Relationship Specialist at AFC

What We Offer:  

• Competitive pay 

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits with employer HSA contributions (US) 

• Immediately vested 401K (US) or RRSP (Canada) with company match

• Paid Vacation, Personal, and Sick Time

• Paid maternity and paternity leave (US)

• Employer paid short-term disability and life insurance

• Employer paid Leap into Service Day to volunteer

• Tuition Reimbursement for eligible programs

• Opportunities to expand your skill set and share your knowledge ross a publicly traded, global organization

• Company culture of internal promotions, diverse career paths, and rapid advancement  

We’re Looking For:

AFC is seeking a Relationship Specialist who enjoys and is energized by building relationships through meaningful interactions with both with current and prospective customers.  The Relationship Specialist is instrumental in elevating customer relationships and attracting new business. The Relationship Specialist will grow AFC revenue by increasing the number of customers, expanding the diversification of the branch portfolio, and driving greater penetration of AFC’s financial products.  Portfolio management, loss prevention, and risk management are core job functions.  The Relationship Specialist will spend approximately 30% of their time securing new business.  The remaining 70% of time will be spent servicing customer portfolios. This person will have a strong understanding of portfolio management, risk, and new business development.  

You Are:  

• Focused on Elevating Relationships: you believe integrity and honesty build long lasting relationships; connecting deeply with your customers, celebrating their wins, and supporting them through their struggles.  

• Powered by Passion: you are obsessed with customer service and helping our customers realize their unlimited potential. You understand our dealer’s success is built upon the commitment and perseverance of your efforts.  

• Vision-Driven: you focus on understanding your customers’ future needs and are dedicated to continuous improvement; making it easier for customers to do business while preparing for what’s to come.  

• Dedicated: you have an unwavering “people-first” commitment to ensure success and provide support to your customers and team.  

You Will: 

• Grow the portfolio organically while providing an excellent customer experience.

• Promote AFC’s vision by leading prospecting, growth and robust development of the portfolio.  The Relationship Specialist will also assist in promotional efforts to new and existing accounts and execution of product campaigns.

• Be proficient in utilizing AFC dealer reporting tools like Salesforce and Tableau to identify leads, growth opportunities, and risk issues.

• Develop relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners to provide strong lead generation for both groups. 

• Understand industry, assigned geographic area, and individual dealer operations to be able to better forecast opportunities and challenges.

• Understand the operational needs of dealers and be able to provide solutions.

• Analyze data to determine best courses of action for business development opportunities and risk mitigation measures.

• Use critical thinking to assess business and risk situations and make decisions. The Relationship Specialist will have strong decision-making skills without direct oversight of management.

• Possess strong negotiation skills.

• Effectively promote other OPENLANE businesses’ products and services to customers.

• Be responsible for all credit and contract functions, including small credit presentations and assisting with platinum deals.

• Utilize all available customer relationship management (CRM) tools and work queue task assignments to effectively service our customers while developing a more complete understanding of their needs. Review these tools for quality assurance and customer satisfaction.

• Onboard new customers and help find areas of opportunity and growth for their businesses.

• Manage and request temporary credit increases and line modifications for customers.

• Work across major functional areas such as Credit, Contracting, Collections, Training, and Operations teams to drive portfolio performance.

• Where necessary, the Relationship Specialist will cross train with Relationship Associates and/or Business Processing Associates to cover responsibilities as needed.

• Understand and operate within compliance of all applicable laws and codes for their assigned geographic area.

• Perform other duties, as assigned.

Must Have’s: 

• Three (3) or more years relevant experience 

• A valid driver's license  

• Willingness to travel locally to support our customer base 

• Attention to detail and ability to prioritize and stay organized 

Nice to Have’s: 

• Bilingual (Spanish & English) strongly preferred

• One year in sales or sales support 

• Previous auto industry experience 

• Experience with Microsoft Suite, Salesforce, and CRM familiarity