Duramen Designs | Cardiff, Newcastle NSW
Full-time | Salary negotiable based on experience
Sales & Office Manager
Duramen Designs | Cardiff, Newcastle NSW
Full-time | Salary negotiable based on experience
Take ownership of our customer enquiries, sales pipeline and office coordination while helping drive the continued growth of Duramen Designs.
Duramen Designs is a custom furniture and joinery business based in Cardiff, Newcastle.
We design and manufacture custom vanities, furniture, tables, cabinetry and architectural timber pieces for homeowners, builders, designers and trade customers.
We're looking for an extremely organised, confident and proactive person to take ownership of the customer, sales and administrative side of our business.
This is
not purely an administration position
.
We're looking for someone who enjoys talking to people, keeps things moving and doesn't need to constantly be told what to do next.
The right person will become an important part of Duramen Designs – managing new enquiries, nurturing leads, coordinating jobs, keeping our systems up to date and actively looking for new opportunities.
What the role is really about
We receive regular enquiries from customers wanting custom pieces made.
An initial enquiry might simply be:
"Hi, I'd like a quote for a dining table."
Before we can actually quote it, we need to know the size, timber, design, finish, reference images, delivery location and other relevant details.
Your job is to
own that process
.
Speak with the customer. Understand what they're trying to achieve. Ask the right questions. Gather the information we need. Organise it properly and get the job ready to quote.
For custom work, you'll then hand a complete brief to the owner so it can simply be priced.
For products with established pricing already programmed into our system, you'll be able to prepare and send quotes yourself.
From there, you continue to own the opportunity.
Send the quote. Follow it up. Answer questions. Keep the customer engaged. Help get the job across the line.
We want every genuine enquiry looked after properly and no good opportunity disappearing simply because we're busy.
Customer enquiries & sales
You will be responsible for:
Managing incoming emails and new customer enquiries
Answering incoming sales calls
Speaking with customers about what they're looking to have made
Gathering dimensions, specifications, reference images, material selections and other information required for quoting
Preparing complete quote briefs for custom work
Preparing and sending straightforward quotes using established pricing
Managing our pipeline of active enquiries and quotes
Following up outstanding quotes
Nurturing potential customers from initial enquiry through to acceptance
Contacting leads generated through our showroom
Re‐engaging previous enquiries and customers
Following up deposits and job acceptance where required
Making sure customers don't fall through the cracks
We don't want a "quote sent – job done" approach.
If a customer hasn't responded, follow them up.
Find out where they're at, answer their questions and see what we can do to move the project forward.
Business development
Generating new work is also an important part of this position.
When the immediate workload is under control, we want someone who naturally thinks:
"Where can we find the next opportunity?"
That could involve:
Reaching out to builders and construction companies
Developing relationships with interior designers and architects
Contacting bathroom companies and other complementary businesses




