.

• Act as a face and personality for the distillery in a promotional role – liaising with consumers and trade contacts in the distillery, at the Francis Ford Coppola winery and at Café Zoetrope.
• Appear in promotional brand materials such as videos, press pieces and photo shoots as required. 

• Represent our brands at key marketing and promotional events.
• Internal, consumer and distributor sales force trainings.
• Accompany distributors and our internal sales team on key account visits to educate, inform and help build relationships with key influencers. Help to ensure programs that have been sold into target accounts are executed with the highest quality.
• Work with the Innovation Director to identify best practices in interactive training tools and programming to ultimately deliver a suite of best in class materials.

40% Distiller:

• Own the production process to include distillation, storage and stock management of raw ingredients and finished product and logistics.  Set up and initiate the relevant processes, QA checks and health and safety measures.
• Manage day-to-day operations at the distillery to include production, waste management, deliveries, stock checks and movement of goods, etc.
• Ensure all production and logistics practices at the distillery are compliant with the relevant Health and Safety and Food Safety regulations
• Responsible for entire distilling and quality control processes and therefore should be well versed in scheduling distilling, aging, and packaging operations
• Quality management in areas of sourcing, quality control, testing and sourcing raw materials.
• Manage and develop procedures for operational & quality control
• Manage raw ingredient inventories, scheduling, forecasts and contracts
• Manage and monitor all operations and labor
• Develop and maintain a process log and stock management plan recording every phase of the distillation process to ensure the liquid meets quality guidelines and ensuring stock is moved in a timely manner for bottling.
• Maintain hygiene, housekeeping and food safety standards in the distillery, including – where appropriate – enforcing prohibition of any restricted items in the distillery and performing required equipment checks.
• Design and implement a comprehensive sampling, tasting panel and recording program to ensure quality standards are rigorously monitored and adhered to. Work towards improving the quality of each product brand over time.
• Work in collaboration with the VP of Winemaking and the Innovation Brand Director to identify and develop a pipeline of innovations. 

Supervisory Responsibilities: N/A

Job Requirements:

Education/Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of distilling or brewing experience, at least 1 year in a production distillery or brewery with working knowledge of all aspects of distillery operations.
• Must have professional degree or certification course in the distilling or related field.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Work experience in a relevant related role, with proven experience in a quality assurance and product development capacity.
• Methodical, logical and detail-oriented character with exceptional attention to detail.
• Strong MS Office, budget management, mathematical and reporting skills with the ability to manage and report on processes and costs in a clear and concise manner, complete required logs and set up tasting panels.
• Self-starter with strong project management skills and a willingness to make the role their own.
• Strong sensory skills and knowledge of relevant techniques required to lead the evaluation and tasting of spirits.
• Ability to work a limited number of evenings and weekends as required to support consumer experiences at the distillery, at Zoetrope in San Francisco and at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.
• Willing to obtain all relevant health and safety qualifications required to lead the management of a distillery site.
• Preference for those with media training or public relations experience as a ‘face’ of a distillery but not essential. Enjoy engaging with public through festivals, events, competitions.
• Should have strong verbal communication and organizational skills.
• Should have ability to multitask, work independently, as well as in a team environment.
• Must have strong analytical and problem solving skills to troubleshoot obstacles.
• Should have a good understanding of quality assurance/quality control.
• Should have “hands on” leadership skills to lead, develop and train team.

• Must be at least 21 years of age.

Physical Demands:

N (Not Applicable)-Activity is not applicable to this occupation.

O (Occasionally)-Occupation requires this activity up to 33% of the time (0-2.5 + hrs/day)

F (Frequently)-Occupation requires this activity from 33% - 66% of the time (2.5-5.5 + hrs/day)

C (Constantly)-Occupation requires this activity more than 66% of the time (5.5 + hrs/day)

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to outside weather conditions.  The employee is occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles.  The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.

We offer competitive salary, medical insurance, including Dental, Vision EAP, Wellness and Creative Reimbursements, Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Account with Medical and Dependent care pre-tax benefits (FSA), and 401K with company matching. Winery, Restaurant, and Resort discounts available.

How To Apply

https://www.francisfordcoppolawinery.com/en/careers/details/oNjG5fwB

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