Senior Sales Director

Senior Sales Director, HoldCo & Agency Sales (NYC / CHI)

About Surfside

Surfside is the advertising operating system built for the retail majority, powering retail media and closed-loop measurement across more than 10,000 independent, regional, and specialty retailers. By aggregating fragmented retail supply into a single, addressable network and unifying first-party data, audience creation, media activation, and measurement into one platform, Surfside enables brands and retailers to reach verified shoppers and measure performance based on real outcomes.

Surfside sits at the intersection of advertising, commerce, and data. We help brands and their agency partners reach consumers across digital and physical retail environments and connect media investment to measurable, transaction-linked consumer action.

The Opportunity

We are hiring a proven, top-performing sales leader to grow Surfsides business with the major holding companies and their media agencies, where spend is heavily CPG/FMCG. You will sell across all Surfside verticals (CPG/FMCG, beverage alcohol, grocery, convenience, and more), with a primary focus on deepening and expanding our HoldCo relationships.

You already know the halls of Publicis, Omnicom, WPP, and Dentsu, and agencies like Starcom, Spark Foundry, OMD, Mindshare, Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom, and Carat, as well as leading independents such as Horizon Media. You know how these organizations plan, buy, and run RFPs, and you know who makes the decisions. You will own a number, source your own pipeline, run your own deal cycles, and close.

The ability to also sell advertiser-direct (brand/supplier side) is a major plus. Located in NYC or CHI is preferred.

Key Responsibilities

• Own a Number: Carry and exceed an annual revenue quota across HoldCo, agency, and advertiser-direct business, measured on signed IOs, booked revenue, and billed revenue.
• Grow HoldCo Business: Strengthen and expand Surfsides position across Publicis, Omnicom, WPP, Dentsu, and major independents, moving from one-off campaigns to annual plans, preferred partnerships, and portfolio-wide adoption.
• Win RFPs: Lead Surfsides response to agency and advertiser RFPs from first brief through award. Get Surfside into RFPs, upfronts, annual plans, and test-and-learn budgets.
• Generate Pipeline: Build and maintain a self-sourced pipeline of at least 3x quota through outbound prospecting, your existing network, referrals, and industry presence.
• Run the Full Cycle: Qualify, pitch, scope, propose, negotiate, and close. Manage multi-threaded deals across agency investment, planning, programmatic, commerce, retail media, and client leadership teams, plus brand-side stakeholders.
• Sell Advertiser-Direct: Where it creates the strongest path to revenue, engage CPG/FMCG and other brands directly, in coordination with their agency partners.
• Agency Education: Establish Surfsides differentiated role in the media ecosystem, particularly our ability to reach the fragmented physical and digital retail landscape that traditional retail media networks miss.
• Industry Presence: Represent Surfside at agency, advertising, retail media, and CPG industry events and forums.

Qualifications

• Proven Top Performer: 8+ years in digital media or ad tech sales with a documented record of exceeding quota. Be prepared to walk through your numbers by year.
• HoldCo Relationships: Established senior relationships across Publicis, Omnicom, WPP, Dentsu, and major independent agencies such as Horizon Media.
• RFP Experience: Direct experience leading and winning agency and advertiser RFP cycles.
• Programmatic Media Sales (required): Deep knowledge of programmatic buying, DSPs, CTV, audience targeting, first-party data, and measurement.
• Retail Media / Commerce Media (bonus): Experience selling retail media, commerce media, or closed-loop measurement solutions.
• CPG/FMCG Experience: Strong understanding of how CPG/FMCG brands and their agencies plan and invest.
• Advertiser-Direct Selling (plus): Experience selling directly to brands/suppliers alongside agency relationships.
• Executive Communication: Exceptional presentation, storytelling, negotiation, and relationship-building skills with senior agency and client stakeholders.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Proven ability to work across sales, strategy, product, marketing, operations, and executive leadership.
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: Comfortable building new relationships and commercial models, not just inheriting an established program.
• Education: Bachelors degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or a related field preferred.

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation package with performance-based incentives.
• Comprehensive benefits, including health, dental, vision, and 401(k).
• A dynamic, supportive, and innovative work environment.
• Flexible PTO.
• Monthly wellness stipend.
• Opportunity to shape Surfsides HoldCo and agency strategy and establish the company as a differentiated partner in the evolving commerce media landscape.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Surfside is an Equal Opportunity Employer and recognizes that a diverse workforce is crucial to our success as a business. We encourage and welcome you to apply irrespective of age, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, color, pregnancy, family responsibilities, national and social origin, political opinion, marital, veteran, or disability status.