Advertising & Sponsorships Lead

About the role

The Republic, an African media and technology company, is hiring an Advertising & Sponsorships Lead to grow the commercial revenues of its media business. This is a hands-on, target-driven sales role where you personally prospect, pitch, negotiate and close business, rather than mainly managing a team. The first-year revenue target is N40 million in collected advertising and sponsorship revenue.

Key responsibilities

• Own the advertising and sponsorship sales pipeline, from prospecting through closing and collection.
• Identify and approach prospective advertisers, sponsors, media agencies and corporate decision-makers.
• Sell advertising across existing print and digital inventory, and develop and sell sponsorship packages for newsletters, podcasts, print issues and special projects.
• Build relationships with brands and agencies for repeat, multi-campaign business.
• Prepare proposals, media plans, sponsorship decks and commercial packages, and lead pitches and negotiations.
• Maintain an organised pipeline with deal values, probabilities, next steps and expected closing dates.
• Work with Finance to raise invoices and collect payments, and coordinate with Audience, Design, Product and Editorial teams.
• Manage client relationships, pursue renewals and extensions, and report on pipeline, contracted and collected revenue and targets.
• Help refine rate cards, advertising products and sponsorship packages.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, social sciences or a related field; graduate degrees strongly encouraged.
• 5+ years of experience in advertising sales, media sales, sponsorships, business development or a similar commercial role (2-3 years of sales leadership preferred).
• Proven track record of personally generating revenue and closing deals.
• Strong knowledge of the Nigerian corporate, advertising and media landscape.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of a commercial function.

Preferred qualifications

• Established network of industry contacts in Africa or experience with media buyers, brands and agencies across the continent.
• Proficiency with CRM software (Apollo) and sales performance tools.
• Existing relationships with brands and media agencies.

What we offer

• Gross base salary of N800,000 per month plus uncapped commission on collected revenue (5%, 7.5% and 10% progressively).
• Hybrid working with 3 office days, pension plan and healthcare coverage.
• Office equipment and remote work allowance (laptop, phone, airtime and internet up to N20,000 each).
• Lunch on office days, commuting service and 15 annual leave days.