Account Strategist

XO Group Inc. — a lifestage media company including The Knot, The Nest, and The Bump brands — seeks a full-time Account Strategist to join our National Sales Team.  As an Account Strategist, you will work with our marketing and sales teams to brainstorm ideas, develop strategic brand-centric marketing plans and monitor program performance of amazing revenue-generating multi-platform plans. This role truly serves as the business owner from pre-sale to post-sale initiatives.
 

The ideal candidate will be an extremely organized, detail-obsessed self-starter with a passion for everything digital. The ability to juggle multiple projects and stay calm and collected under pressure must be part of your DNA. You thrive on being part of a collaborative team and will never say the words “It’s not my job”!  Teams at XO Group are very dedicated and excited about what they do – we work hard to maintain that atmosphere. The right candidate will be proactive, smart, entrepreneurial, and enthusiastic! 
Candidate should have at least 3 years direct experience in a pre-sale to post-sale role within online advertising/media/publishing/agency, with the proven success in managing the following objectives:

• Strategic Planning & Development
- Create strategically-sound and detailed digital, mobile and print pricing proposals for agency/client RFPs
-Be an expert on all areas of the sites and be able to make recommendations on placements based on key categories and clients
- Verify inventory availability, lead times, rates and all other pitch elements throughout the sales proposal process
-Relay all buy details accurately to post-sales support teams to facilitate successful execution
-Manage and maintain pipeline adjustments and overall contract administration
-Monitor, manage and protect revenue recognition for the campaigns being managed
• Relationship Management:
-Cultivate, motivate and manage Client relationships
-Work cross-functionally and facilitate distribution of key learning’s
-Understand the varied needs of and specific business objectives/goals of Client
-Retain and renew a significant and consistent Client base
• Performance Management & Analytics:
-Identify trends and/or issues within data, and be able to make changes and/or recommendations
-Solid understanding of metrics, their calculations and how they drive profitability, ROI, etc.
-Evaluation of monthly reporting & generation of YoY performance
• Continuous Improvement
-Manage strategic projects outside day-to-day campaign and client management
-Recommend best practices and process improvements
-Review industry trades for new sites, innovative ad units & technologies, and competitive information.

Additional Requirements & Attributes:
Proficient in Systems:
-Ad Servers: DART, Eyeblaster, Eyewonder, Pointroll, Atlas
-Contract Management: Fat Tail, Mediavisor, Atlas, Mediabank, iDesk
-Site Analytics: Coremetrics, Google Analytics, etc.
-Microsoft Office:  Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project

Mathematical & Critical Thinking Skills
-Superior critical thinking skills with the ability to dissect the details and see the big picture of campaigns
-Ability to create and organize pivot tables with large data sets
-Robust media math skills and proficiency with numerical analysis
-Proven track record of exceptional performance and high productivity
Communication skills:
-Communicate with clarity, logic, conciseness, and relevance with all levels of management
-Experienced leading and retaining order in meetings
-Skilled at delivering good and bad news
-Ensure roles & expectations are understood by everyone and are met/exceeded.

Temperament:
-Ability to calmly handle multiple projects/deadlines in a fast-paced environment
-Willing to get your hands dirty, do whatever it takes to deliver successful projects
-Be flexible - understanding that things are constantly changing and many are time sensitive.
-A strong sense of ownership and initiative