Coffee Educator & Account Manager

Coffee Educator and Account Manager

• Reports To: VP of Sales
• Customary Workdays: Monday through Friday
• Customary Work Hours: 8:30-5:30+
• Extensive local travel required (Chicago, IL), occasionally out of state

Position Overview

The Coffee Educator & Account Manager is responsible for developing and maintaining strong customer relationships while serving as a knowledgeable coffee resource for customers, distributor partners, and internal teams. This position combines account management, coffee expertise, barista skills, equipment knowledge, training, and events support.

The ideal candidate is passionate about coffee, comfortable working directly with customers, and able to confidently represent the company and its coffee programs in a variety of settings.

Key Responsibilities

Training & Education

• Lead coffee training programs for foodservice and hospitality customers, distributor partners, and internal teams.
• Train baristas and coffee-service staff on brewing techniques, espresso preparation, equipment calibration, and coffee quality.
• Develop and deliver engaging product and coffee education presentations.
• Conduct on-site training and provide ongoing support to customers.
• Serve as a knowledgeable and approachable coffee educator
• Ensure brew specs are consistently adhered to internally and across customer in the local market

Account Management & Customer Relationships

• Build and maintain strong relationships with existing customers.
• Serve as a primary coffee quality resource and point of contact for assigned accounts.
• Support existing accounts through training, tastings, and quality control support.
• Work closely with distributor partners and internal sales team on existing and new business opportunities.
• Conduct customer visits, lead coffee training, and education sessions.
• Understand customer needs and recommend appropriate coffee, equipment, and service solutions.
• Support quality control and standard operating procedures.
• Maintain a high level of customer service and responsiveness.

Coffee Events & Demonstrations

• Plan and lead company coffee events in conjunction with marketing and sales, tastings, demonstrations, and customer activations including partnership events with The Chicago Cubs (MLB), and Los Angeles Rams (NFL).
• Host coffee cuppings and product tastings for customers and prospects.
• Represent the company at trade shows, distributor events, customer events, and industry functions.
• Coordinate coffee samples, equipment, products, and supplies needed for events and presentations.
• Create engaging customer experiences that showcase the quality and versatility of the company’s coffee portfolio.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Strong passion for hospitality, coffee and the coffee industry.
• Previous barista experience.
• Strong knowledge of coffee preparation, brewing, espresso, and extraction.
• Ability to conduct coffee cuppings, tastings, and product evaluations.
• Ability to calibrate and troubleshoot coffee equipment.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Comfortable and confident in customer-facing situations.
• Ability to lead and coordinate coffee training, tastings, and events.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Professional, personable, and service-oriented approach.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with sales, operations, and distributor teams.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a coffee professional who can train, educate, build relationships, and sell. They should be equally comfortable pulling espresso shots behind a bar, calibrating equipment, conducting a coffee tasting, presenting to a group of customers, or working with a distributor partner to develop new business.

Core Competencies

• Coffee & Product Knowledge
• Barista Skills
• Equipment Calibration
• Customer Relationship Management

Education and/or Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree plus a minimum of 5 years of coffee, café and customer service experience. Experience working with coffee equipment, individual and team training in the specialty coffee industry and/or foodservice or hospitality industry is highly preferred.

Salary range

• $60,000-$65,000 plus benefits