Sales Associate

At Avantor, people are the most important part of our success because they drive our global performance. That’s why our Operations, Lab Services, Sales, and many other Avantor teams rely on our talent acquisition initiatives to attract, engage and hire the right talent. Avantor’s Sales vertical is a crucial part of this mix, enabling all our internal teams worldwide to grow beyond their limits.

Avantor is seeking an early-career Sales Associate to support our strategic partnership with Rutgers University. This role is designed for a commercially curious, relationship-driven professional who wants to build a strong foundation in consultative selling, customer engagement, and account strategy within a complex academic research environment.

This role works in close partnership with the Field Sales Representative and cross-functional teams to drive growth, execute account strategies, and deliver an exceptional customer experience across a complex academic research environment. Success in this role is rooted in spending meaningful time onsite and face to face with customers, combined with strong analytical skills, creativity, and disciplined execution.

This person MUST reside in close proximity to Rutgers University.

What We’re Looking For:

• Education: College degree or equivalent/applicable experience

• Experience: 0–3 years of experience in sales, account management, customer success, marketing, or a related commercial role
  • Exposure to laboratory, research, academic, or scientific environments preferred
  • Experience supporting complex accounts with multiple stakeholders and purchasing workflows
  • Demonstrated ability to support solution-based or consultative selling approaches

Who you are:

• Strong commitment to being onsite and engaging customers face to face, building trusted relationships with researchers, lab managers, procurement partners, and other stakeholders across Rutgers University
• Customer-obsessed mindset with genuine curiosity for understanding researcher needs, lab workflows, and institutional priorities
• Strong Excel skills, including the ability to analyze data, build trackers, identify trends, and support opportunity and account planning
• Analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to translate data and field insights into actionable plans
• Creativity and a marketing-oriented mindset, comfortable testing new ideas, outreach approaches, and engagement tactics—and scaling what works
• Ability to balance a test-and-learn approach with structured planning, follow-through, and execution
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills across customers, manufacturers, and internal teams
• High level of organization, time management, and attention to detail
• Ability to handle difficult situations and customer challenges with professionalism and composure
• Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with a Field Sales Representative and cross-functional partners

How You Will Thrive and Create an Impact:

• Support Avantor’s relationship with Rutgers University by delivering solutions aligned to customer research goals and operational needs
• Spend significant time onsite building relationships and strengthening Avantor’s presence across labs, departments, and campuses
• Partner closely with the assigned Field Sales Representative to execute account strategies and growth initiatives
• Use Excel and data analysis to identify trends, whitespace opportunities, and areas for increased engagement
• Support pipeline development through opportunity tracking, proposal preparation, pricing analysis, and follow-up
• Apply a test-and-learn mindset: piloting new outreach ideas, promotions, and engagement strategies, then refining and scaling what works
• Sell consultatively by helping assess customer needs, coordinating product recommendations, and reinforcing Avantor’s value proposition
• Assist with marketing and customer engagement initiatives, including campaigns, events, promotions, and targeted outreach
• Support onboarding of new labs, programs, and researchers by facilitating setup, product access, and ordering workflows
• Coordinate with internal teams (Customer Service, Specialists, Supply Chain, and Marketing) to ensure seamless execution and customer satisfaction
• Leverage manufacturer partnerships to support product education, promotions, and account-level initiatives
• Maintain accurate CRM data and support reporting, forecasting, and account planning activities

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to travel locally to Rutgers campuses as needed (estimated 60-80%)
• Holder of a valid Driver’s License

Disclaimer:
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees assigned to this position. Avantor is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

Why Avantor?

Dare to go further in your career. Join our global team of 14,000+ associates whose passion for discovery and determination to overcome challenges relentlessly advances life-changing science.
 
The work we do changes people's lives for the better. It brings new patient treatments and therapies to market, giving a cancer survivor the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle. It enables medical devices that help a little boy hear his mom's voice for the first time. Outcomes such as these create unlimited opportunities for you to contribute your talents, learn new skills and grow your career at Avantor.
 
We are committed to helping you on this journey through our diverse, equitable and inclusive culture which includes learning experiences to support your career growth and success. At Avantor, dare to go further and see how the impact of your contributions set science in motion to create a better world. Apply today!

EEO Statement:

We are an Equal Employment/Affirmative Action employer and VEVRAA Federal Contractor. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/province, or local law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the Know Your Rights poster.

3rd Party Non-Solicitation Policy:

By submitting candidates without having been formally assigned on and contracted for a specific job requisition by Avantor, or by failing to comply with the Avantor recruitment process, you forfeit any fee on the submitted candidates, regardless of your usual terms and conditions. Avantor works with a preferred supplier list and will take the initiative to engage with recruitment agencies based on its needs and will not be accepting any form of solicitation.