Account Director (Advertising Sales)

About Us

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The Role / Position Overview
We are looking for an Account Director to join our FT Specialist advertising team in New York, reporting to the Head of Financial Advertising Sales, US.

A collaborative group of experienced sales professionals, the FT Specialist advertising team handles all aspects of advertising sales and account management for the FT’s financial vertical clients. The Account Director will play a key role in driving growth, not only managing a portfolio of high-value clients but also developing a pipeline of prospective accounts with the potential to become major advertisers. You’ll be immersed in the financial vertical, mastering the nuances of the category and our unique product portfolio.

Our team consists of four seasoned individuals, all based in New York, working together across business development, account management, and team coordination. Collaboration and shared responsibilities are central to our success, and as the Account Director, you'll manage a blend of existing high-value clients alongside developmental accounts that could drive significant future revenue.

In this role, you’ll take full ownership of revenue generation, account management, and exceptional client service for your portfolio. You’ll also collaborate with internal teams, including Research, Advertising Operations, Content Activation, and Project Management, ensuring seamless execution and innovation across client engagements.

Key Responsibilities

• To represent the FT, FT Specialist and all associated products within the key accounts and development accounts assigned by the Head of Financial Advertising, US.
• To achieve revenue goals and deliver outstanding customer service to our partners.
• To work in partnership with other team members and other internal FT resources - to ensure that all decision points within the client planning and buying process are communicated with and receive the best and most appropriate treatment from the commercial operation.
• Establish long-term relationships with clients, agencies, and any other relevant stakeholders within the industry.
• Work closely with management, ad operations, research and other internal stakeholders to learn all of the products and offerings across the FT financial vertical portfolio, and be able to confidently communicate those to senior level decision makers.
• Formulate and execute individual account development plans aimed at growing revenues for our key sets of advertisers and ensuring that decision makers understand the value of our commercial proposition.
• Attend industry and other client entertainment events to build relationships with new and existing partners, keep up to date on industry trends and stay visible amongst our clients and industry peers.

Required Skills / Experience 

• Around 3+ years of advertising sales or account management experience, preferably with financial clients.
• Strong knowledge of digital media (mobile, programmatic, native), with print experience being a plus.
• Proven track record in building media recommendations, sales presentations, and delivering them to senior clients.
• Experience managing multiple clients and negotiating multi-platform advertising campaigns.
• Strong understanding of US and international media markets, with knowledge of metrics, analytics, and research.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to foster long-term client relationships.
• Highly organized, with experience using platforms like Salesforce to manage complex projects.

What’s in it for you? Our Benefits

Our benefits vary depending on location, but we are committed to providing best in class perks across all our offices as well as an inclusive environment to develop your career. Examples of our benefits include; generous annual leave allowances, flexible working (including working from home), health coverage (medical, dental & vision insurance), 401k and company match, enhanced parental packages, and Giving Back opportunities. Full details of our benefits can be found here. 

Further Information
The FT is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all. We are an equal opportunities employer who seeks to recruit and appoint the best talent regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We have implemented a hybrid working model and we also promote flexible working and will consider specific requests around flexibility for all roles where it can be accommodated. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements, or have any questions, please send an email to [email protected] and a member of our team will be happy to help.

A reasonable estimate of the salary range for this role is $125,000-$137,000 base plus quarterly commission. To ensure pay fairness, the successful candidate will be offered a salary within the estimated salary range based on a number of considerations including but not limited to: skill set; experience and training; certifications; and other business and organisational needs. The disclosed range estimate is for our NYC office and has not been adjusted for other locations. 

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