Principal Client Partner

Samba is a media intelligence company. We know what the world is watching, reading, and thinking about — in real time, at scale, across every screen. Our data exists with the consent of over a billion people, organized into the most complete picture of consumer attention ever built. The biggest brands in the world use that picture to make smarter decisions. We think it’s the most interesting data asset on the planet, because it’s the most culturally relevant.

We're looking for a Principal Client Partner to lead the sale of Samba's advertising, measurement and research solutions to brand advertisers — helping them deliver their messages across all screens, while measuring what matters most: business outcomes.

The advertiser is your customer. You'll own the entire relationship, from the CMO and senior marketing leadership through to the brand, media, insight and procurement teams who run the business day to day — and you'll work alongside the agencies who buy on their behalf without ever losing ownership of the client relationship.

- Own and exceed a revenue target across a portfolio of strategic brand advertisers, with full accountability for pipeline, forecasting and close.
- Sell Samba's suite of measurement, audience targeting and attribution solutions to leading brand advertisers, growing adoption across their brands, categories and markets.
- Sell Samba's suite of research tools across planning and measurement, becoming the partner clients reach for when they set a strategy and when they prove its outcome.
- Own the entire relationship with the advertiser — from the CMO and senior marketing leadership to the brand, media, insight, analytics and procurement teams — demonstrating a thorough understanding of each account's organization, needs and revenue potential.
- Navigate multi-stakeholder sales cycles across marketing, media, insight and procurement, and lead complex commercial negotiations through to signature.
- Partner effectively with your clients' agencies of record — briefing them, enabling them, keeping activation moving — while retaining the client relationship and the commercial conversation.
- Lead business reviews and annual planning sessions with your clients, translating performance into the next commitment.
- Prospect, qualify, close and scale revenue-generating relationships with advertisers within your territory or vertical.
- Serve as a subject-matter expert and thought leader within your assigned verticals.
- Collaborate with Programmatic Consulting, account management and Measurement Science to deliver proposals that exceed advertiser marketing objectives and expectations.
- Meet or exceed quarterly sales quotas against the territory and account list, maintaining strong pipeline and Salesforce discipline with accurate forecasting.
- Channel client feedback into Product and Measurement Science roadmap discussions.
- Help develop local marketing initiatives and participate in industry events, becoming a regional knowledge leader in your market or vertical.
- Own the relationship from the CMO and senior marketing leadership through to the brand, media, insight and procurement teams.
- Lead business reviews and annual planning sessions with your clients, translating performance into the next commitment.
- Mentor, and over time potentially manage, an Account Executive as the team scales — leading as a player-coach without stepping away from your own number.

- Proven sales success with a minimum of 7+ years total experience in advertising, digital media, adtech or data/analytics sales, selling directly to brands (TV experience is a plus).
- Demonstrated ability to perform against quota and excel in a highly competitive market.
- Highly motivated and professionally mature, with outstanding communication skills and demonstrated knowledge of the online advertising landscape.
- Strong, current relationships with senior marketing and media decision-makers at brand advertisers.
- Deep knowledge of client-side planning processes — how advertisers set strategy, build budgets, run annual reviews and make data and measurement decisions — and of the privacy regulations that shape them.
- Comfortable working with and through your clients' agencies without ceding ownership of the client relationship.
- Demonstrated strategic, consultative and analytical sales approach with a focus on building partnerships with clients.
- Strong understanding of the digital advertising ecosystem — display, video, mobile, CTV and programmatic — and fluency in cross-screen measurement, targeting and attribution.
- Proven track record navigating complex, multi-stakeholder negotiations through to close.
- Proficiency in Salesforce and a disciplined approach to pipeline and forecast management.
- Currently requiring 4 days a week on-site in office.
- Willingness to travel to outside markets, and to entertain clients during evenings and occasionally weekends.
- Bachelor's Degree (or equivalent experience).
- Strong references with partners, customers and colleagues.
- Existing, current relationships with senior marketing decision makers favored.
- Demonstrated ability to leverage AI to streamline workflows, including interpreting model-generated recommendations, stress-testing assumptions, and translating insights into client-facing strategy.
- Familiarity with how AI and ML are reshaping audience measurement, targeting and attribution in the TV and streaming advertising landscape is a strong plus.
- Desire to learn how to use AI-powered tools for sales productivity — CRM intelligence, proposal generation, audience insights and campaign optimization workflows.

$220,000 - $300,000 a year

Samba expects to offer a base salary between $110,000 - $150,000 per year for roles to be performed in New York or California; actual base salary offered will depend on various factors, including but not limited to, location, experience, and performance. Base salary is just one component of Samba’s total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include bonuses, short-term incentives, and long-term incentives. In addition, Samba provides health insurance, wellness offerings, life and disability insurance, a retirement savings plan, paid holidays and paid time off (PTO), and other employee benefits.

Samba is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We strive to empower connection with one another, reflect the communities we serve, and tackle meaningful projects that make a real impact.

Samba may collect personal information directly from you, as a job applicant, Samba may also receive personal information from third parties, for example, in connection with a background, employment or reference check, in accordance with the applicable law. For further details, please see Samba's Applicant Privacy Policy . For residents of the EU , Samba Inc. is the data controller.