Ads Sales Director

What You’ll Do

• Lead our direct ad sales business, owning the strategy and execution
• Sell Chess.com’s web and app advertising solutions, including programmatic direct, sponsorships, custom packages, and new-to-market formats
• Own the end-to-end sales process including marketing, prospecting, negotiations, close, execution and account management
• Build market awareness of Chess.com’s direct ads business, by growing relationships with brands and agencies
• Partner with our Business Development team to generate custom solutions for partners
• Work with Product, Engineering and Data to identify and develop ad solutions that are attractive to the market and compliant with our brand guidelines

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in direct digital sales, with a strong track record of growing revenue
• Deep understanding of the digital ad ecosystem, both web and mobile
• Existing relationships with leaders at agencies and brands
• Comfort with building a business from scratch with limited existing processes and infrastructure in place
• Strong ability to think strategically and creatively, while also passionate about rolling up your sleeves and executing
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university
• Chess player and/or enthusiast
• Lifelong learner

About the Opportunity

• This is a full-time or contract opportunity depending on your location
• We are 100% remote (work from anywhere!)

Who You Are

• You are an experienced digital ad sales professional who has worked with top advertising agencies and brands.
• You have a deep knowledge of direct sales for both web and mobile platforms.
• You understand how to build and grow a direct sales business, from product to data to marketing to client management.
• You have a strong network of digital ad buyers - both from agencies and brands - and are comfortable proactively generating new leads and responding to RFPs.
• You are analytical and creative. You are as much driven by growing revenue as you are by creating a positive experience for our chess community and our advertising partners.

Team Description

Chess.com is a 600+ person, fully remote team in 60+ countries, serving 250M+ chess players worldwide with a mission-driven culture.

Tech Stack

Collaborative work with Product, Engineering and Data to identify and develop ad solutions; familiarity with programmatic direct, sponsorships, custom packages, and new formats.

Benefits & Perks

• Remote-first work environment
• Opportunity to work with a global, mission-driven team

What You'll Do (Summary)

Lead direct ad sales strategy and execution, sell Chess.com’s advertising solutions, manage end-to-end sales processes, grow brand/agency relationships, collaborate on custom solutions, and align with product and data teams to deliver compliant, market-ready ad offerings.