WineTalent Classifieds: Current WineTalent Openings

WineTalent is working with several different companies in Northern California to find exceptional talent. We are confidentially searching for top wine talent for the following roles:

Metro NY Sales Representative: WineTalent is working with Long Meadow Ranch to find a salesperson to represent LMR wine brands in the greater metropolitan New York area. Reporting to the Eastern Sales Manager, this person will be working in conjunction with LMR's distributor partners in the New York market, with additional sales support responsibilities in NJ, New England, PA, MD and DC. This role will work with the distributors’ sales teams to sell, establish and maintain relationships with on and off premise accounts in these markets. This position requires prior sales experience in the Metro NY area in the broad market.  

Director of Finance: WineTalent is working with Long Meadow Ranch to find a Director of Finance. The Director of Finance will contribute to the overall success of LMR by effectively managing the financial affairs of the wine estate. The Director of Finance will be a member of the executive team. This role will be responsible for all financial reporting and will be accountable for analyzing the current business and planning for future business needs. Requirements include a Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting or related with at least 5 years of finance and accounting experience in the wine industry. A CPA is highly desirable.  

Safety Manager: WineTalent is working with a well established and well respected family run winery in the Central Valley to find a Safety Manager to continue to foster a safe work environment. The Safety Manager will be interacting closely with many departments and will be providing routine training and safety oversight. Requirements: 5 plus years of safety work experience. Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience. Bilingual highly desirable.

Member Relations Manager: WineTalent is working with a Napa Valley based nonprofit to find a Member Relations Manager who will handle outreach to vineyard owners throughout the county. This position will represent the nonprofit in a highly professional manner at all times and exhibit a commitment to the agriculture, vineyards and vineyard owners of the Napa Valley. Strong communication skills, both written and conversational are required. Excellent MS Excel experience required as well as the ability to use various office productivity tools including email, MS Office and online software tools.  

WineTalent provides complete confidentiality to any interested candidates. All conversations and interactions will be kept completely confidential.  

For more information about WineTalent, please visit www.winetalent.net

WineTalent Classifieds: Metro New York Sales Representative

 WineTalent Classified Listing:  Metro New York Sales Representative

WineTalent is working with our client, Long Meadow Ranch, to find a Sales Representative to represent the company's wine brands in the greater New York area.  Long Meadow Ranch (LMR) is a family-­owned and -operated producer and purveyor of world­-class wine and food that is economically successful and socially responsible and that employs diversified, sustainable, and organic farming methods. LMR produces award­-winning wines, hand-crafted extra virgin olive oils, grass-­fed beef and lamb, eggs, and heirloom fruits and vegetables.

LMR has an exciting opportunity for a Sales position to represent LMR wine brands in the greater metropolitan New York area.  Reporting to the Eastern Sales Manager, the person will be working in conjunction with the company's distributor partners in the New York market, with additional sales support responsibilities in NJ, New England, PA, MD and DC.  This role will work with LMR's distributors’ sales teams to sell, establish and maintain relationships with on and off premise accounts in these markets.  Additionally this role works collaboratively with the entire LMR sales team on national and chain account development and maintenance.  

Responsibilities:  

• Work closely with Regional Sales Manager to understand pricing, programming and incentive plans.
• Represent and sell LMR wines in the region through account calls.
• Work with  on and off premise accounts to develop relationships and foster the sales growth of the LMR brands in the market.
• Manage special sales projects including winemaker/owner dinners, VIP tastings and industry events.
• In conjunction with the National Sales Manager, the Eastern Sales Manager and the LMR executive team, support the development of a sales plan and support  meetings with key distributor management members to further establish and maintain the relationship between LMR and the distributor network.
• Track shipments and depletion reports.  Work to eliminate any discrepancies.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• At least 4 years of wine sales experience in the NY and or NJ market for either a supplier or a distributor.
• The candidate must have a track record of success with distributors and/or brokers in the region.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Additional wine education highly desirable.
• High proficiency in office productivity tools including Google Drive, Google Docs and email.  Understanding of Targit software a plus.  
• Valid Driver’s license and clean driving record required.
• Ability to lift up to 40 pounds.

Compensation and Benefits

• Competitive salary and bonus program depending on experience plus benefits including medical/dental insurance, paid vacation and 401(k).

Beware the Gilded Cage

"I've got a great opportunity for you. You can be the right-hand for the owner of the ultra-premium estate winery in Santa Barbara. The winery property is first class all the way--with an office and tasting room with panoramic views of the valley. With the cult status of the wines, your job is pretty much done for you already. All you need to do is show up at work, support the owner in his day to day operations, and work at a fabulous winery."

Easy sell isn't it. When you hear about an opportunity that is too good to be true, it probably is. Every position has drawbacks. While this position sounded great at first, upon learning more about it, it became harder and harder to place someone there in good faith. And selling the position was the easy part--getting someone to stay in the position was the hard part.

When you are looking for a job, make sure you kick the tires and do a gut check before signing on. Even though it may feel like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work at--are there are questions that haven't been answered to your satisfaction? This winery position had lots of red flags. The property was very remote--meaning that you would be working alone for the majority of the time, and getting out for lunch or errands would require planning. The property was spectacular, but the job was a bit tedious. So while you're looking out over the vineyards, you'd be thinking about your next spreadsheet to rework. And then there were the co-workers.

So get beyond the beautiful setting or name of the winery, and make sure you are comfortable working there. The views will get old--and so will the drudgery if it isn't what you wanted to do. This gilded cage is still vacant. Interested?

Getting Ready for 2007--Jobs, Office and Career

Okay, first ever blog entry, let's try this out for a test drive.

Let me introduce myself. I am a recruiter in the wine industry. My company, WineTalent, provides search services for clients throughout California. I have been placing professionals in various technical positions for the last twelve years, and for the last two I've been doing it on my own, and solely in the wine industry.

Having worked with entry level and C-level candidates I have dealt with a wide variety of issues, skill sets and opportunities. This blog is a forum to share some career advice, answer questions you might have, and help job seekers and hiring managers from making future mistakes. I'm also able to help people who are looking to make a career change into the wine world.

I'm winding down business for 2006, going through old files, reconnecting with some long lost friends, and getting things, like this blog, set up for next year. Here's some year-end things I always get accomplished before December 31st.

• Get all expenses in and accounted for
• Finalize any Accounts Receivable issues and generate plans for next year
• Categorize candidate and client folders
• Review Goal List from current year
• Make a Goal List for the following year

Reviewing my goal list is always very rewarding. This past year my business has increased 4-fold and I've been able to strengthen some relationships from the last 12 years. With most of my targets in place, I've got a big one to keep up with--this blog. My top two New Year's Resolutions are to have a stronger website presence and to have a visited and used blog. I've been working up a list of blog topics which I'll start posting on December 31st.

My question to you dear blog reader is, What career or business New Year's Resolutions do you have?