Business Administration Apprentice

Cornflower designs and manufactures bespoke printed products and souvenirs for museums, galleries, gardens, heritage sites and visitor attractions. We have been doing it since 1999. Our customers include Kew Gardens, the Natural History Museum, the National Gallery and many of the cultural organisations whose shops you may have walked through.

We are a team of around thirty people in Newbury. Design, print, laser cutting and finishing all happen under one roof, which means the person who takes a customer enquiry in the morning can walk fifteen metres and speak to the person who will make the product. Very little of what we sell is off the shelf. Almost everything begins as a conversation with a curator, a buyer or a retail manager about a collection, an exhibition or a place.

We are a certified B Corporation™ and are ISO 14001 and FSC® certified.

The role

This is a first job in a commercial team, not a photocopying job. You will sit with the sales team, report to the Sales Manager, and take real responsibility for the practical work that moves an enquiry from a first email to a finished product on a shop floor.

You will learn how a customer describes what they want, how a designer interprets it, how a production team costs and makes it, and how all three of those things have to line up. It is a good vista point from which to understand a business.

What you will learn

• How a bespoke product is specified, costed, designed and manufactured
• How to write clearly and persuasively to customers who are busy and specific
• How print, materials and sustainability decisions affect cost, quality and lead time
• How to prioritise when several customers all need something today
• How a small British manufacturer wins and keeps long term accounts

Person specification

We are far more interested in attitude and curiosity than in existing experience. We will teach you the rest.

• Clear, confident written and spoken communication, particularly on the telephone
• Organised, with genuine attention to detail. Our work is full of specifics and the specifics matter
• Willing to ask questions and to say when something is not clear
• Comfortable with Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, and willing to learn new systems
• Able to manage several tasks at once and to prioritise sensibly
• An interest in design, making, museums or the visitor economy is welcome, though not essential
• Grade 4 or above in GCSE English and Maths, or equivalent

Training and qualification

You will work towards the Level 3 Business Administrator apprenticeship standard with Pro Apprenticeships, combining structured off the job learning with day to day work  standard covers business communication, systems and processes, project management, problem solving and organisational structure. Your training time is protected and supported.

Progression

This is a role we expect to grow into something larger. Successful completion of the apprenticeship could lead to a permanent position within the commercial team, with routes into account management, internal sales or project coordination depending on where your strengths turn out to lie.

Key responsibilities

• Handling incoming customer enquiries by telephone and email, logging them accurately and making sure nothing is left without a reply
• Preparing and sending out sample packages, including selecting the right samples for the customer and the enquiry
• Preparing and issuing customer proposals and quotations, working from our price structures and with support from the Sales Manager
• Working with the design team to develop product ranges for specific customers, collections and exhibitions
• Chasing quotations and proposals, and keeping the sales team informed on where each one stands
• Maintaining accurate customer and enquiry records on our internal systems
• Supporting the processing of orders and liaising with the production team on lead times and delivery dates
• Helping to prepare for customer meetings, trade shows and our autumn roadshow programme, including sample packing and follow up
• Assisting with mailings, product launches and sales campaigns
• General administrative support to the Sales Manager and the wider commercial team

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