Sales Director, Agency Sales

News can change the world, save lives, and bring us all closer together through empathy and understanding - but not if it isn’t read. Out of the hundreds of millions of articles and posts, how do we deliver the information that matters the most? How do we avoid the filter bubble of personalization and widen people’s interests and knowledge?

SmartNews is creating an entirely new model for the news industry. Our mission is to evaluate (in real-time) what makes a quality story and deliver the stories that matter to people who need it. We are dedicated to the idea that people make better decisions when provided with better information.

We’re not there yet, but we have a great head start. We’re one of the very few pre-IPO, (double) unicorns focused on the news with thousands of publisher partners globally. Founded in Tokyo in 2012, SmartNews has become the go-to source of news for users around the world. We have more than 20M+ monthly active users worldwide, billions of channel interactions, and article pageviews generated per month.

Join us and be a part of the solution as we work to escape the filter bubble, strengthen democracy, and help people be better informed.

About the role

The Agency Sales Director role at SmartNews is pivotal in driving the growth of our ads business by boosting revenue from top agencies like Dentsu and Hakuhodo. The successful candidate will develop and execute business growth strategies in collaboration with sales operations, marketing, product, engineering, and other key stakeholders. Additionally, they will build and expand the FAS group by hiring, managing, and developing a high-performing team. Establishing strong relationships with top agencies to solidify SmartNews' presence in the Japanese advertising industry is crucial. The role also involves creating scalable sales mechanisms to accommodate the increasing number of advertisers and working closely with Ad Products and other departments to enhance our offerings based on customer feedback.

• Grow the SmartNews ads business sales by driving the revenue from Dentsu and Hakuhodo.
• Develop and own the business growth strategies and its execution in partnership with key stakeholders such as sales operations, marketing, products, engineering, etc. 
• Build and grow the FAS group, hire the best,  manage and develop the team. 
• Develop strong relationships with top 2 agencies to build a robust foundation of SmartNews ad business in Japan advertisement industries. 
• Develop mechanisms to scale the sales activities along with the number of advertisers growth. 
• Collaborating with Ad Products and other key departments to enhance our products via customer feedback-sharing and other customer-related activities

Requirements

• 10 years or more of sales experience in the digital ads related agencies or industry.
• Proven track record of delivering result
• Experience of C-level engagement with major advertisers in Japan.  
• 5 years or more of experience in managing large sales teams (10 or more members; multiple teams simultaneously)
• 5 year or more of experience in hiring and talent development
• Native-level Japanese, Business-level English
• Ability to carry out new customer acquisition and manage relationships with both new and existing customers

Benefits

Perks and Benefits at the SmartNews Tokyo Office

• Lunch and snacks prepared daily in our on-site kitchen facility
• In-office coffee stand offering single-origin coffees, espresso-based beverages, teas, and other seasonal drinks
• SmartSelect, our support program for employee self-development, well-being, and productivity
• All healthcare and social insurance required by the Japanese labor law

• オフィス内のキッチンで毎日作られるランチとスナックの提供
• オフィス内のコーヒースタンドでのシングルオリジンのコーヒーやエスプレッソベースの飲み物、紅茶、その他の季節限定ドリンクの提供
• 従業員の自己啓発、ウェルビーイングや生産性をサポートする「SmartSelect」プログラムの提供
• 日本の労働法で必要とされるすべての医療保険と社会保険の適用