Distributor Deductions and Chargeback Specialist (UNFI / KeHE)

Company: True Sea Moss (DIVA FAM, Inc.)
Type: Part-time to start (~15–20 hrs/week)
Reports to: VP of Finance / CFO
Works closely with: Accounting (controller, AP), Operations/Fulfillment, Sales/Broker management

Role objective
True Sea Moss sells DTC and is scaling its retail footprint through major distributors and brokers - UNFI, KeHE, Pod Foods, and Wegmans, among others. These distributors deduct chargebacks, billbacks, and commissions on a rolling basis, and our internal review has found these deductions are frequently unclear, unreconciled to actual orders, and in some cases overstated. Uncontested, UNFI and KeHE deductions can run ~3% of turnover.

The objective of this role is simple and measurable: recover and prevent invalid distributor deductions. This person owns the end-to-end deductions workflow for UNFI and KeHE - monitoring the portals, validating every charge against source documents, disputing what isn't owed, and giving Finance a clean, reconciled picture each week. The expected recovery is significant relative to its cost; this is treated as a margin-recovery function, not overhead.

Key responsibilities
Monitor distributor portals daily/weekly. Track all incoming chargebacks, deductions, and billbacks in the UNFI and KeHE vendor portals in real time; register and maintain portal access.
Validate every deduction against source documents. Reconcile chargebacks to the originating purchase orders, invoices, and EDI/SPS Commerce order data. Flag any deduction that does not tie out to an actual order or a contractual term.
Dispute invalid and unsupported charges. Prepare and submit disputes, recalls, and claims through each distributor's required process; track each dispute to resolution and follow up on aging items.
Reconcile commissions and billbacks. Confirm that broker/distributor commissions are calculated only on amounts contractually owed (e.g., on money actually received, excluding late-arriving billbacks where the contract specifies), and challenge miscalculations.
Maintain a deductions log and recovery tracker. Keep a single source of truth: deduction type, amount, status, dispute date, outcome, and dollars recovered vs. written off.
Reconcile to the books. Ensure deductions and recoveries are correctly recorded in the accounting system and reconcile to distributor remittances/statements; surface discrepancies to Accounting.
Drive periodic reviews. Request and work through annual/periodic account reviews with UNFI and KeHE to understand and document the full deduction structure and additional conditions.
Report to Finance. Provide a concise weekly summary of new deductions, disputes in flight, recoveries, and net exposure.
Document the process. Build and maintain SOPs so the workflow is repeatable and auditable as volume grows.

Required qualifications
Hands-on UNFI and/or KeHE accounting experience - direct experience working their vendor portals, deduction/chargeback processes, and dispute mechanisms (non-negotiable).
Deductions/chargeback/claims management experience in CPG, food & beverage, or grocery distribution - understanding of how distributor deductions, billbacks, MCBs (manufacturer chargebacks), spoils, shortages, and post-audit claims work.
EDI / SPS Commerce familiarity - ability to pull and reconcile order data to deductions.
Strong reconciliation skills and advanced Excel/Google Sheets - comfortable matching large transaction sets, building trackers, and spotting anomalies.
Persistence and a disputing mindset - willing to push back on distributors, follow up relentlessly, and document the case for each contested charge.
Clear written communication - for distributor correspondence and concise internal reporting.
Detail orientation and discretion - accurate work with confidential financial data, and reliable self-management in a remote, part-time arrangement.

Preferred qualifications
Experience across multiple distributors/retailers (Pod Foods, Wegmans, Whole Foods / Greenspoon, Faire, etc.).
Familiarity with QuickBooks Online.
Understanding of retail/broker commission and trade-spend structures and how to read distributor agreements for deduction terms.
Prior experience standing up or improving a deductions function from scratch.

Tools & systems
UNFI and KeHE vendor portals · SPS Commerce / EDI · QuickBooks Online (transitioning to NetSuite) · Excel / Google Sheets · email and the company's project/communication tools.

Success metrics (how the role is judged)
Dollars recovered from disputed/invalid deductions (primary).
Deduction rate trend - reduction in net UNFI/KeHE deductions as a % of turnover over time.
Dispute cycle time - speed and win rate on contested charges.
Reconciliation coverage - % of deductions tied to source documents within the period; no unexplained charges carried forward.
Clean weekly reporting delivered to Finance on schedule.

Engagement & logistics
Hours: ~15–20 hours/week to start, scaling with deduction volume; the role may transition to full-time if recovery and workload justify it.
Arrangement: Contractor (1099) / part-time, remote.
Onboarding priority: Register for portal access, build the initial deductions log, and complete a first reconciliation of recent UNFI and KeHE deductions against orders.