**Experienced Recruiting & Customer Care Associate – Flexible Schedule | Part-Time | MN Local-Remote**

Are you a highly motivated and customer-focused individual looking for a part-time opportunity with a dynamic company? Do you have excellent communication and problem-solving skills? If so, we encourage you to apply for the Recruiting & Customer Care Associate position at blithequark, a leading sensory and consumer research consultancy. **About blithequark** blithequark is a fast-growing and global company that empowers consumers to have a voice in the development of outstanding food, beverage, pet, and health & beauty products. Our mission is to create high-quality and memorable experiences by providing innovative solutions to our clients. With a strong presence in the USA, we are committed to delivering exceptional results and building long-lasting relationships with our clients and partners. **Job Summary** As a Recruiting & Customer Care Associate, you will be the first point of contact for Tasteocracy Respondents, providing exceptional customer service and support to ensure their needs are met. You will work closely with our recruiting team to fill our taste tests, resolve customer inquiries, and maintain a welcoming and courteous atmosphere for respondents. This is a part-time position with a flexible schedule, offering up to 25 hours a week, Monday-Sunday, within the hours of 9:00 am-9:00 pm. **Responsibilities** * Customer Care Phone Handling: + Be knowledgeable about active research projects, including screening requirements, applicable quotas, logistical information, and proactively seek information that is not available. + Field inbound respondent communication to the main blithequark phone line and online chat, with an eye to the studies that need to be filled. Steer respondents towards the highest priority tests. + Create a welcoming and courteous atmosphere for respondents by maintaining a professional demeanor while determining respondents' needs. + Strive for first-call resolution by clarifying respondent complaints or questions, determining the cause of the problem, finding and explaining the best solution, expediting correction or adjustments, and following up to ensure resolution. + Answer incoming queries and resolve incoming issues from respondents within the parameters set by the recruiting management team. + Ensure that respondents meet all qualification requirements for the specific tests before scheduling. + Ability to read respondents' behavior over the phone to determine a good fit for different panels. + Cold call pre-existing contacts, internal respondents, and external potential respondents. + Assist with host contact when a lead might not be available. * Customer Care Digital Channel & Database Handling: + Strive for resolutions upon first interaction. If needs exceed what can be done on digital channels, ensure comfortability in calling the respondent to ensure their needs are met. + Answer incoming questions within a proper amount of time when notified. + Meet daily goals for assigned recurring database cleaning projects. + Proactively update respondent information using departmental database cleaning processes when providing customer service. + Responsible for hard-copy communications to and from respondents in support of database cleaning processes and project-related communications. + Complete special administrative projects as needed for the recruiting department. * Training and Metrics: + Meet monthly phone metrics (Average Handle Time, Average Talk Time, Utilization) when applicable. + Meet monthly digital channel metrics (average wait time, average handle time, utilization). + Meet Monthly billability. + Attend quarterly training and pass any quizzes given within a certain timeframe. **Qualifications** To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements below are representative of the knowledge, skill, or ability required. * High School diploma or GED equivalent certificate required. * Comfortability with all digital channels (Live Chat, SMS, Emailing, Social Media Messenger). * Some exposure to SalesForce or other CRM Systems (nice to have). * Confident with phone handling (phone software experience not required but nice to have). * Proactive, knowledgeable, reliable, sustainable, collaborative. * Problem-solving skills. * Communication skills. * Interpersonal skills. **Additional Information** The hourly compensation for this position is $16.00 an hour. Part-time employees are eligible for our 401(k) Savings Incentive Plans, accruing prorated PTO, Holiday, paid time off. Employees scheduled to work 30-34 hours a week are eligible for Medical Insurance. **Schedule** This is a part-time position with hours up to 25 hours a week. We are looking for availability for 3-4 days a week, Monday-Sunday, within the hours of 9:00 am-9:00 pm. Flexibility includes setting preferred shift schedule (Mon.-Fri., Thurs.-Sun., Weds.-Sat., etc.). This could include morning shifts, mid-day/daytime shifts, or evening shifts. We are willing to accommodate what would work best for the right individual to grow this already fantastic team! **Work Environment & Physical Demands** The work environment characteristics and physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. * While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; sit and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. * The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 35 pounds (50 lbs. with assistance). * The employee must have the ability to stand for long periods of time. * Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. * Lab regularly processes known food allergens including egg, soy, wheat, milk, fish, and shellfish, treenuts, peanuts, sulfites, gluten, chocolate, fruit, natural or artificial sweeteners (like aspartame or Phenylalanine), natural or artificial colors. * The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. **How to Apply** If you are a motivated and customer-focused individual looking for a part-time opportunity with a dynamic company, we encourage you to apply for the Recruiting & Customer Care Associate position at blithequark. Please submit your application through our website or by clicking on the link below. **Equal Employment Opportunity** blithequark is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We are committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and welcome applications from qualified candidates of all backgrounds.