Senior Manager Media Concept Sales

1 Branded Content & Custom Publishing Sales

• Identify and pursue brands, corporates, PSUs, NGOs, government bodies and educational institutions that can be served through custom comics, sponsored titles, corporate storytelling books and co-created content.
• Interpret the client brief and translate it into a saleable concept note narrative idea, format, page count, print/digital mix, distribution plan and commercials.
• Work with Editorial, Art and Production teams to validate feasibility, timelines and costing before commitment to the client.
• Prepare and present concept decks, mock-ups and commercial proposals to CMO / brand / CSR / L&D decision-makers.
• Negotiate scope, pricing, revision cycles, delivery schedules and payment terms; close the agreement.

2 Advertising & Sponsorship Sales

• Sell advertising inventory and sponsorship properties across ACK and Tinkle print titles, digital platforms, app, website, newsletters and social channels.
• Build and maintain the rate card in consultation with the Head Revenue; manage inventory yield and avoid unapproved discounting.
• Create and sell integrated sponsorship packages around ACK properties, campaigns, contests, school programmes and events.
• Develop relationships with media agencies, creative agencies and brand-solutions teams to secure a place on annual media plans.
• Ensure advertiser content meets ACK's editorial, brand-safety and child-audience appropriateness standards.

3 Licensing, IP & Co-Branding Deals

• Identify licensing opportunities for ACK / Tinkle characters and IP across merchandise, apparel, stationery, FMCG promotions, publishing tie-ups, digital and audio-visual formats.
• Structure licensing deals territory, category, term, exclusivity, minimum guarantee, royalty rate and reporting obligations.
• Co-ordinate with Legal for licence agreements, IP usage approvals, style-guide compliance and renewal tracking.
• Monitor licensee performance, royalty statements and timely reporting; escalate under-performance and infringement.
• Represent ACK at licensing expos, publishing fairs and industry forums to build the partner pipeline.

4 Key Account & Relationship Management

• Own a defined portfolio of key accounts; build multi-level relationships beyond a single point of contact.
• Conduct periodic business reviews with clients; present campaign performance and identify upsell / renewal opportunities.
• Act as the escalation point for delivery issues, resolving them with internal teams before they affect the relationship.

5 Revenue Planning, Forecasting & Collections

• Build the annual revenue plan for the assigned vertical and break it into quarterly and monthly targets.
• Maintain an accurate, up-to-date pipeline in the CRM with realistic stage-wise probability and expected closure dates.
• Submit weekly pipeline and monthly revenue reports to the Head Revenue / CEO.
• Own collections for own accounts follow up on invoices, resolve billing disputes and keep outstanding within agreed credit terms.
• Ensure PO, signed agreement and approved commercials are on file before any work commences.

6 Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead, coach and review a team of 24 sales executives / managers; set individual targets and monitor achievement.
• Conduct joint calls, review proposals before submission and build concept-selling capability within the team.
• Participate in hiring, onboarding, goal-setting and performance reviews for the team as per ACK's PMS calendar.

7 Governance & Compliance

• Ensure every deal is documented — agreement, PO, IP approval, tax details and vendor/client onboarding as per ACK's vendor and finance policies.
• Comply with ACK's brand guidelines, IP protection norms and confidentiality obligations.
• Ensure all commitments to clients are approved internally before being made; no verbal commitments outside approved scope.

Essential

• 8–12 years of B2B sales experience in media, publishing, branded content, brand solutions, licensing or advertising sales.
• Minimum 3 years of experience leading or mentoring a sales team.
• Demonstrable record of independently closing deals of 10 lakh and above and carrying an annual target of 2 crore or higher.
• Existing relationships with brand marketing teams, media agencies, CSR heads or licensing partners in India.
• Ability to build a concept from a client brief — not merely to present an existing rate card.
• Strong commercial acumen: costing, margin, royalty structures and negotiation.
• Excellent written and spoken English; working proficiency in Hindi. Marathi is an added advantage for the Mumbai market.
• Proficiency in PowerPoint, Excel and CRM tools.

Preferred / Added Advantage

• Experience in children's media, education, publishing, animation or character licensing.
• Exposure to CSR-funded content programmes and government / institutional tendering.
• Understanding of digital advertising metrics and campaign reporting.

Existing network among licensing agents and merchandising partners