Director, Programmatic Sales (Publicis)

WunderKIND Ads is not another seat in the auction. Our ads are behaviorally triggered: our proprietary tag is integrated directly on a premium list of publisher pages, tracking on-site user behavior so that our ad renders only once a visitor has finished consuming the content. That creates a net new placement, one that did not exist on the page before we created it. How we serve the ad is why we are different from every competitor in-market.

And the patience pays. When an ad experience respects the user's reason for visiting a page, the user respects the ad experience in return: more attention, greater engagement, brand safe by design, and no fight with editorial for the same pixels.

We sit inside Wunderkind, the performance marketing engine that drives $1.2 billion a year in attributable revenue for brands including Hugo Boss, Gucci, Lenovo, Cole Haan and HelloFresh, built on behavioral and identity data from 400+ retail and eCommerce relationships. That means our supply comes with something most premium inventory cannot offer: a genuine understanding of who is on the other side of the impression. You will be selling a product that is structurally different, to a market that has heard every other pitch.

 

🎯 Who would thrive this role? ⚡️

This a big role for us. It's not for the faint of heart. It's for the seasoned seller who wants to get their hands on a giant book of business, and brings deep connections within the Publicis ecosystem. 

This one's for the strategic seller, the expert in bringing on board new buyers and landing ambitious briefs from exiting ones.

This one's for the seller with absolute relationship mastery. Your relationships have depth, you have credibility. People trust you with their brand, and in partnership with skilled Account Management - you turn in the results time-after-time.

Our Director-level sales roles are for those with 8 years in Programmatic, at least 5 of these in the front-seat closing net new buyers. If your mission is just to grow whats given to you, this role's not for you.

We're a lean team of ultra-high performance, with a phenomenal product and some truly inspiring titans of industry in-house, to elevate you further.
👉 Time to hit the big time. Do it here. 🚀

 

🔑 Here's the key to applying for our role:

Relationships matter. We are hiring a network as much as a skill set. Not a follower count: names, desks, holdcos, and the trust you have earned on them.
You will be asked to talk us through the specific agencies, trading desks and brand relationships you would bring, who you would call in week one, and what you would say to them. We take references from former clients as standard, not as a formality at the end. If your relationships are real, this will be the most straightforward process you have been through.
The same goes for research. Generic pitching gets found out quickly in this market, and it gets found out quickly here.

💼 What You'll Do!

• Own the demand: drive agency, trading desk, brand and DSP spend into Wunderkind display and video inventory across NYC and the wider east coast, against a clear revenue number.
• Build the room: steady outreach, meetings and entertainment with programmatic buyers and investment teams, until Wunderkind is the call they make rather than the call they take.
• Grow what you win: partner with Account Management to push campaign performance, spend and renewals, turning a first test into an always-on line.
• Consult, don't just sell: show buyers how to launch, optimize and troubleshoot CPA, CPC and CPM campaigns across our inventory, and bring them with you as new features and supply land.
• Leave a trail: build the training material, sales collateral and client-facing guides that make the next win faster for everyone.

You'll grind, you'll track down top buyers and bring them to the table.... And you'll take home the big rewards for doing it.

🫵 What You Must Bring to the Table

• 8years in programmatic advertising, gained in digital media, at a DSP, at an SSP, or on an agency trading desk.
• At least 5 years in a client-facing role with revenue accountability. A number of your own, not a number you supported.
• A $1MM+ book of business you have managed, with growth you can measure and evidence.
• Consistently high performance vs goal, that references will confirm.
• Established NYC agency and holdco contacts that you can name and substantiate (This role is completely Publicis focused).
• Hands-on DSP fluency: The Trade Desk, DV360, Xandr or comparable. Enough to plan, optimize and troubleshoot a campaign, not just talk about one.
• Depth of research: you walk into a meeting already knowing the account's business, the pressure their brands are under, and precisely where our inventory fits.
• Resilient relationships: you take on the stalled growth opportunity and the difficult client conversation without letting the relationship cool.
• Credibility in both directions: authoritative with a technical buyer and persuasive with a commercial one.

⭐️ Bonus Points For

• A background in account management before your sales career, so you understand what happens after the signature.
• Experience upselling or cross-selling programmatic products into an existing client base.
• Experience across ad exchanges, ad servers and other optimization platforms.
  
  

⚙️ So What's the Process?

Beyond the application stage, we will ask you to:

1. Meet with a recruiter (30 minutes): role, company, comp, progression, and an early look at the market you carry.
2. Hiring Manager interview (30 minutes): your programmatic depth and how you have actually grown a book of business.
3. Team interview (30 minutes): the people you will be winning alongside.
4. Mock prep and mock presentation: we hand you a real scenario, you prepare, and you present it back. This is where market understanding and research depth get seen rather than described.

 

Why WunderKIND Ads?

Because you will sell a placement nobody else has, to a market you already know, with an identity and performance business behind you that gives the pitch weight. We expect the absolute best from our team, and the rewards match the demand: a 50/50 comp structure, a defined territory, and growth and promotion opportunities for people who deliver.

If you want to blend into a bench of sellers, this isn't the place. If you want your network and your judgement to dictate your earnings, hit apply.

Fair compensation notice:

The base salary range for this role is $140,000.00 to $160,000.00 in New York, which represents approximately 50% of total cash compensation. Base is matched by an equivalent commission component structured as a 50/50 split, taking on-target total cash compensation to approximately $280,000.00 to $320,000.00. Regional pay bands apply outside New York. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each specific candidate; including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, applicable certifications, and geographic work location. This may vary depending on living location and market rate.

Wunderkind is proud to be an equal opportunity and safe workplace, and is strongly committed to equal employment opportunities for all races, colors, ancestries, national origins, marital statuses, age, citizenship, disabilities, genders or gender identities, or Veteran status.