Food52 is a next-generation cooking and home company, named one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company, with a monthly reach of more than 30 million people. The digital hub challenges the models of traditional media and retailers, combining content, commerce, and community around the belief that the kitchen is the heart of the home and that food is the center of a well-lived life. Food52 connects a global community of experts and amateurs, supporting them with inspirational, helpful content — recipes, videos, podcasts, cookbooks, and more — and outfitting them with products that make them happy. In addition to a curated Shop that features hundreds of makers, the Food52 family of brands includes the lighting and lifestyle goods company Schoolhouse and the heritage home brand Dansk.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Sales Director you will be responsible for meeting sales goals and bringing in new advertising partners to Food52. The ideal candidate will be a high-energy, self-sufficient seller who has relationships in the liquor category or home category or CPG category. This person will have superior communication skills, an ability to help develop creative solutions for brands and a proven track record of excellent customer service and exceeding quarterly goals. 

While the position is remote, it is preferred that the candidate lives in the Chicago area.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategize and close advertising business to meet your quarterly goals.
• Build and maintain your network of advertising partners.
• Work with internal teams to sell and execute innovative ideas.
• Meet tight deadlines and communicate effectively while working independently.
• Drive revenue by leveraging new and established relationships with agencies and brands. 
• Proactively identify opportunities to create new and impactful relationships; with a strong ability to respond to client needs with thoughtful, tailored, and highly effective proposals 
• Develop and execute a strategic revenue plan that achieves goals and grows market share
• Deliver marketplace feedback to improve sales products and selling strategy
• Work closely with Brand Strategy, Client Services, Content, Insights, Commerce, Video & Social teams to drive the development of new proactive, cross-platform opportunities
• Contribute creative and strategic guidance at the client, category, and territory levels
• Serve as an ambassador for our brands in market, clearly explaining our value proposition and creative platforms
• Identify, monitor, and accurately forecast sales activity
• Use knowledge of the relevant market and competitors to identify and develop the company’s unique selling propositions and differentiators

REQUIREMENTS

• Established relationships with agencies and brands.
• Experience selling 360-branded content campaigns to include social, interactive digital destinations and experiential.
• In-depth knowledge of reading media plans with digital, custom content, social, OTT and experiential components.
• Willingness to work remotely as our HQ is in NY.
• Demonstrated success with forecasting, meeting goals and time management to improve sales effectiveness.
• Excellent collaboration skills to work with internal teams at Food52.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication, problem-solving and time management skills.
• 5+ years digital advertising sales meeting or exceeding quota as a result of the sale of complex deals
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills. Creativity is also a must!
• Familiarity and enthusiasm for Food52 our products, and the utility we offer to our audience
• Creative, strategic thinker who enjoys digging in and problem-solving
• Energetic, positive, and well-organized approach to sales
• Experience selling multi-product programs across digital, custom content, social, OTT, newsletter and experiential.

WHAT WOULD SET YOU APART

• Existing C-level relationships and contacts with marquee brands and media agencies
• Willingness to thrive in a startup organization, highly motivated, entrepreneurial, and energetic

COMPENSATION

This is an exempt role.  The target compensation for this role is $125,000 to $155,000, plus commission.

WORKING AT FOOD52

Food52 is committed to providing our team with a competitive benefits package. Some of our benefits for 2024 include: 

• Food52 funded health benefits (medical, dental, and vision), starting at zero cost to employees
• Unlimited paid time off
• Monthly fitness reimbursement
• Citibike (NYC) or BikeTown (PDX) company-sponsored annual membership
• Generous employee discount across our brand portfolio
• 401K
• FSA / HSA

EEO STATEMENT

Food52 is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace, providing equal employment and advancement opportunities to all team members. We value diversity and recruit, hire, and promote individuals solely based on talent, qualifications, competence, and merit. We evaluate candidates without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other protected characteristics as required by law and as a matter of our company values.  

OUR VALUES

We save everyone a seat.

• We forge connections with our community through kindness, empathy, and personal touch.
• We view everyone as a whole person, and we celebrate what makes us unique.
• We aspire to leave things better than we found them.

We reset the table.

• We actively create opportunities for change and believe in challenging industry norms.
• We clearly communicate our DEI vision and welcome discussion.
• We make room for new and existing members of our community and commit to supporting their needs.

We go off recipe.

• We don’t follow the pack, we lead it.
• We strive to build a great company that continues to grow and develop, with original ideas and unique implementation.

We light the fire.

• Instead of waiting for work to be identified or assigned, we take the initiative and seek it out, embracing action and accountability.
• Put simply: we get stuff done.

We pass the butter.

• We engage in respectful interactions under all circumstances, operating with a “we” not an “I” mentality.
• We lead with positive intent and charitable assumption, and we understand that we are all working towards the same goals.
• We lift each other up by generously bringing what we have to offer to the table.