Head of Advertising Sales & Service

State Affairs is the nation’s leading news and policy intelligence platform focused on state governments. We combine nonpartisan coverage of Statehouses across the country alongside state government data and AI-native tools into a singular platform. 

We inform and empower decision makers, policy professionals and citizens through our award-winning journalism and data – delivering profound insights to help our customers decode and act on state politics and  policy. We’re building a category-defining business that will reshape America as we strengthen visibility into what’s happening and why at the state level.

We are hiring a Head of Advertising Sales & Service to join our team located in Washington, D.C.

As the Head of Advertising Sales & Service, you will:

• Lead the advertising business across all publications and markets, directly managing and supporting a team of experienced sellers
• Own all advertising revenue targets: new business, expansion, and campaign effectiveness
• Build a repeatable, scalable sales motion while maintaining the creativity and agility that’s fueled growth to date
• Partner closely with product and marketing to develop new ad units and improve existing ones (starting with newsletters and sponsored events; mobile coming soon)
• Modernize our service offering by improving post-sale delivery, reporting, and insights — including the development of foundational ad ops infrastructure
• Serve as a trusted thought partner to customers, helping them design advocacy-driven campaigns that educate and influence
• Use data and AI tooling to scale performance, uncover patterns, and test creative formats and placements
• Create a unified advertising narrative across our brands, and ensure we show up consistently and professionally to advertisers, agencies, and partners

Essential Qualifications:

• 7+ years of professional work  experience in digital media or ad sales, including team leadership
• Prior professional work experience building or scaling a revenue-generating function from the ground up
• Ability to think strategically and also execute while balancing work activities such as  selling, managing, planning, and doing
• Ability to lead a high-performing sales team while also improving the operational backbone of the function (CRM, reporting, process, etc.)
• Skilled in client communication and campaign delivery, with a service mindset
• Knowledge of advocacy, issue-based marketing, or public affairs-style campaigns

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior professional work experience selling into both agencies and directly to advertisers, across state/local and national segments
• Prior professional work experience with newsletter, event, or sponsorship-style ad products
• Prior professional work experience in packaging multiple media properties or brands into a coherent advertiser value proposition
• Knowledge  of corporate, policy, and/or public sector audiences
• Knowledge of ad ops infrastructure and campaign performance analytics

This is a hybrid work opportunity and our teams operate from the Washington, D.C. office (located at L and 15th St. NW) at least 4 (four) days per week. State Affairs offers a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits package, and a meaningful equity position to employees.

The annual salary range for this role as it is posted is $161,000 to $181,000 (on-target earnings) for candidates working from the State Affairs office in Washington, D.C. The final job level and annual salary will be determined based on the education, qualification, knowledge, skills, ability, and experience of the final candidate(s), and calibrated against relevant market data and internal team equity.  Benefits listed in this posting may vary depending on the nature of your employment with State Affairs.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future company sponsorship.

State Affairs is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit and business needs.  State Affairs does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic in accordance with federal, state, and local law.

State Affairs is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as they go through our job application and interview process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at jobs@stateaffairs.com

By submitting your application, you affirm the content contained therein is true and accurate in all respects. Please note that prior to employment, State Affairs will obtain background checks for employment purposes that may include, where permitted by law, the following: identify verification, prior employment verification, personal and professional references, educational verification, and criminal history. For certain roles, further background checks covering additional information and activities may be initiated.

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