Building relationships with potential trade and referral partners
Reconnecting with previous customers
Identifying upcoming projects we could be involved with
Finding new ways to promote our products and services
Developing new sales opportunities and relationships
You won't be expected to spend every day cold calling.
But you will be expected to have the initiative to create opportunities rather than simply waiting for enquiries to arrive.
Bringing in new work is part of the position, with additional incentives available for exceptional new opportunities and business generated.
Job coordination & scheduling
Once work is accepted, you'll help make sure it moves smoothly through the business.
This will include:
Making sure accepted jobs have all required customer information
Coordinating the handover of jobs into production
Scheduling upcoming work
Booking site measures and customer meetings
Coordinating deliveries and installations
Keeping customers informed where required
Chasing outstanding selections, dimensions or information
Updating job information when changes are made
Working alongside our workshop manager and production team
Maintaining visibility over upcoming work and deadlines
Our workshop manager will remain responsible for the day-to-day management of production and current jobs.
Your role is to make sure the
customer, information and scheduling side is organised around it.
Own our systems
We're currently implementing a centralised system for our enquiries, quoting, job information, scheduling and workflow.
You'll become one of the key people responsible for keeping this system accurate.
That means making sure:
New enquiries are entered
Customer information is complete
Quote status is current
Follow-ups aren't missed
Accepted jobs are correctly handed over
Outstanding information is chased
Site measures and appointments are scheduled
Job changes are documented
Production and delivery dates are kept current
Completed jobs are properly closed out
We want the whole team to be able to look at our system and understand where a job is at without having to chase someone for an answer.
Protecting people's time
One of the most important parts of this position is being able to
take ownership and solve things yourself
.
Our owner works across quoting, design, purchasing, customers, production and the overall running of the businesses.
Our workshop manager needs to focus on keeping work moving through production.
We want this position to remove unnecessary back-and-forth from both.
Before escalating something, ask yourself:
"Can I handle this?"
If you can – handle it.
If you need input from someone else – gather everything they need first so they can make the decision quickly.
We're looking for someone who becomes a solution rather than another layer of management.
General office & supplier coordination
There will naturally also be general administrative work involved, including:
Maintaining customer and job records
Sending documentation and information
General email and phone correspondence
Following up suppliers and orders where required
Confirming material availability and delivery dates
Sending purchase information supplied by the production team




Keeping records and internal information organised
Helping improve our office processes as the business grows
You don't need to know furniture or joinery
Experience within furniture, joinery, cabinetry, interiors or construction would be helpful, but
it isn't essential
.
We can teach you our products.
You don't need to know how to build or price a custom vanity or dining table.
What matters is being able to learn what information is required and making sure we have it.
If a quote requires dimensions, timber selection, a reference photo, delivery location and basin specifications, your job is to make sure all five are there before it reaches the person pricing it.
We're much more interested in finding someone who can
communicate, organise, learn, follow through and take ownership.
Who we're looking for
We're looking for someone who is:
Extremely organised
Confident and natural on the phone
Warm, personable and professional with customers
A strong communicator
Comfortable asking questions and getting the information they need
Proactive and self‐motivated
Persistent without being pushy
Commercially minded
Interested in sales and business development
Comfortable reaching out to potential customers
Good at building relationships
Able to manage multiple enquiries and tasks at once
Confident with computers and learning new systems
Able to prioritise what's important
Someone who notices something hasn't been done and takes care of it
Someone who genuinely enjoys making things happen
Most importantly,
we don't want someone who needs to constantly ask what they should do next.
There will always be something to move forward.
Seven new enquiries? Contact them.
Quotes haven't been answered? Follow them up.
Jobs are missing information? Chase it.
Next week's schedule needs confirming? Organise it.
Everything is under control? Find a builder, designer or potential partner we should be talking to.
That mindset is more important to us than having experience in our particular industry.
Why we're creating this position
Duramen Designs has grown significantly, and there are now too many opportunities, conversations and moving pieces for the owner to personally manage every interaction.
This position is being created to change that.
We want someone who can take genuine ownership of the
customer, sales and office side of Duramen Designs
.
The goal is for our owner to spend less time chasing information, organising appointments, following up conversations and handling routine administration – and more time focusing on the parts of the business where his involvement adds the most value.
For the right person, that means genuine responsibility and autonomy.
Opportunity to grow
This isn't a position with a rigid ceiling.
Duramen Designs is an established business with plenty of chance to continue growing, and we want the person in this role to grow with it.
As the business develops, this position could naturally move further into sales, business development, customer management, operations or broader business management depending on your strengths.
If you find better ways for us to operate, we want to hear them.
If you create opportunities, we want you to pursue them.
If you demonstrate that you can take on more responsibility, we'll give it to you.
We're happy to pay according to experience and, more importantly, the value the right person can bring to the business.
If you're highly organised, great with people, commercially minded and the sort of person who sees what needs doing and gets it done, we'd love to hear from you.
#J-*****-Ljbffr

📌 Sales & Office Manager (New South Wales)
🏢 Duramen Designs
📍 New South Wales