Connie Williams

https://www.linkedin.com/in/connie-williams-220b4760/

919-***-**** ac7h4b@r.postjobfree.com

SUMMARY

A versatile and innovative customer order lead, executive assistant, marketing and communications professional with extensive experience in executive support, marketing, customer service, accounting, project and vendor management, event planning, team leading, trade shows, proposal generation, business process improvement, and travel arrangement. A top performer with established capabilities in performing concurrent duties under tight deadlines, maintaining confidential information, and working independently with general guidance. Proven aptitude for strategy-driven and integrated marketing communication programs. Utilizes demonstrated financial expertise to provide accurate cost analysis. As a goal-oriented problem-solver with an eye for detail, proves integral in ensuring the continued success of a business.

EXPERIENCE

Circassia Pharmaceuticals Morrisville, North Carolina

Customer Order Supervisor 2015 – 2018

Review and approve accurate work releases daily for Sales Order Specialist and Inside Sales Specialists. Strategically delegate responsibilities within groups to eliminate workflow interruptions, preserve accuracy, and meet deadlines. Train external sales teams.

Review and approve daily incoming sales orders according to company revenue policy, procedures and accounting guidance. Confirm accuracy and pricing. Key orders into SalesForce and upload to NAV and SAP (financial database) for financial tracking, reporting and to generate metrics of customer order Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Respond to customer inquiries, and up to 40 customer orders daily. Administer new customer credit checks in Experian prior to processing order request. Verify no conflicts in customers’ order histories. Assess open sales and return orders daily to identify overdue/stale orders, and advise response. Verify regulatory and quality assurance compliance with FDA standards.

Follow through on orders that are with questions to ensure that these are resolved timely and recorded in the correct period.

Prepare daily sales order reports and distribute to Vice Presidents, Area Sales Directors, Marketing Director and Regional Sales Managers. Generate metrics of customer order Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Ensure accuracy in self-prepared sales revenue reports distributed weekly to management. Prepare spontaneous customer sales reports upon request.

Notable Achievements

Interviewed and selected ideal candidates for Customer Order Specialist and Office Coordinator/Sales Support, and three Inside Sales Specialists. Directly supervise CSS, and indirectly manage ISSs. Contribute to talent selection, train, and mentor new hires. Developed training manual and flowcharts that minimized delays commonly associated with new hires. Process improvements minimized customer service interruption.

Built reputation as reliable expert on process improvements and conflict resolution, frequently consulted by staff at all levels to prescribe diplomatic solutions. Expert point of contact for 200 sales representatives, 16 regional sales managers, and 3 area sales directors. Team lead for Revenue Recognition Department’s Customer Orders.

Pioneered revised order entry process that improved accuracy and streamlined processing by automating individual tax rates in Navision to update monthly in lieu of manual confirmation

Executive/Marketing Coordinator 2013-2015

Coordinated, attended, and administrated quarterly out-of-state board meetings with Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Reported directly to CEO. Processed expense reports and reimbursements for CEO, President, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, United States Sales.

Organized Sales Management Meetings and National Sales Meeting attended by approximately 150 employees. Selected and contracted speakers. Made site selection, venue reservations, and travel arrangements. Negotiated hotel, food and beverage contracts to meet budgets. Prepared sales training and pitch books. Sole point-of-contact for all new sales consultants for training and marketing materials. Provided in-house graphic design and managed content development for all collateral material (newsletters, promotional, and outreach resources).

Booked and reserved 6 national and 10 regional trade shows annually with 1,000+ attendees at each show. Delivered on-site support to 10 managers and sales representatives. Coordinated exhibit transport, hired temporary staff for exhibit setup, provided audio/visual technical support in booth, including multiple large-screen televisions and devices. Liaised with Vice President of Marketing to establish objectives and success measurement standards for all conventions. Collaborated with ad agency to produce compliance training video, adopted company-wide for training.

Bayer Crop Science Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

Senior Staff Associate 2012-2013

Supported Vice President ACO Marketing (domestic), six-member Seed Growth team, Sustainability Lead, two Project Managers, and Director of Marketing and Sales Excellence. Prioritized VP of Marketing’s schedule, digital and hard copy correspondence, and travel plans. Scheduled 20+ meetings weekly, planned teleconferences, arranged travel logistics (passports, visas, hotel and flight tickets). Provided vigilant calendar administration with respect to multiple time zones. Negotiated ideal terms for hotel contracts, catering, and other vendors. Ensured seamless events by supporting day-of logistics for meetings, public and employee relation activities, business dinners, and team building. Prepared accurate expense reports.

Notable Roles:

Managed Leadership Team meetings: developed agendas, recorded minutes, tracked action items, followed up with responsible parties to confirm completed tasks

Developed PowerPoint sales presentations that minimized sales teams’ administration and allowed teams more time to procure sales

Marketing Department lead contact for eFiLiA and SharePoint. Fostered collaboration between executive management team and other staff via shared calendars and SharePoint.

Marketing/Communications Representative 1985-2012

Liaised in meetings with marketing management and advertising agencies. Prescribed revised ad agency contracts to reflect appropriate levels of support that reduced expenses, preserved budget, and improved service. Managed, reconciled, analyzed, and reported annual budgets in excess of $50 million for advertising and meetings. Implemented cost-analysis tracking through SAP database. Managed 2,500 advertising projects between 5 advertising agencies. Spearheaded monthly audit to verify accuracy of advertising agencies’ budgets, which resulted in approximately $3-4 million in annual savings. Developed audit process to track individual projects with advertising agencies, requiring tear sheets, approved time sheets, and receipts to confirm true project costs. Managed audit training of new advertising agencies, and maintained routine audit compliance check-ins with active agencies and vendors.

Managed more than 20 trade shows, from budget to on-site logistics. Oversaw management of fulfillment house, print house vendor, and tradeshow vendors. Reserved hotels, meeting rooms, food and beverage, and related travel needs. Led crop portfolio and brand teams in development of trade show strategies. Developed 5-year plan for trade show strategies and messaging. Conducted post-show analysis to determine return-on-investment (ROI) for each event, then presented to marketing management. ROI analysis informed future participation with events and expanded services at select events. Directed booth size and delegated responsibilities to participating staff. Selected, ordered, and organized marketing literature and promotional items, ensuring adequate inventory remained accessible to teams.

Standards Subcommittee, Member – Represented marketing department in streamlining information technology challenges.

Additional positions held with Bayer Crop Science (and predecessors Union Carbine, Rhond-Poulenc, Aventis): Full list available upon request.

EDUCATION

Nash Technical Community College Rocky Mount, North Carolina Accounting 60 credits

American Management Association Various Locations (4-day on-site classes)

Managing Your Marketing Communications Mix for Better Bottom-Line Results, Improving Your Project Management Skills: Basis for Success Parts 1 and 2, Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers (Fundamentals and Intermediate), Essentials of Budgeting, Best Practices for the Multi-Project Manager, Process Management-Process Mapping

MEMBERSHIPS AND SKILLS

Morrisville Chamber of Commerce, Member, 2013 – present

SAP, SalesForce (Veeva), Adobe Acrobat Pro, Certify, Concur, eFiLia, Lotus Notes, Outlook, MasterControl, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Office Suite, Oasis, SharePoint, Survey Monkey, various graphic design programs

VOLUNTEER

Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina, 2014-present; Toys for Tots 2014-present

INTERESTS

Golf and reading biographies.

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