State Sales Director, VIC & SA

Guardian Australia is part of Guardian News & Media (GNM), publisher of theguardian.com. As a leading global media organisation, we are renowned for our pioneering independent journalism and our award-winning digital products.

We are seeking a highly motivated, passionate and results-driven State Sales Director to join our dynamic team in Melbourne. This is an excellent opportunity for a driven professional who excels in building strong relationships and enjoys leading a high-performing sales team.

In this role you will

• Represent Guardian Australia to a portfolio of key agencies and clients
• Have knowledge of all Guardian Australia products including display, audio, content and programmatic in order to meet demands of agencies and clients
• Established relationships at agencies and clients
• Ensure all clients and agencies are kept up-to-date with relevant information about Guardian Australia through regular meetings and presentations
• Build content & display driven advertising programs for key clients on Guardian platforms in order to maximise revenue and contribution to the business
• Leading and coaching Account Directors, Senior Account Managers, Account Managers and Account Coordinators who are direct reports, working as a team in order to meet client needs and achieve revenue targets
• Evaluate and manage team performance, provide coaching and development to direct reports and create a high-performance culture through managing KPI’s
• Manage the strategic roadmap of the Victoria and South Australia sales team, including both revenue growth and new client acquisition
• Proactively identify areas of improvement and new opportunities that can create a competitive difference for The Guardian
• Together with the Head of Advertising, manage the development of new products and go to market messaging
• Together with Head of Advertising, devise a trade marketing plan for engagement of agencies and clients

You’ll bring

• Strong business acumen and able to speak at senior level about major business issues and challenges
• Ability to help shape solutions using the Guardian as a channel
• Customer focused and able to deliver complex solutions, with the ability to offer alternatives and resolve customer objections whilst keeping the client happy
• Strategic thinker and ability to approach agencies or customers proactively with solutions for to a client issues
• Extensive knowledge of the market, business units and clients within patch
• Excellent presentation skills, regularly presenting to bigger groups and has the ability to bring an idea to life and take an audience on a journey
• Ability to identify client’s needs and provide solutions, while working with clients to shape a brief for the Guardian
• Outstanding written skills in order to build a winning sales narrative, including building end-to-end sales proposals for complex long-term campaigns
• Negotiation skills, including closing techniques
• Excellent pipeline management & forecasting skills, understanding the need for short, medium and long term business to achieve a target across the year
• Ability to analyse data to assist in the development of sales strategies and directions for the Victoria and South Australia sales team. Able to translate sales strategies to targets and strategies for direct reports.
• Questioning and listening techniques and the ability to extract necessary information through truly open questions
• Ability to solve problems through innovative thinking in order to achieve a solution
• Demonstrable leadership capabilities
• Strong knowledge of content marketing & display advertising having executed multiple content campaigns
• Strong knowledge of brand strategy. Understands a brands lifecycle and long term strategy and the differences between types of brands
• In-depth understanding of the production process involved in bringing a successful content partnership to life
• Excellent knowledge of the Australian media landscape, including knowledge of how media agencies are structured, what accounts are held where and the role of creative and clients in the process of planning and booking a campaign
• Technical knowledge, particularly in understanding production processes. Ad Tech knowledge also required
• Media Strategy - understands a clients business issues and can devise solutions that fit with The Guardian and aligns with our clients overall direction
• A deep understanding of the Guardian brand and its editorial integrity

About working at Guardian Australia…

• Hybrid working
• Employee assistance program (EAP) to support employee wellbeing
• Paid volunteer leave
• Dedicated diversity and inclusion employee groups, action plans (including our Reconciliation Action Plan) and cultural competency training
• Guardian digital subscription

For more information please view the full job description here.

This role is being offered on a full-time, permanent basis.

To apply for this position, please apply online and upload your résumé (maximum three pages) and covering letter. In your covering letter please outline your motivation for applying for the role and why you think you are suitable.

Closing date for applications: 12 January 2025

Applications will be screened on an ongoing basis. Only applicants who are shortlisted will be contacted.

If you have application questions or if you require an adjustment to be made during the recruitment process, please email australia.hr@theguardian.com

We believe that our role in the Australian media is to give a voice to the most marginalised people in society and value and respect all differences in all people — including people of colour, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from different social classes, people with diverse gender and sexual identities, and people with disabilities (seen and unseen). We believe that these communities must be centred in the work we do, bringing a new perspective and a diversity of thought. We also encourage flexible working and aim to create a work environment where all employees feel respected.