Donation Ambassador - Windsor, ON (Full Time)

About Us:
Talize is a proudly Canadian owned and operated national for-profit retailer offering quality resale apparel and housewares at unbeatable prices. As Canada’s newest and most unique shopping experience we offer new, like-new, and vintage items all under one roof. That means fantastic deals on brand names and designer fashions, and housewares!

Our Mission:
At Talize, our mission is to reduce our carbon footprint one t-shirt at a time. Did you know, 85% of textiles end up in a landfill despite being 95% recyclable? When you join the Talize team, you are working towards diverting millions of pounds of textiles and other items from our landfills every year. Let’s make our Earth greener, together!

Position Overview:
The OSD Ambassador is responsible for:

• Building strong community relationships and broadening our outreach.
• Generate sales growth, through research and increasing partnerships within our community.

The Talize Donation Ambassador plays a critical role in our organization by overseeing and coordinating the day-to-day activities of team members within the Donation Crew department. This role is responsible for ensuring that team members meet their goals, maintain high-quality customer service standards, and adhere to company policies and procedures. Alongside being a people leader, the primary function of the Talize Donation Ambassador is to research and identify potential businesses, charities, and community organizations that align with our mission and can benefit from a collaborative partnership.

Duties and Responsibilities

Community Ambassador:
Your key accountabilities will include but are not limited to:

• Develop and maintain strong partnerships. Gather market knowledge, identify opportunities, and develop strategies to successfully on-board new partners ensuring standards of brand and profitability understanding.
• Conduct thorough research to identify potential charities and organizations within the community that align with our donation initiatives.
• Conduct strategic business reports summarizing outreach efforts, partnerships established and the impact of our efforts.
• Work in partnership with internal teams to ensure timely delivery, set up and maintenance of donation bins at partner locations.
• Develop compelling presentations and proposals outlining the benefits of hosting donation bins on partner premises.
• Handle client objections by clarifying information, emphasizing benefits, and working through differences to ensure a positive conclusion.
• Liaise with management in order to determine organizational strategy and initiatives.
• This position requires approximately 60% of your working hours to be spent in the community, engaging with external partners, and 20% of the time to be allocated to in-store responsibilities and 20% supervisory duties.
• Other duties as assigned.

Leadership:

• Coordinate the efforts of the Talize Donation Crew team members to ensure timely flow of onsite deliveries to the processing department to ensure the company is maintaining inventory levels.
• Assist the Merchandise Processing Manager with the selection, screening, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding of team members.
• Lead in the training of team members.
• Coach team members throughout the shift to ensure standards are achieved and maintained.
• Work as an integral part of the management team by providing support, attending meetings, and sharing information.

Employee Relations:

• Support the Merchandise Processing Manager with providing direction to team members regarding company policies and procedures.
• Recognize and report policy infractions to the Merchandise Processing Manager.
• Assist in the implementation of employee recognition programs and events.

Health and Safety:

• Monitor the department’s working area(s) to ensure it is kept in an organized and clean manner in accordance with company housekeeping standards.
• Take precautionary measures and follow company guidelines against external and internal theft.
• Provide a safe workplace by identifying and properly removing any hazards and reporting hazards to the Merchandise Processing Manager and Joint Health and Safety Committee.
• Immediately report and document employee or customer accidents to the Merchandise Processing Manager.

Departmental Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and assist with team member responsibilities including greeting every customer within prescribed timeframe, supporting the receiving of donations from customers, cart/bin organization and weighing, and overseeing and monitoring on-hand inventory levels of soft/hard product.

Other Duties:

• Maintain professionalism while communicating with peers, managers, and customers.
• Collaborate with store management to ensure operations and production work as a team toward the same goals.
• Perform additional job-related duties as requested by the Merchandise Processing Manager.

Required Skills:

• Successful at working independently with a sense of urgency, a high level of customer focus, and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication (verbal and written), decision-making, and issue resolution skills.
• Demonstrated successful experience with negotiation, sales, and partnership development.
• Proficient computer skills with Microsoft Office products (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).
• Valid Drivers Licence and vehicle.

Education and Experience:

• Business Management Degree or Certificate or related experience.
• Minimum 2 years previous sales experience with 2+ years of experience working in a retail warehouse environment.
• 1+ years of supervisory experience in a high volume fast-paced environment.
• Experience in community involvement.
• Previous work in a thrift retail environment is considered an asset.

Core Competencies:

• Attention to detail – carefully monitor the detail and quality of team’s work; provide suggestions and coaching for future development when necessary.
• Problem solving – make decisions and use independent judgment in various situations.
• Job recognition – recognize when to escalate appropriate or specific situations to the management.
• Reliability – shows commitment, dependability and accountability in one's work, and follows through on all designated tasks and projects regardless of interruption.
• Team building – work to develop, maintain, and promote positive working relationships within the department to promote inclusivity.
• Communication – be clear and articulate when speaking to a group or an individual, assuring that the intended message is fully comprehended.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to stand and walk for the duration of shift.
• Constant bending, reaching, and using hands for repetitive actions.
• Lifting and carrying items up to 50lbs without assistance throughout shift.
• Pushing and pulling merchandise containers on wheels weighing up to 500lbs.

Work Environment:

• Exposure to dust — all of designated shift.
• Exposure to periodic temperature fluctuations and noise levels.
• Work schedule hours will include days, evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Talize Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible environment, where all employees and customers feel valued, respected, and supported. If you require any type of accommodation, please let the hiring manager know, and we will work with you to meet your needs.