Sales Operations Specialist

NSF; Ann Arbor (MI); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

NSF is seeking a Sales Operations Specialist in the United States to support the Water North America sales team. This developmental role provides hands-on experience with sales workflows, tools, and customer engagement, including AI-enabled process improvements.

You will engage in trade show strategy, lead management, Salesforce execution, and structured cold calling to generate meetings for the sales team, advancing toward future sales roles.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or related field.
• 1–3 years of experience in sales support, operations, or related field.
• Proficiency in Salesforce and Microsoft Excel.
• Strong attention to detail and problem-solving skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Experience with CRM systems, especially Salesforce.
• Experience using data tools or reporting tools.
• Familiarity with sales prospecting tools (e.g., Cognism or similar).
• Experience leveraging AI tools for business workflows.
• Advanced Excel skills (Macro, Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP).

Responsibilities

• Support the Sales Director and sales team in daily operational workflows.
• Maintain accuracy and completeness of data in Salesforce.
• Assign and route inbound leads from multiple queues using defined logic.
• Ensure timely follow-up and resolution of assigned leads.
• Manually enter leads into Salesforce when required and coach sellers on required data fields.
• Support development of call lists and target account lists in collaboration with sellers.
• Own coordination and preparation for assigned trade shows.
• Act as the central point of organization across sales, marketing, and program teams.
• Maintain and distribute all planning documents, timelines, and materials.
• Build and manage exhibitor lists for targeted trade shows.
• Identify which exhibitors are NSF certified and document certification details.
• Use AI tools and process improvements to increase efficiency of this task.
• Enrich exhibitor data by incorporating: Sales team target accounts; Program team input.
• Coordinate with sales and program leaders to flag exhibitors for targeted visits, introductions, specific business discussions.
• Pre-show responsibilities: build and manage exhibitor lists; identify NSF certified exhibitors; use AI tools to improve efficiency.
• During and post-show responsibilities: capture and enter leads into Salesforce; ensure data quality; track ROI.
• Support planning of webinars and outreach communications; participate in structured sales development activity; conduct cold outreach 4–6 hours weekly.
• Sales development: plan webinars, outreach, generate and qualify meetings, track activity.
• Salesforce and data management: lead assignment, updates, basic reports/dashboards; coordinate with IT teams to request improvements.
• Meeting and workflow support: schedule coordination, meeting prep, notes, follow-ups, project coordination.
• AI and process improvement: use AI tools, develop repeatable processes, validate outputs.

Skills

Sales support

Attention to detail

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in business/marketing or related field

Tools

Salesforce

Microsoft Excel

Office Suite

Job description

The Sales Operations Specialist provides operational, process, and execution support to the Water North America sales team.

This role is designed as a developmental pathway into a future sales position, giving high-potential individuals hands‑on experience in sales workflows, tools, and customer engagement.

The role combines trade show strategy, lead management, Salesforce execution, and sales development activity. The individual will also gain direct customer-facing experience through structured cold calling and meeting generation.

This role is expected to leverage AI and tools to improve efficiency, build scalable processes, and support continuous improvement across the sales organization.

Responsibilities

Business Operations and Sales Support

• Support the Sales Director and sales team in daily operational workflows

Maintain accuracy and completeness of data in Salesforce

Assign and route inbound leads from multiple queues using defined logic

Ensure timely follow-up and resolution of assigned leads

Manually enter leads into Salesforce when required and coach sellers on required data fields

Support development of call lists and target account lists in collaboration with sellers

• Own coordination and preparation for assigned trade shows

Act as the central point of organization across sales, marketing, and program teams

Maintain and distribute all planning documents, timelines, and materials

• Build and manage exhibitor lists for targeted trade shows

Identify which exhibitors are NSF certified and document certification details

Use AI tools and process improvements to increase efficiency of this task

Enrich exhibitor data by incorporating:

Sales team target accounts

Program team input

Coordinate with sales and program leaders to flag exhibitors for:

Targeted visits

Introductions

Specific business discussions

Trade Show Strategy and Execution (Core Responsibility)

• Own coordination and preparation for assigned trade shows

Act as the central point of organization across sales, marketing, and program teams

