Brand Partnerships Director, US

Verve is building a Brand Direct function — a small, senior team that sells and services select brand accounts directly, alongside existing agency relationships. As Brand Partnerships Director, US, you'll own a portfolio of named brand accounts in the US, working as a generalist across categories rather than a single vertical. This is a senior individual contributor role — not a people-management role in the first instance — designed for someone who wants to build something and has the option to grow into managing a local team as the function scales.

Responsibilities

Build senior brand relationships — Owning relationships at CMO, Global Head of Media, and VP of Brand level, along with key line-of-business leads such as Data, Creative, and Measurement within the brand; Get ahead of the brief — Getting into brand planning cycles early so Verve's data, formats, and capabilities are already part of the conversation before the brief reaches the agency; Represent Verve in the room — Representing Verve at brand-side (not agency-side) forums, marketing conferences, and roundtables to build Verve's profile with brand teams directly; Commission insight work — Working with the insights and data teams to build brand-specific audience stories, category reports, and trend pieces that give brands a reason to meet and stay engaged; Secure Joint Business Plans — Working towards annual brand frameworks that lock in investment and strategic commitment at brand level, independent of which agency holds the account; Run the pilot — Building and pitching a defined target list of named accounts, with revenue tracked separately from non-brand-direct-supported business to prove the model; Co-sell, don't compete — Partner with the existing agency sales team under a joint commercial framework — this role is additive to agency relationships, not competitive with them; revenue is double-counted so both sides are incentivized to collaborate

Requirements

You have a track record of building and owning senior client relationships directly with brands or marketers, not solely through an agency or intermediary; You have genuine 'hunter' instincts — comfortable prospecting, opening new doors, and creating momentum in a newly-created role with no existing playbook; You have an existing network of brand-side contacts in the UK; You're comfortable with ambiguity and building process as you go — this is a Phase 1 hire into a function that will evolve quickly; You have strong commercial instincts: you can read an account's growth potential and prioritize your time accordingly

Nice to have

Prior experience or relationships in a specific vertical (e.g. CPG/Retail, Travel, Finance, Beauty/Lux) are a strong plus; A specific category or vertical angle (e.g. CPG/Retail, Travel, Finance, Beauty/Lux) is a plus but not required; Experience in media, adtech, data, or a related commercial sales environment as helpful context

Benefits

Competitive salary & favorable commission package; Health, dental, and vision insurance, plus mental health resources; 401(k) match and generous PTO; Hybrid work environment (NYC office); Free lunch for onsite team members in NYC; Volunteer Opportunities; Opportunities for professional development in a high-growth ad tech company; Variable compensation (commission/bonus) based on performance