Who Are We? Are Media is Australia’s leading omnichannel content company for women. Every day we influence, inform, inspire, and connect with 6 in 10 Australian women across magazine media, digital, video, social, e-commerce, customer review sites, podcasts, events and experiences. Our brands include The Australian Women’s Weekly, Better Homes & Gardens, Woman’s Day, marie claire, TV WEEK, New Idea, Now to Love, Australian Gourmet Traveller, BEAUTY/crew and ELLE . Through our Change AREgenda we drive meaningful and positive change for women Are Media employs Australia’s best content creation talent and we are proud that our greatest strength is our people. Why Are Media? Join Australia’s leading content company for women and be part of an inspiring, creative and collaborative team. We offer excellent people programs including: A day of leave for your birthday, 4 days of volunteering leave each year, An inclusive parental leave program that supports all parents, families & carers, FREE digital access to all our titles, and Our unique Are Media Learning Academy (Digital Academy, Lunch N Learns, Mentoring and much more). You’re welcome in the office every day, but you have the option to work from home one day a week. About the role The Head of Agency Sales (NSW) is responsible for leading Are Media’s agency revenue performance and agency relationships across the major holding companies and agency groups. This role owns the strategic agency sales agenda in NSW, driving sustainable revenue growth, deepening executive‑level agency partnerships and ensuring Are Media is positioned as a priority, solutions‑led partner within agency planning ecosystems. Reporting to the Director of Advertising Sales, the role leads the NSW Agency Sales Team, steers annual and quarterly agency business plans and plays a critical role in shaping market positioning and integrated go‑to‑market strategies in collaboration with Client Strategy, Product, and Solutions teams. Duties Agency Revenue Strategy, Client Leadership & New Business Growth Own the NSW agency revenue budget across all relevant holding companies and consortia. Develop and execute annual agency business plans aligned to the state and national sales strategy. Lead quarterly forecasting, pipeline management, and gap planning for agency revenue. Drive proactive identification of growth opportunities across print, digital, programmatic, content, partnerships, and tentpole moments. Ensure agency revenue is defended, diversified and grown year-on-year. Senior Agency Relationship Leadership Act as the most senior NSW point of contact for key agency holdco stakeholders. Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior agency leaders, planners, and investment decision‑makers. Influence agency planning cycles, investment decisions, and market narratives. Represent Are Media at senior industry and agency forums as required. Analysis & Reporting Develop and maintain robust revenue forecasts for the NSW agency channel, measured against agreed targets. Own the accuracy, integrity, and timeliness of agency revenue reporting and forecasting. Provide clear analysis of agency performance against budget, identifying variances, trends, and risks. Work with Agency Leads & Client Partners to ensure all pipelines are well understood, regularly reviewed and realistically forecast. Proactively identify potential shortfalls and implement revenue gap mitigation plans in partnership with the agency sales leadership team. Provide regular performance updates and commentary to the Director of Advertising Sales, including forward‑looking insights. Ensure all individual and team CRM usage is up to date, accurate, and reflects true pipeline and revenue status. Cross-functional Leadership & Market Input Partner with Client Strategy, Research, Content, Product, and Ad Ops to elevate agency responses and solutions Contribute to pricing, packaging, and market positioning discussions Provide agency insight into product development, tentpoles, and innovation priorities Team Leadership & Capability Actively drive a positive, energised, high performance culture within the team to keep the group engaged and highly motivated. Complete the Performance, Coaching & Development Cycle with all direct reports including objective setting aligned with the broader team strategy, Mid-Year Catch Up & End of Year Catch Up. Create a regular cadence of team meetings to enable strong communication within the team; including regular 1:1s with direct reports to provide feedback, coaching, mentoring and support . Prioritise team engagement by communicating team results and putting in place agreed actions to improve team engagement. Effectively lead the team throughout the end-to-end employee lifecycle – including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, recognition and offboarding. Actively participate in People Leader Briefings and training to continue to develop leadership skills. Drive and implement innovation and improvement in the team, actively drive a positive, energised, high performance culture within the team to keep the group engaged and highly motivated. Skills and experience Essential Senior media sales or agency leadership experience, typically demonstrated through 10 years’ experience in media, advertising, or client partnership environments. Significant senior exposure to media agencies, including: Experience working with agency groups, consortia, or complex agency structures Influencing agency planning, investment, or trading decisions. Experience working at holding‑group or national agency level, managing multiple agency relationships concurrently. Proven commercial and revenue leadership, including: Accountability for substantial revenue targets Strong forecasting discipline and pipeline management Experience balancing revenue growth with yield and value protection. Demonstrated consultative selling and negotiation capability, with a track record of leading complex commercial conversations and shaping outcomes. Strong digital and data fluency, including: Understanding of multi‑platform advertising solutions Ability to interpret data and performance insights to inform sales strategy and agency engagement. People leadership experience, typically 5 years leading sales professionals, with evidence of coaching, performance management, and capability uplift. Proven ability to operate effectively in matrixed organisations, collaborating across Sales, Client Strategy, Product, Solutions, Operations, and Content teams. Desirable Exposure to state or portfolio‑level strategy, contributing to broader go‑to‑market, pricing, or revenue planning. Experience leading or contributing to change, transformation, or capability uplift initiatives within sales teams. Familiarity with publishing, content‑led, or premium media environments. Experience representing a business in external forums, industry events, or senior stakeholder settings. Are Media is committed to a diverse, respectful, collaborative & inclusive workplace. We know & value the success this brings for everyone and we welcome & encourage applications from diverse backgrounds. When you apply, please let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process. Please apply now and send your CV via the link.
