Director, Sales & Outreach (US Based)

Location: United States (regional). With the flexibility and willingness to travel in the region and to other markets as required.

Reports To: Head of Business & Growth

Compensation: $3,750 to $7,000 USD per month, set within the range based on experience and seniority, plus uncapped commission on the new, expansion, and renewed revenue you personally generate.

Engagement: Independent contractor. Will calibrate title, level, and base to experience.

Travel: Frequent travel expected.

Work Eligibility: Legally able to work in your country of residence.

About AL-MONITOR

AL-MONITOR (AL-MONITOR.com) is an award-winning media service founded in 2012 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Jamal Daniel. Its mission is to foster a deeper understanding of the Middle East through world-class reporting and analysis from and about the region. In just its second year, AL-MONITOR received the prestigious International Press Institute's Free Media Pioneer Award, becoming the only American media outlet exclusively covering the Middle East to earn this distinction.

AL-MONITOR is widely read by U.S., international, and Middle East decision-makers at the highest levels, as well as by media, thought leaders, experts, and students. Its audience includes institutions such as the White House, Harvard University, NATO, the World Bank, and foreign and defense ministries around the world. With a multilingual platform that includes Mandarin Chinese, AL-MONITOR reaches a global audience seeking trusted, in-depth coverage of the region.

The Role

AL-MONITOR is seeking a Director of Sales and Outreach to build and lead a sales-led growth model around group and premium subscriptions. This is a senior, relationship-driven role for a proven seller with deep networks in and around the US and Middle East who can sit across from a senior policymaker, diplomat, or executive and make the case for AL-MONITOR.

The heart of the role is selling: opening doors at the companies, embassies, ministries, and universities that would most benefit from AL-MONITOR and closing group and premium subscriptions, with a focus on the major institutions and governments whose readership broadens our standing among global decision-makers. The Director owns the full cycle from prospecting through renewal and expansion and is paid on the new, expanded, and renewed revenue they generate.

The role is based in the US with travel wherever the opportunity leads, and works closely with leadership, marketing, customer success, and the events and partnerships team to turn relationships into lasting revenue.

What You'll Do

• Own AL-MONITOR's net-new group and premium subscription revenue, carrying a target and forecasting pipeline accurately; you are paid on the new, expanded, and renewed revenue you personally close
• Build the institutional sales function from the ground up: the target account list, process, outreach cadences, and pipeline, starting from the lists we already hold and expanding them with your own network
• Prospect, pitch, negotiate, and close group subscriptions with embassies, ministries, government and sovereign bodies, think tanks, universities, NGOs, corporations, and associations across the US and Middle East and other international markets
• Convert individual subscribers at institutions into group subscriptions
• Own the renewal conversations and grow the base: manage renewals, retention, upsell, and expansion, and act as the account manager for premium groups so every benefit promised is delivered
• Run outbound programs across direct outreach, calls, in-person meetings, and events, treating every AL-MONITOR event as a pipeline opportunity
• Keep a disciplined system of record in HubSpot, and partner with Marketing & Communications on lead handoff and the automations that move a lead to contract
• Partner with the Customer Success Manager and Accounting on group onboarding, contracting, and billing in ChargeBee, and with the Events & Partnerships team so sponsorships and subscriptions reinforce one another
• Provide leadership with pricing and packaging input from the field, and lead and develop the Business Development Consultant (Europe)

How Success Is Measured

Success is measured equally on the new revenue you bring in and the revenue you keep. On new business: the number, quality, size, and revenue of the groups closed, and the institutions and senior contacts opened. On retention: renewal rates, revenue retained, and the growth of existing accounts through upsell and expansion. Commission rewards new, expansion, and renewed revenue alike, so the role is built to create a durable book of business, not one-time wins.

What You Need to Succeed

• Deep knowledge and experience with the Middle East, with an established network among government, business, and institutional leaders and the credibility to build relationships at the most senior levels (required)
• 8+ years in B2B, institutional, or enterprise sales, business development, or partnerships, with a record of closing complex, high-value, relationship-based deals (required)
• Proven success selling subscriptions, memberships, group or site licenses, research or intelligence services, sponsorships, or comparable offerings, ideally in media, publishing, or information services
• Experience building a sales function where none existed, and comfort selling to governments, embassies, universities, and multilateral organizations, including their procurement cycles (strongly preferred)
• A hunter who builds pipeline from a standing start, owns a number, and forecasts accurately, and a relationship builder who retains and grows accounts, spotting upsell and churn risk early
• Strong consultative selling, negotiation, and closing skills, with the presence to sell to senior and institutional buyers
• Experience leading or mentoring others and leading through influence across functions (Director-level roles carry revenue accountability regardless of direct reports)
• Hands-on with a CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, or similar) for pipeline and account management
• Excellent written and verbal communication; a self-starter who operates well in ambiguity and prioritizes by where the revenue is
• Willing to travel up to 50 percent of the time; legally able to work in your country of residence

Nice to Have

• Experience at a subscription media company, membership organization, research or intelligence service, or comparable subscription business
• Arabic language ability
• Experience selling into the public sector, including familiarity with procurement and institutional purchasing cycles
• Familiarity with subscription billing platforms (ChargeBee, Recurly, Stripe Billing, or similar)
• Interest in or experience with policy, foreign affairs, or journalism

What We Can Offer You

This is an independent contractor with real ownership and significant upside. You will represent an award-winning, globally respected publication at the center of the story it covers, carry your own book of business, and earn a competitive base plus uncapped commission that rewards both what you close and what you keep. Budgeted work travel across the region is covered, you will work directly with senior leadership as you help build a new revenue function from the ground up, and you will have the autonomy to run your market your way.

Additional Information

AL-MONITOR is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, protected Veteran status, or other factors protected by law.