[Hiring] Sponsorships Manager @Civic News Company

Role Description

Civic News is seeking a Sponsorships Manager, a self-motivated sales professional driven by education and equity and dedicated to building and sustaining long-lasting relationships with existing and prospective clients.

• Consult with clients and sell sponsorship products across Chalkbeat and other Civic News Company verticals.
• Design and execute sponsorship operations, understanding the details and executing at all levels to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
• Prospect for new opportunities, using events, marketing, and research tools to create a robust pipeline of qualified prospects.
• Successfully manage a pipeline of existing sponsors, driving toward customer success and satisfaction.
• Take on special projects related to upgrade operations and strategy for Civic News sponsorship work.
• Work with the Technology team to maintain and optimize tools that support the sponsorship business.
• Work closely with the Salesforce Administrator to maintain high quality data.
• Partner with Finance and Strategy teams to set pricing and forecast revenue.
• Collaborate with Editorial and Audience teams to align sponsorship opportunities with content and long-term programming.
• Develop ads and sponsorships for focused editorial products.
• Willingness to attend sales meetings, trade shows, and training workshops as required.
• Strong persuasive communication skills to clearly articulate the benefits of advertising products and services.

Qualifications

• Bachelor or associate’s degree in Advertising, Communications, or a related field.
• 4 - 8 years of experience in solution-based selling with proven success in advertising sales.
• An understanding of and enthusiasm for independent journalism and its role in a healthy democracy.
• Proven experience cultivating and closing sponsorship deals, ideally generating $400K+ in annual revenue.
• Proficiency and comfort working with ad ops tools and systems that support sponsorship sales and reporting (e.g., in Google Workspace and Salesforce, etc.).
• Strong understanding of marketing principles, advertising techniques, and media formats.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, communication, negotiation, and consultative sales skills.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver exceptional customer service and build long-lasting client relationships.
• Ability to clearly articulate the value and benefits of advertising products and services.
• Organized self-starter, detail-oriented, can bring projects from conception to completion. Skilled at working across teams and asking for help when needed.

Requirements

• Experience selling sponsorships in or adjacent to journalism.
• Interest in nonprofit and local journalism.
• Experience in the education sector and familiarity with its sponsorship landscape.
• Familiarity with marketing, audience engagement, or event sponsorships.

Benefits

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance.
• 20 days of PTO, a paid one-week recess, 5 sick days, 3 floating holidays, and 12 paid holidays in 2026.
• Retirement support through a 401(k) with a 4% employer match that is immediately vested.
• 100% paid parental leave: 18 weeks fully paid, plus a 2-week part-time return-to-work ramp-up.
• Flexible Spending Plan for eligible medical or childcare expenses.
• Annual professional development stipend.
• Employer-provided life insurance and short- and long-term disability coverage.
• Monthly reimbursement for cell phone and internet expenses.