The Community Engagement & Customer Experience Coordinator serves as JUNK Brands’ primary connection point between the brand, its customers, and the Northwest Arkansas fitness community. This role leads the development of JUNK’s local presence by building relationships with gyms, studios, run clubs, schools, universities, and other organizations that shape the region’s active lifestyle culture. The person in this position becomes the company’s local community expert and a key ambassador for the brand.

At the same time, this role owns the day-to-day customer experience across JUNK Brands touchpoints including email, phone, chat, social media messages, and the JUNK Garage retail space. Through these interactions, the coordinator serves as the internal advocate for the voice of the customer, ensuring that customer insights and feedback are shared with marketing, product, and operations teams to strengthen the brand and improve the customer experience.

This position blends community building, retail operations, and customer experience leadership. The coordinator manages the JUNK Garage retail environment, staffs the space for a portion of open hours while coordinating coverage with other team members, and helps create an in-store experience that reflects the energy and authenticity of the JUNK brand.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys connecting people, building relationships within active communities, solving customer problems, and representing a brand in real world environments. The position works closely with the marketing team and supports broader brand initiatives including events, partnerships, and experiential marketing programs.

In addition, there will be opportunities to assist the External Relations & Experiential Marketing Coordinator as needed and time allows.

The result is a role that sits at the center of JUNK’s customer relationships, community engagement, and local brand presence.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Community Outreach & Local Marketing

• Develop and execute community outreach initiatives that grow JUNK's local presence and brand awareness
• Create and manage local social media content that highlights community events, retail happenings, and brand stories
• Identify and cultivate local PR opportunities, partnerships, and sponsorships aligned with the JUNK brand
• Represent JUNK Brands at local events, markets, and community gatherings

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with the marketing team on campaign execution, content needs, and brand messaging consistency
• Coordinate with operations, fulfillment, and logistics teams on retail inventory, returns processing, shipping issues, and customer escalations
• Communicate with product and logistics teams to stay current on upcoming releases and availability
• Provide regular reporting on customer service metrics, retail performance, and community engagement activities

Customer Service & Support

• Manage inbound customer inquiries across email, phone, live chat, and social media DMs with a focus on fast, friendly resolution
• Handle initial intake and triage for returns and exchanges, coordinating with fulfillment and operations teams for processing
• Process orders and escalations while maintaining accurate records in the CRM (Gorgias) and e-commerce platforms (Shopify POS)
• Identify recurring customer issues and surface insights to marketing and product teams for continuous improvement
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of JUNK product lines, upcoming releases, promotions, and policies to provide accurate, on-brand responses

JUNK Garage Retail Operations

• Oversee daily operations of the JUNK Garage retail space, including maintaining the storefront presence during open hours
• Manage retail inventory levels, ensuring best-selling products are consistently stocked and displays are fresh and on-trend
• Coordinate with other staff members who assist in the space, ensuring consistent brand standards and service quality
• Collaborate with the e-commerce team to align in-store promotions with online campaigns and product launches
• Plan and execute in-store events, product launches, and seasonal activations that drive foot traffic and community engagement
• Build relationships with local and walk-in customers, creating a welcoming, high-energy environment that reflects the JUNK brand

Skills & Competencies

• Customer-First Mindset – Naturally empathetic and driven to resolve issues quickly while creating positive brand impressions at every touchpoint.
• Communication Excellence – Strong written and verbal skills with the ability to shift tone between customer support, social media, and professional correspondence.
• Organizational Agility – Able to juggle customer service queues, retail operations, event planning, and content creation without dropping balls.
• Brand Storytelling – Instinct for authentic, on-brand content that resonates with JUNK's active, community-driven audience.
• Problem Solving – Resourceful and calm under pressure; finds solutions rather than escalating unnecessarily.
• Self-Direction – Comfortable operating independently in the retail space and making judgment calls without constant oversight.
• Digital Fluency – Proficient with CRM systems, e-commerce platforms, social media tools, and standard business software (Google Workspace, Microsoft Office).

Education & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field preferred; equivalent experience accepted
• 2+ years of experience in customer service, retail, community management, or a related customer-facing role
• Experience managing social media accounts for a brand or organization
• Familiarity with e-commerce platforms (Shopify preferred) and CRM tools
• Experience planning or coordinating events is a plus
• Must be based in or willing to relocate to the Northwest Arkansas area

Success Metrics

• Customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) and response time targets met consistently across all channels
• Growth in JUNK Garage foot traffic, retail revenue, and event attendance
• Increase in local social media engagement and community-driven content output
• Reduction in average customer resolution time and escalation rate
• Positive customer feedback and online review sentiment
• Successful execution of a monthly community event or activation cadence
• Cross-functional partners report reliable, proactive collaboration

Physical / Mental Requirements

• The person in this position frequently communicates with internal and external customers and must be able to exchange accurate information in a clear manner
• This role splits time between desk-based customer service work and active retail floor duties; must be able to alternate between seated and standing positions throughout the day
• Must be able to stand for extended periods during retail shifts and events
• Domestic travel up to 10-15% for events and brand activations
• Ability to move 10-20 lbs. occasionally throughout day; occasional lifting of up to 40lbs in a retail or event environment
• Able to hear a telephone ring
• Must be able to visually differentiate colors

Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.