Director of Accounts

Crooked believes that we need a better conversation about politics, culture, and the world around us—one that doesn’t just focus on what’s broken, but what we can do to fix it. We are a media network that showcases stories, voices, and opportunities for activism that inform, entertain, and inspire action, because it’s up to all of us to do our part to build a better world.

Job Summary:

Crooked is hiring for a Director of Accounts on the Sales department reporting to VP of Sales. This role will play an integral role in sales operations and relationship growth of Crooked’s direct and agency accounts. The Director of Accounts will be the lead direct point of contact for client account management, relationships, and strategy. They will help manage client campaigns from kickoff to wrap, ensuring smooth execution, reporting, KPIs, and great client service. The ideal candidate will be effective in communication, organization, and critical thinking, while thriving in an ever-evolving, fast-paced environment. Candidates should have experience managing account managers/coordinators, client relationships, RFP volume-based business as well as the creation and distribution of proactive opportunities. 

Crooked Media’s primary inventory is bespoke audio advertisements across podcasts, but it also includes newsletter sponsorship, event integration, and premium video and social sponsorship.

Crooked has adopted a hybrid work model for our entire staff. We believe that the best work is done in a hybrid capacity as it combines the flexibility of working from home with in-person collaboration. We are ideally looking for Los Angeles-based candidates, or candidates willing to relocate within the first 3 months of accepting an offer. 

How You’ll Spend Your Time:

Inventory Management 

• Managing day to day Crooked sales efforts (pre, post, wrap) for all available Crooked ad inventory both direct to brands and via agencies with a focus on traditional digital holding companies, direct response, and everything in between.
• Work strategically to leverage existing relationships to meet quarterly and yearly revenue targets. 
• Develop new relationships at all levels with agency and client partners.
• Manage the sales pipeline with timely and accurate forecasting as the main point of contact for brand partners to ensure goals are met and surpassed with an emphasis towards maintaining long-term client satisfaction.

Client Management/Internal Team Management 

• Partner with Crooked Media’s sales team, senior management, creative, and production teams to integrate partnerships with programming; work closely with our ad operations team to ensure smooth executions
• Manage the strategy, implementation and optimization of partnerships with major hosts, all accounts, and key stakeholders for shows, agencies/direct clients, and publishers
• Track, analyze and communicate quantitative metrics and business trends as they relate to partners and our internal team
• Hire, mentor and manage team of Account Managers, and Account Coordinators

Operations 

• You have the eye to see opportunities in our processes and create solutions to increase our efficiency and overall revenue.  You don’t let anything slip while multitasking assignments, client requests, and managing the account team.
• Prospect, including the ability to qualify new leads and close new accounts
• Contribute to additional sales projects that require research, deck development or proactive response on a case-by-case basis
• Relay client and marketplace feedback and insights to better inform Crooked sales offerings, tentpoles and calendar initiatives
• Generate media plans and sponsorship proposals for podcasts, video, social, newsletters, and event integrations
• Create processes that are easily replicable across the organization

What You’ll Bring To The Table:

• 5-7 years experience in account management
• Experience working with creative talent in high stakes scenarios
• Project management experience, with experience leading and handling multiple time-sensitive, cross-functional projects on deadline
• Must have previous presentation and client-facing experience in media
• Keen sense of confidence, ability to learn, and willingness to share knowledge learnings to teach the entire team
• Selfless team contributor willing to take ownership of tasks
• A Positive mindset that values collaboration and delivering results 
• Expertise in Microsoft Office Suite, with an emphasis in Excel, creating pitch decks (Google Slides/Powerpoint), and proposals (Google Sheets)
• Knowledge of Podcast Sales Software and Reporting (such as Simplecast, Megaphone, Podscribe) 
• Copywriting/creative capabilities a bonus

This job description provides a summary of how you’ll spend your time but is nowhere near exhaustive, so other duties may be assigned over time. 

Pay and Perks: 

At Crooked, we believe in paying employees at or above market rates that are informed by salary surveys and industry benchmarks. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer full-time employees excellent benefits including:

• Competitive salaries 
• Paid healthcare
• 401k match 
• Generous vacation and paid leave including, sick leave, bereavement leave, pregnancy loss, and disability leave
• 20 weeks of paid parental leave
• Commuter and communications stipends 
• Professional development opportunities
• Did we also mention our offices are closed at the end of the year?

When we open up a position, we conduct a market analysis to ensure we have the most up-to-date data. Once we’re ready to extend an offer, we look at the individual’s years of relevant experience and other compensable factors to determine a competitive offer. And for this role, the starting salary range is $110,000 - $130,000.