Maintain and distribute all planning documents, timelines, and materials

Pre-show responsibilities

• Build and manage exhibitor lists for targeted trade shows
  • Identify which exhibitors are NSF certified and document certification details
  • Use AI tools and process improvements to increase efficiency of this task
  • Enrich exhibitor data by incorporating:
    • Sales team target accounts
    • Program team input
    • Coordinate with sales and program leaders to flag exhibitors for:
      • Targeted visits
      • Introductions
      • Specific business discussions

During and post-show responsibilities

Support capture and entry of leads into Salesforce where required

Ensure completeness and accuracy of trade show data

Support calculation and tracking of trade show return on investment using provided tools

• Support the planning of webinars and its communication to targets and compilation of participation interest
• Participate in structured sales development activity as part of role progression

Spend up to 4-6 hours per week in defined cycles conducting cold outreach

Build confidence in pitching NSF services and handling rejection

Generate and qualify meetings for the sales team

Track personal outreach activity and performance

Sales Development (Cold Calling and Pipeline Support)

• Support the planning of webinars and its communication to targets and compilation of participation interest
• Participate in structured sales development activity as part of role progression

Spend up to 4-6 hours per week in defined cycles conducting cold outreach

Build confidence in pitching NSF services and handling rejection

Generate and qualify meetings for the sales team

Track personal outreach activity and performance

Salesforce and Data Management

• Lead assignment
• Opportunity and account updates
• Build and maintain basic reports and dashboards
• Partner with Commercial Operations and Salesforce IT teams to request updates and improvements
• Escalate system or process issues and help drive resolution
• Continuously improve data quality and process consistency

Meeting and Workflow Support

• Coordinate scheduling for larger team or cross-functional meetings
• Support meeting preparation activities, including rotating responsibilities across team members
• Capture meeting notes and clearly document follow-up actions
• Help ensure accountability on assigned actions
• This role supports team-level workflows and coordination
• This role does not provide individual administrative support such as travel booking
• Be the main point of contact in multiple business initiatives and/or specific projects.
• Support Request for Proposals as defined in the RFP process (*)
• Support as requested the quoting/pricing of proposals
• Support cross-functional collaboration between sales, marketing, and program teams

Identify opportunities to improve processes and recommend enhancements

AI and Process Improvement

• Use AI tools to improve efficiency in workflows and data gathering
• Develop repeatable processes to reduce manual effort
• Support adoption of AI tools within the sales team
• Validate outputs and ensure accuracy and quality

#LI-CB1

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or related field (or equivalent experience)

1–3 years of experience in sales support, operations, or related field

Proficiency in Salesforce and Microsoft Excel

Strong attention to detail and problem-solving skills

Strong verbal and written communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
• Experience with CRM systems, especially Salesforce

Experience using data tools or reporting tools

Familiarity with sales prospecting tools (e.g., Cognism or similar)

Experience leveraging AI tools for business workflows

• Advanced Excel skills (Macro, Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP).

About Us

With a legacy spanning more than 80 years, NSF leverages science and innovation to improve human and planet health. We provide science‑driven, independent testing, inspection, certification, and advisory services and develop the very standards that drive the food, water, and life sciences industries worldwide. We empower our clients to navigate shifting regulations to improve consumer health, safety, and quality of life.

One of our core values is We Are One NSF. This means that while we’re one team, we embrace the cultural, ethnic, language, and demographic diversity that reflects the societies in which we live and work.

Come join a team that makes a difference in the world. More information about NSF can be found at nsf.org.

NSF is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, among other things, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, status as a protected veteran, or disability.

Notice to Agency and Search Firm Representatives: Please note that NSF is not accepting unsolicited resumes from agencies/search firms for this role. Resumes submitted to an NSF employee by a third‑party agency without a valid written & signed search agreement between NSF and said third‑party agency will become the sole property of NSF. No fee will be paid if a candidate is hired as a result of an unsolicited agency or search firm referral. Thank you.

About the Team

NSF sets the global standard for quality, performance and safety of water products and systems with an extensive range of testing, certification and consulting serves. We continually strive to address emerging needs, empowering manufacturers to meet stringent regulatory requirements with confidence. With our expanding local presence in key regions, we ensure more efficient pathways for our clients to reach global markets while continuing to anticipate and respond to the evolving challenges of water safety.

Job Info

• Job Identification 4312
• Job Category Administrative Services
• Posting Date 08/04/2026, 02:38 PM