Customer Service Associate

Barnes Aerospace; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Barnes Aerospace is seeking a Customer Service Associate to support the sales team with contract administration and customer care. You will manage order activity, ensure contract compliance, and coordinate with Production, Quality, and Engineering to resolve issues and protect delivery schedules.

Ideal candidates bring 4+ years in account management or related roles, strong communication, and familiarity with FAR/DFARS terms.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in Account Management or related position.
• Familiarity with purchase orders, quotes, and government contracting terms (FAR/DFARS).
• ERP system experience (Syteline a plus).
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to collaborate with multiple stakeholders and drive process improvements.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary contact for assigned customer inquiries and advocate for customer needs.
• Provide proactive communication on order status through the production cycle.
• Coordinate logistics to ensure on-time delivery and maintain delivery/quality metrics.
• Monitor critical parts and schedule disruptions; develop recovery plans with cross-functional teams.
• Maintain customer demand in the ERP system to safeguard backlog integrity.
• Manage quotes, purchase orders, schedule changes, shipments, and specs via customer portals.
• Review government solicitations (FAR/DFARS), RFQs, and contract terms; support proposal tracking.
• Support accounts receivable by resolving discrepancies and facilitating collections.
• Collaborate with Legal, Sales, and Production to meet business goals.

Skills

Communication

Negotiation

Customer service

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytical

ERP systems

MS Office

Education

BS Degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, or Business

Tools

Syteline ERP

Job description

Description

Barnes Aerospace West Chester Division has a challenging and rewarding career opportunity exists for a Customer Service Associate. As the Customer Service Associate, you will support the sales team by providing exceptional levels of customer support and daily contract administration. In this role you will be responsible for ensuring overall contract compliance and management of sales order activity.

Core Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary contact for assigned customer inquiries, advocating for customer needs and ensuring their voice is represented across the facility.
• Provide proactive, ongoing communication to keep customers informed of order status throughout the production cycle, anticipating needs and addressing concerns.
• Ensure timely delivery by coordinating logistics and schedules, maintaining accurate delivery and quality metrics in customer portals, and supporting customer scorecard accuracy, contesting OTD/TAT and maintaining liquidated damages at the beginning of each month.
• Monitor critical customer parts and schedule disruptions, collaborating with Production, Quality, and Engineering to develop recovery plans and communicate solutions aligned with customer priorities.
• Maintain and update customer demand within the ERP system to ensure accuracy and safeguard backlog integrity, including quantities, schedules, and financial values.
• Utilize customer portals to manage quotes, purchase orders, schedule changes, shipments, and specifications.
• Review and respond to government solicitations (FAR/DFARS), customer RFQs, order entries, and contract reviews.
• Support proposal development by identifying requirements, evaluating terms and conditions, and coordinating with Sales and cross-functional teams. Ensure accurate data entry in the proposal tracking system.
• Maintain pricing structures on existing contracts per agreement parameters, incorporating customer feedback under the direction of the Customer Service Manager.
• Resolve customer issues promptly, fostering strong relationships and open communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Collaborate cross-functional with Legal, Sales, Business Development, Product Management, Production, Engineering, Quality, Shipping, and Accounts Receivable to meet business goals.
• Support Accounts Receivable efforts by resolving discrepancies, facilitating collections, and managing customer payment terms.
• Coordinate customer returns in support of Quality Control under Product Management guidance.
• Partner with the Order Entry team to resolve issues and ensure accurate, efficient order processing.
• Position is hybrid between OEM and CRO.

Qualifications:

• 4+ years of experience in a Account Management or related position, preferably in a manufacturing environment.
• Working knowledge of legal language, contract constructs and terms and conditions commonly used in business contracts and in bid documents including Government FAR and DFARS and export compliance regulations (EAR and ITAR).
• Familiarity with purchase orders, and quoting process preferred.
• Able to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders, resolve customer complaints and escalation, as appropriate.
• Excellent communication skills, (written and oral) with attention to detail.
• Willing and able to develop long-term relationships internally and externally.
• Good mathematical/quantitative and analytical orientation.
• Position requires tact and high degree of diplomacy; proven negotiation skills.
• Strong computer skills. PC aptitude in a Windows environment (MS Office: Excel, Access, Word, PowerPoint) and ability to learn other software packages. ERP System experience (Syteline a plus).

Education Requirements:

• BS Degree Supply Chain, Logistics, or Business preferred; relevant experience acceptable in lieu.

At Barnes, career development is a shared responsibility in which all employees are encouraged to develop, improve, and enhance their skills and professional growth to support our business objectives.

Preferred

Associates of Science or better in Business Administration or related field.

Experience

Required

• Ability to work independently, handle simultaneous work assignments and projects, and drive Lean process improvements.
• Able to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders, resolve customer complaints and escalation, as appropriate.
• Excellent communication skills, (written and oral) and strong computer skills.
• Experience developing positive long-term relationships, both internally and externally.
• Solid understanding of legal language, contract constructs and terms and conditions commonly used in business contracts and in bid documents including Government FAR and DFARS.

2 years:

• Minimum of four (2) years of prior experience as a Contract Administrator, Buyer, Purchasing Agent, or a related position preferably in a manufacturing environment.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
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