Account Manager
16 days ago
Queens Village
Job DescriptionStar Fire is a Long Island–based fire and life safety company and a proud member of the ONEAltus family of companies. As a Siemens distributor, we design, install, service, and inspect fire alarm and life safety systems for many of the region’s most demanding institutional clients — trusted by transit authorities, railroads, and school districts across Long Island to keep people safe and buildings code-compliant. As we grow and transition long-standing customer relationships to the next generation of leadership, we are seeking a driven, relationship-focused Account Manager to steward and expand our most important accounts. The Account Manager is the trusted advisor and primary point of contact for Star Fire’s portfolio of strategic institutional accounts — including the MTA, the Long Island Railroad (LIRR), and school districts across Long Island. This role exists to take ownership of established, high-value relationships historically managed by ownership and to protect, deepen, and grow them over time. This is fundamentally a relationship-management role. You will retain and expand recurring inspection, testing, service, and project revenue across an assigned book of strategic accounts by being present, responsive, and genuinely useful to the people who depend on Star Fire for life-safety compliance. You will coordinate Star Fire’s technical, project management, service, and office teams around each client’s needs — acting as the internal "quarterback" who ensures the customer experience is seamless. As a secondary focus, you will help develop new relationships with general and electrical contractors on Long Island — positioning Star Fire as their fire alarm and life safety subcontractor of choice on retrofit and new-installation projects. This is an opportunistic growth lever, not the core of the role. Hourly Rate: $28.00/hour - $45.00/hourResponsibilitiesKEY ATTRIBUTES The Account Manager is expected to embody the following key attributes: • Accountability — take ownership of every strategic account relationship, from transition through long-term growth and retention., • Client Focus — prioritize long-term institutional relationships, measured by satisfaction, retention, compliance, and account growth., • Collaboration — win as a team across Star Fire’s technical experts, project management, service, scheduling, estimating, and office/accounting functions., • Trusted Presence — become the reliable, credible face of Star Fire to institutional decision-makers; earn the relationship equity that ownership built over decades., • Sense of Urgency — respond promptly to client requests and drive timely coordination across the organization., • Time Management — balance field time with institutional accounts against the office discipline needed to manage a clean, current book of business. Administrative work should never crowd out relationship-building or customer engagement.KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Account Management (Primary Focus) • Serve as the single, consistent point of contact and trusted advisor for Star Fire’s strategic institutional accounts — MTA, LIRR, and Long Island school districts., • Take ownership of relationships transitioning from ownership; introduce yourself, establish rapport, and set clear communication expectations with each key stakeholder during the transition period., • Conduct proactive, in-person outreach and site visits to review service satisfaction, surface concerns early, and build long-term trust., • Understand each account’s compliance calendar, inspection cycles, and code obligations; be the client’s guide to staying ahead of requirements rather than reacting to them., • Educate clients on code and compliance requirements, using each conversation as an opportunity to add value and recommend appropriate services, upgrades, and repairs., • Document all client interactions, commitments, and opportunities in the CRM for continuity, accountability, and a smooth long-term transition of institutional knowledge. Account Retention & Growth • Retain and grow recurring inspection, testing, and service revenue across the assigned portfolio of strategic accounts., • Identify and pursue opportunities to expand within existing accounts — additional buildings, additional systems and service lines, deficiency repairs, and system upgrades or retrofits., • Begin renewal planning well ahead of contract expiration; prepare by reviewing account history, outstanding deficiencies, management or leadership changes, and growth opportunities., • Present the value of added services and compliance coverage proactively — reach out ahead of expirations, line up site visits for open deficiencies, and grow the account at renewal., • Public procurement awareness — understand that many institutional accounts award work through competitive bids and public procurement; stay aware of bid calendars and coordinate with estimating and leadership so Star Fire is positioned to respond when opportunities come up. General Contractor Development (Secondary Focus) • Develop new relationships with general and electrical contractors on Long Island, positioning Star Fire as their fire alarm and life safety subcontractor of choice., • Learn how each contractor bids, who makes decisions, and what they value most in a subcontractor — price, schedule, quality, or close-outs — and set how quoting will work going forward., • Expand relationships beyond a single contact — estimators, project managers, and owners — so Star Fire is known across the company, not dependent on one person., • Coordinate with Star Fire’s project management and estimating teams to respond to bid and RFP requests for fire alarm and life safety installations, retrofits, and upgrades. Internal Coordination (Quarterback) • Route customer needs — scheduling, reports, quotes, invoices, deficiencies, contract questions — to the right internal team, follow through to resolution, and relay one consistent update back to the client., • Partner closely with Star Fire’s technical expert and project manager on the field and technical work, and with the office manager on scheduling, processing, and technician coordination., • Partner with estimating and operations on site visits, building audits, and opportunity qualification for both institutional accounts and contractor projects., • Participate in regular account-review, pipeline, and operations meetings, plus coaching, networking, and client-appreciation events.HOW YOU'LL WORK This role is an even mix of field and office work. Field time is spent building and maintaining relationships with institutional accounts and contractors — on-site visits, walkthroughs, and face-to-face meetings where trust is built and intelligence is gathered. Office time is spent managing a clean, current book of business: planning, quote coordination, renewal preparation, follow-up, and CRM discipline. The exact structure is set by branch leadership, but the balance is intentional — relationships are won in the field and protected through disciplined follow-through in the office. PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS Success is measured across account retention, account growth, responsiveness, and new relationship development. Specific metrics and targets are determined by Star Fire and Altus leadership; the benchmarks below are illustrative only. MetricIllustrative Benchmark *Account RetentionRetain 97%+ renewal rate on recurring T&I/Monitoring accountsRecurring Revenue Growth>10% of recurring revenue growth of assigned portfolio vs. prior year Pull-Through / Attachment Rate (Ratio of Service & Repair $’s to every $ of Testing & Inspection revenue) Follow-Up – clear status on all outstanding deficiency quotes Close Rate - % of quotes issued that are approved/awarded by Client Client ResponsivenessTimely response to client requests (same-day where possible) Proactive Outreach (Existing + Prospective Clients) Regular, documented outreach and site visits across existing accounts and prospective lead qualification (target # of calls per day)New Business# of new contracts sold per week (new customer, new location, new service lines, etc)Pipeline Health & Data QualityMaintain accurate data related to Customers, Locations, Contacts, Contracts/Renewals, Quotes, and other relevant data maintained in Salesforce.com / ServiceTrade (or equivalent systems)Required SkillsWHAT WE LOOK FOR • Relationship-first — genuinely skilled at building and holding trust with institutional and executive stakeholders, • Driven, motivated, and accountable, • Customer-focused, professional, and presentable, • Responsible, reliable, and organized, • A strong communicator — verbal, written, and virtual, • Comfortable with technical fire alarm and life safety concepts, or eager to learn them, • Open to learning and coaching QUALIFICATIONS • 3+ years in account management, outside sales, business development, or strategic relationship management, • Experience managing institutional, government, transit, or education-sector accounts is strongly preferred, • Fire and life safety industry background is a strong asset; familiarity with the Siemens fire alarm platform is a plus, but not required, • Experience navigating public procurement or competitive-bid environments is an asset, • Experience selling to or working with general and electrical contractors is a plus, • Comfortable with technical fire alarm, detection, and suppression concepts (technical depth is a plus, not a requirement), • Proficiency with CRM systems and the Microsoft Office suite, • Highly organized and self-directed, able to balance field relationship work with office discipline, • Valid driver’s license and willingness to travel across Long Island (field-based role), • High School Diploma or equivalent required
