Advertising Sales Director, Civic Square Partners | New York City
About Civic Square Partners
Civic Square Partners is a new, collaborative advertising sales operation serving some of New York City's leading nonprofit local news organizations, The City Reporter (formerly THE CITY), Documented, and New York Focus. With launch funding from philanthropic partners, Civic Square Partners aggregates advertising inventory across publishers to deliver scale, shared infrastructure, and optimized client experiences.
Our mission is to meaningfully bolster earned revenue capacity for public interest journalism while modeling a replicable and sustainable approach for the wider local news ecosystem.
About the Role
We are seeking a dynamic and effective Sales Director to lead business development and revenue generation for Civic Square Partners. This is a founding role with significant opportunity to shape strategy, build client relationships, and demonstrate the commercial viability of mission-driven local news. The Sales Director will oversee a half-time administrative position supporting the sales effort.
The partner outlets reach New York's most civically engaged audiences. The Sales Director will bring this combined reach to market through a shared-services model that could serve as a blueprint for nonprofit news organizations nationwide.
The Sales Director will be supervised by all three news organizations but will legally report to the CEO of The City Reporter. The role is based in New York City, with office space in lower Manhattan, with a minimum expectation of two days in office.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a sales strategy to meet annual revenue benchmarks
- Cultivate strong and enduring relationships with advertisers, agencies, marketing departments and sponsors aligned with the mission and audiences of partner outlets
- Refine sales collateral, pricing structures, and marketing materials
- Manage the full sales cycle from prospecting through close, coordinating with an outside vendor on ad operations and fulfillment and bringing in outlet leadership as needed,
- Collaborate with partner newsrooms to identify inventory opportunities across newsletters, display, podcasts, and emerging products
- Track pipeline activity, forecast revenue, and report weekly to the publishers
- Advise on the development of new earned revenue opportunities
- Document and share learnings to benefit the broader nonprofit news sector
Qualifications
- Five or more years of experience in media sales, with a track record of meeting or exceeding revenue targets
- Demonstrated ability to build and maintain client relationships
- Experience selling to advocacy organizations, government affairs practices, trade associations, and institutional advertisers strongly preferred
- Familiarity with digital advertising products, including newsletters, display, audio and video
- Experience managing or mentoring junior sales staff
- Strong organizational skills and comfort with CRM tools and sales reporting
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Interest in local journalism and the nonprofit news sector preferred
- Existing relationships with New York-area agencies and political or public affairs advertising buyers a plus
Compensation
The base salary for this role is $150,000. In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for commission-based compensation. The position comes with a strong benefits package, administered through The City Reporter.
