Senior Sponsorships Manager

About Us:

Ground News is a news comparison platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias, and break free from algorithms.

In a world where political polarization and media distrust are at an all-time high, Ground News offers people a better way to stay informed and open-minded. Our mobile app, web app, and browser extension are home to a community of mindful readers who use our platform to see every side of a story and engage with news critically.

Unlike most tech platforms, we don’t rely on algorithms to keep users on our platform to sell ads. We are supported by our readers who pay for a subscription to build a more nuanced understanding of the news, the world, and themselves.

Highlights:

• #1 on Product Hunt

• #2 on 2025 Apple Design Awards in the Social Impact category

• 3-time winner of US App of the Day

• Winner of Digital News Innovation Challenge by Facebook

• Winner of Mobile Apps Showdown at CES.
  

The Opportunity:

We're expanding into new platforms, and we need a leader to drive it.

We're seeking a Senior Sponsorships Manager (Emerging Platforms) to own and scale our creator sponsorship strategy across new and emerging platforms. This is a player-coach role: you'll build strategy, close high-value deals yourself, hold a revenue target, and lead a small team to execute at scale.

You'll sit at the intersection of leadership, sales, content, and operations; translating business goals into executable plans, building creator relationships on platforms we're still establishing ourselves on, and ensuring every sponsorship dollar delivers measurable results.

The ideal candidate is a performance-driven strategic operator who's comfortable navigating ambiguity, managing large budgets in fast-paced environments, and excited to build Ground News' presence on platforms where the playbook doesn't fully exist yet.

What You’ll Do:

Creator Marketing & Audience Strategy:

• Build and maintain a clear point of view on what makes a creator sponsorship convert; not just reach numbers, but audience intent, content format, and platform context.

• Use performance data to build institutional knowledge about what content formats, creator profiles, and audience segments drive the best conversion for Ground News, as well as to feed those insights back into discovery and strategy.

• Stay close to platform trends, creator dynamics, and audience behaviour so your strategy reflects how people actually consume content, not how they consumed it six months ago.
  

Strategy & Execution:

• Own sponsored creator campaigns on emerging platforms from concept to optimization, ensuring the portfolio delivers against performance goals with minimal oversight.

• Develop platform entry strategies and scale them as the business evolves: the platforms we prioritize may shift, and you'll need to evolve with them.

• Lead high-value creator deals to close.
  

Leadership & Team Development:

• Lead and coach a small team responsible for vetting creators, cultivating relationships, and executing campaigns across new platforms.

• Set clear goals, drive accountability, and proactively remove blockers: modelling ownership and follow-through across all work streams.

• Build and refine processes as the team expands into new platforms and creator ecosystems.
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Partner with Discovery, Content, and Analytics teams to align on goals and optimize the full creator funnel.

• Develop weekly and quarterly forecasting reports and performance updates for leadership.
  

Platform Development:

• Identify and build relationships with top creators across new and emerging platforms with an openness to wherever the creator landscape evolves.

• Stay ahead of platform trends, creator dynamics, and audience behaviour to adapt strategies quickly and capitalize on early-mover advantages.
  

Analytical Acumen:

• You are comfortable working with performance data to evaluate creator quality. You know the difference between reach and conversion, and you use metrics like ROAS, CAC, and CPM to make data-driven decisions.

• You are able to build and work with cost projection models (CPM-based or otherwise) to forecast campaign performance before committing budget.

• You gather proper business context before jumping to solutions. When something is underperforming, you diagnose the funnel before prescribing a fix.

What You’ll Bring:

• 7+ years of experience in influencer marketing, in-house marketing, creator partnerships, or media buying with a track record of building and managing creator relationships at scale.

• Deep understanding of creator ecosystems across platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Substack, and other emerging platforms). You know what good looks like and can evaluate creators with sound judgment.

• Strong commercial instincts: you think in terms of ROAS, CAC, and CPM, and you hold yourself and your team accountable to those numbers.

• Proven ability to close deals and hit revenue targets.

• Proven experience leading or coaching a small team with the ability to set goals and drive accountability without micromanaging.

• Self-starter who thrives in ambiguous, fast-paced environments where the playbook doesn't fully exist yet.
  

Bonus Points:

• Experience working in-house at a direct-to-consumer brand running creator or influencer sponsorship programs at scale.

• Experience with quota-carrying roles or performance-based compensation. You've been accountable to a revenue target before and thrived in that environment.

• Background in performance marketing, subscription products, or audience growth.

• Familiarity with how TikTok, podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, and other emerging platforms work from a creator and audience perspective.

• Interest in media, politics, or media literacy. You genuinely care about what Ground News is building.

Why Work at Ground?

Co-founded by a former NASA engineer and Bain consultant, a position with Ground News provides an unparalleled learning experience both personally and professionally. At Ground, we prioritize growth: both for our business and team members. You’ll have the freedom to work remotely and play a key role in the development of Ground News products.

This is an opportunity to work with a growing and mighty team that is committed to building a world where cooperative, civil debate is the norm, media is accountable, and critical thought is the baseline of our information consumption. Ground is based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, but this role is remote.

We are committed to building and fostering an inclusive, accessible environment for everyone. If you have any questions, concerns, or require any accessibility accommodations during our interview process, please contact talent@ground.news and a member of our team will be happy to support you.

Compensation & Benefits:

The salary range for this role is $90,000-$120,000 (CAD) plus competitive bonus and incentives. Your final offer will take into account various factors, including your skills, experience, qualifications, and internal parity.

What you’ll enjoy at Ground News:

🌍 Remote-first environment: Work from anywhere in Canada, on your own time zone plus enjoy in-person meetups and team gatherings.

🩺 Health & Wellness that matter: Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance coverage for you and your family.

📈 Keep growing: Access to professional development opportunities to keep expanding your skills and career.
🚀 Mission-driven team: Join a group of smart, dedicated people who are building meaningful products with real-world impact.