Christianity Today: Sales Director

Functions and Responsibilities

1.  Drive Advertising Revenue Growth & Sales Process

• Own a personal sales pipeline, including prospecting, outreach, proposal development, and closing for key advertisers and sponsors.
• Serve as a hands-on, quota-driven seller focused on closing new and renewal business across CT’s media portfolio. 
• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive sales strategy aligned with CT’s mission and growth goals.
• Establish and manage a proactive outbound sales motion to expand CT’s advertiser and sponsor portfolio. 
• Drive revenue specifically in podcast/audio, digital media, and integrated sponsored content, including email, video, editorial packages, and branded content
• Brainstorm, test, and package new inventory opportunities
• Identify and evaluate emerging market trends and opportunities for new revenue offerings, ensuring sales offerings reflect CT’s commitment to thoughtful Christian journalism and ministry service.
• Drive sustainable revenue growth across CT’s platforms through direct and programmatic advertising, sponsorships, video and podcast integrations, events, and custom media solutions.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Product & Editorial teams to identify high-impact monetization strategies that complement editorial priorities and ministry objectives.
• Build and refine simple, repeatable sales processes (e.g., outreach cadences, CRM usage, pipeline stages, forecasting) to bring structure and clarity to the sales function.
• Implement performance metrics and KPIs to forecast and report on revenue, advertising effectiveness, and ROI, while also monitoring impact on audience trust.
• Regularly engage in direct sales conversations and key deal closings as the primary seller.
• Engage in direct sales efforts as needed to maximize revenue growth, with sensitivity to theological and denominational diversity.

2.  Sales Function Management

• Serve as a hands-on player-coach for CT’s Sales team, overseeing at least one existing salesperson while actively working alongside them on deals and processes. 
• Lead and mentor the Advertising team, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, ethical sales practices, and spiritual stewardship.
• Set team goals, provide regular feedback, and support professional growth opportunities that enhance both business acumen and ministry understanding.
• Serve on relevant project teams as needed, representing advertising strategy and ensuring alignment with cross-departmental initiatives.
• Partner with the Technology, Marketing, and Product teams to ensure cohesive monetization strategies that preserve audience trust, editorial integrity, and Christian witness.

3.  Christian Marketplace Engagement & Ministry Stewardship

• Develop deep understanding of the unique Christian audience segments and their needs, demonstrating sensitivity to diverse theological perspectives.
• Leverage current audience advertising opportunities and expand into new advertiser and sponsor categories. 
• Create advertising solutions that serve the broader church community while maintaining CT’s distinctive voice and theological position.
• Establish processes for content review that ensure appropriate messaging for Christian audiences while respecting denominational differences.
• Steward advertising relationships as ministry partnerships, seeking opportunities that build up the body of Christ while achieving business objectives.
• Perform additional job-related duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or related field required.
• 5-8+ years of experience in media sales, ad strategy, and/or growth marketing with a strong track record as an individual contributor seller. 
• At least 2-3 years of experience in managing or mentoring other sales professionals (player-coach environment preferred). 
• Experience working in a mission-driven, editorially focused organization preferred.
• Proven track record of driving revenue growth through innovative ad products and cross-platform campaigns; especially in the areas of email, podcast and video sponsorships.
• Deep understanding of the digital media landscape, including programmatic advertising, native content, CRM technology, and direct sales.
• Demonstrated understanding of the Christian marketplace, church dynamics, and ministry needs.

Key Competencies

• Hands–On Execution: Comfortable prospecting, building decks, creating proposals, and closing deals personally; not limited to high-level strategy.
• Sales Leadership: Able to set expectations, coach performance, and build a performance driven culture with grace and clarity.
• Self-Drive: Highly motivated by goals and results; persistent follow-up, pipeline building, and closing. 
• Strategic Thinking: Able to balance long-term vision with practical execution; skilled in navigating complex tradeoffs.
• Customer Empathy: Committed to designing sponsorship and advertising experiences that respect and serve CT’s diverse readership.
• Revenue-Minded: Results-oriented with an eye for new monetization models and category expansion.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Effective at building consensus and alignment across product, editorial, and revenue teams.
• Innovation & Adaptability: Embraces new technologies and approaches; experiments thoughtfully and iterates based on data.
• Integrity: Holds to ethical advertising standards and maintains the trust of CT’s audience and ministry partners.
• Theological Discernment: Ability to evaluate advertising opportunities through both business and ministry lenses, understanding how content impacts CT’s witness and audience trust.

Employment Details

• CT headquarters are located in Wheaton, Illinois
• Work Location: Remote
• Type: Full time, 37.5 hour workweek
• Classification: Salaried, Exempt FLSA status
• Benefits: CT offers a comprehensive benefits package – check out our careers page to learn more