VP, Publisher Sales & Strategic Partnerships Manager – Zeta Actions

About the Role

Zeta Actions is seeking a high-performing sales professional to drive the growth of our publisher and advertiser network. This role is ideal for someone with deep experience in performance marketing who enjoys developing new business, negotiating partnerships, and growing strategic accounts.

You will be responsible for identifying and acquiring new publishers and advertisers, expanding existing partnerships, and maximizing revenue through data-driven optimization. This is a highly visible, revenue-generating role that combines business development, strategic relationship management, and campaign performance.

Success in this role will be measured by your ability to grow revenue, expand our partner ecosystem, and deliver strong client outcomes.

Responsibilities

Business Development & Sales (Primary Focus)

• Develop and execute a sales strategy to acquire new publishers and advertisers across Zeta's performance marketing business.

• Build and manage a healthy pipeline through outbound prospecting, referrals, industry events, and existing relationships.

• Negotiate commercial agreements, pricing, and partnership terms with publishers and advertisers.

• Identify new revenue opportunities within existing accounts through upselling, cross-selling, and expansion into new channels.

• Develop strategic partnerships that increase scale, improve media quality, and diversify supply.

• Partner closely with internal leadership to define go-to-market strategies and launch new offerings.

• Maintain a strong understanding of market trends, competitive activity, and emerging performance marketing opportunities.

Strategic Partner Management

• Own executive relationships with key publishers and advertisers.

• Conduct regular business reviews focused on growth opportunities and strategic planning.

• Serve as a trusted advisor by recommending new products, channels, and optimization strategies.

• Ensure high partner satisfaction while driving profitable revenue growth.

Campaign Strategy & Performance

• Oversee campaign launches, pacing, fulfillment, and optimization.

• Work with Operations and BI teams to improve campaign performance and maximize ROI.

• Analyze campaign performance and identify opportunities to increase scale while maintaining quality.

• Collaborate with Product and Engineering teams to improve integrations, tracking, and operational efficiency.

What We're Looking For

Required Experience

• 7+ years of experience in performance marketing, affiliate marketing, publisher development, business development, or digital advertising sales.

• Demonstrated success acquiring and growing publisher and advertiser partnerships.

• Existing relationships within affiliate marketing, performance media, or digital publishing ecosystems.

• Strong understanding of CPL, CPA, CPC, ROAS, attribution, and performance marketing economics.

• Experience negotiating commercial agreements and managing strategic partnerships.

• Experience with affiliate platforms such as Cake, Everflow, Tune, Impact, or similar technologies.

• Strong analytical skills with Tableau, Power BI, Google Analytics, or similar reporting tools.

• Excellent presentation, negotiation, and executive communication skills.

Preferred Experience

• Higher Education performance marketing experience strongly preferred.

• Experience across additional lead generation verticals including Financial Services, Insurance, Healthcare, or Home Services.

• Experience managing publisher email inventory and affiliate media.

What Success Looks Like

• Grow publisher and advertiser revenue.

• Expand Zeta's strategic publisher ecosystem.

• Launch new partnerships that generate incremental revenue.

• Increase partner retention and lifetime value.

• Identify new market opportunities and bring innovative ideas to the business.

• Deliver exceptional customer experiences while exceeding revenue goals.