Sailor Support Specialist

Calling local sailors who love talking about boat projects and gear! We are looking for a friendly and mechanically minded person who shares our passion for sailing and has put a few miles under the keel.

HYDROVANE International Marine is a family business with an office in Dundarave village in West Vancouver. We manufacture the Hydrovane self steering windvane in England, and market and sell worldwide to sailors who are embarking on grand adventures. Hydrovane has been in business for over 50 years, and has developed a loyal customer base and reputation for a robust product and excellent service.  

As the Sailor Support Specialist, you will provide this high level of service to our intrepid customers, sailors from all over the world. You will understand our mechanical system intimately and become the go-to person in the office for technical enquiries from existing customers. You will be primarily involved in after sale Hydrovane support: answering questions as our customers tackle the installation, providing feedback and troubleshooting for the operation of the system, processing parts orders, and problem solving any issues that arise. Your daily activities will involve answering emails and phone calls, and a wide range of tasks as needed in a small business environment.

You will also develop expertise on our other products: preparing quotes, responding to questions, and after sales support.

Responsibilities

• Corresponds with Hydrovane customers to answer technical questions including those related to the installation, operation, troubleshooting, and refurbishment of Hydrovane self steering windvanes
• Determines parts requirements based on a Hydrovane’s vintage and wear. Prepares quotes.
• Works closely with the Director of Sales to best advise customers on installation options
• Provides guidance on sailing practices for optimal performance
• Identifies and packages parts for shipping from our office (although most orders ship from our manufacturing facility in England). Maintains a small parts inventory in our office.
• Assists with sales and customer service for our other cruising products: Echo Tec watermaker, Watt&Sea hydrogenator, Parasailor
• Assists with order fulfillment as needed, including administrative tasks such as managing and updating invoices, processing new orders, and generating shipping labels.
• Assists with other tasks as needed in a variety of areas: organization, marketing, production, packaging, etc. 
• Joins the team at boat shows to assist with sales and customer service. Enjoys speaking with other sailors and making connections. We exhibit at three boat shows per year: Seattle (USA), Southampton (UK), and Annapolis (USA).

Requirements

• Must be a sailor, ideally with some offshore sailing experience. Even better if you have used a Hydrovane (or other self steering system) on a long passage.
• Mechanically minded with a technical understanding of sailboat projects. Hydrovane training will be provided, but you should have hands on experience with boat projects and be able to talk the talk ie, you know your way around a toolkit and have crawled into tight spaces on boats.
• Excellent writing skills
• Basic engineering knowledge: ability to read and understand technical drawings
• Can-do attitude, easy-going personality, with friendly communication style
• Can easily work with outlook, excel, PDF’s, and other online tools including UPS and Fedex

Details

• Entry level position
• Salary commensurate with experience
• Private health benefits plan
• Relaxed office located in Dundarave Village

To Apply:

• Review our website: www.hydrovane.com
• Please direct your interest and resume to Sarah Curry: sarah@hydrovane.com