Sales Manager - Italy (f/m/d)

Job Purpose

As Sales Manager for Italy, you are a true hunter — commercially sharp, self-driven, and confident generating your own pipeline from scratch. You own the full sales cycle across the entire Italian market, from outbound prospecting through discovery, pitch, negotiation and close, delivering multi-stakeholder deals on favourable commercial terms. You thrive in outbound motions, are unafraid to pick up the phone or open a cold conversation, and consistently deliver against target while contributing to Awin's win-win-win for advertisers, publishers and the wider partner ecosystem.

Major Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Generate your own pipeline across the Italian market through proactive, targeted outbound prospecting — you are not reliant on inbound leads to hit target.
• Design and execute account-based outbound strategies targeting priority Italian brands, in coordination with SDRs and marketing.
• Own the full sales cycle end-to-end — outbound outreach, discovery, pitch, negotiation and close.
• Run tailored, consultative discovery — mapping client pain points to the right Awin products and selling solutions, not features.
• Build value-led narratives and lead client presentations, demos and proposals with credibility.
• Negotiate and close complex deals within Awin's pricing framework, maximising contract value through favourable commercial terms.
• Forecast accurately — maintain a clean Salesforce pipeline, forecast quarterly signings with precision, and defend your numbers under scrutiny.
• Realise GP via effective implementation, working closely with Client Services, Product, Legal and Finance to launch programs that deliver value.
• Stay close to the Italian e-commerce and affiliate landscape, competitor positioning and regulatory context, feeding insights back into the wider EMEA org.
• Take initiative and ownership — use your own judgement, elevate with proposed solutions rather than open questions, and drive progress without needing to be pushed.
• Meet and exceed KPIs across new business signings, outbound activity and pipeline health.

Job Requirements

Professional experience

• 3+ years in B2B sales, ideally in SaaS, MarTech, AdTech, affiliate marketing or e-commerce, with a track record of hitting quota.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Communications or a related field preferred.
• Demonstrable success in outbound sales — a proven hunter who has consistently built and closed pipeline from self-sourced opportunities.
• Experience closing multi-stakeholder deals across the Italian market.
• Experience selling to Italian e-commerce advertisers and navigating local buying processes.

Sales Skills

• Hunter mindset with commercial instinct who proactively seeks out and creates outbound opportunities, spots commercial openings quickly, and closes them; comfortable generating pipeline from a cold start.
• Client-need obsession & consultative selling — maps client pain points to Awin products; leads with discovery, active listening and value framing.
• Growth mindset & openness to change — embraces change, learns quickly and stays resilient in the face of setbacks and rejection.
• Coachability & openness to feedback — actively seeks feedback and acts on it to improve.
• Intrinsic motivation & accountability — takes full ownership of pipeline, targets and personal development, and owns outcomes.
• Solutions-oriented — brings answers, not problems; escalates with proposed solutions and leverages resources to unblock deals.
• Forecasting accuracy & data fluency — manages pipeline confidently in CRM and forecasts quarterly signings accurately.
• Storytelling, negotiation & closing under complexity — builds compelling narratives, handles objections and closes on favourable terms.
• Win-Win-Win mentality & collaborative approach — balances Awin, client and partner interests and works seamlessly cross-functionally.
• Market, product & legal fluency. Credible on the affiliate and e-commerce landscape, Awin's platform and competitors; understands contract T&Cs and where to push back.

Technical Skills

• Confident with LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Salesloft, Gong and equivalent outbound prospecting tools.
• Solid MS Office / Google Workspace skills, particularly Excel/Sheets and PowerPoint/Slides.
• Working understanding of affiliate/partnership tracking technology and adjacent MarTech is a plus
• Formal sales methodology training (e.g. MEDDIC, SPIN, Challenger, Sandler) is a plus.
• Salesforce and/or Salesloft certifications are a plus.

Language Skills

• Italian: native or full professional proficiency (mandatory).
• English: full professional proficiency preferred; professional working proficiency minimum (mandatory).
• Any additional European language is a plus.
• Willingness to travel within Italy and occasionally across EMEA for client meetings, industry events and offsites.

Our Offer

• Flexi-Week: We prioritise your mental health and wellbeing by offering you a four-day Flexi-Week (with one lighter or completely disconnected day per week) at full pay, with no reduction to your annual holiday allowance.
• Flexi-Office: We offer an international culture and flexibility through our hybrid working model, designed to foster collaboration, trust, and autonomy.
• Work Expense Contribution & Remote Working Furniture: You will receive a monthly allowance to cover part of your running costs, as well as a furniture package to support you in setting up a comfortable workspace at home.
• Supplementary Healthcare: Coverage for a range of medical services, including specialist consultations.
• Meal Vouchers: Daily support for your lunch expenses.
• Language Courses: Access flexible language learning options to support your growth in an international environment.

In addition, you’ll benefit from our global offering, including health and wellbeing initiatives, learning and development via Awin Academy, and peer-to-peer recognition programmes.

Established in 2000, Awin is proud of our dynamic, social and inclusive culture.

Like all businesses, we’ve had to adapt and nurture our culture in a virtual environment. Our virtual ‘Life @ Awin’ hub brings our colleagues from across the globe together for various social activities.

Diversity & Inclusion are paramount to us, and we proudly pursue and hire diverse team members. We champion uniqueness and authenticity; this is who we are at our core. Our network of affiliate partnerships are diverse and transparent, as are the employees powering our vision to build the world’s leading open partner ecosystem. We welcome all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. If you need support at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.

Awin is part of the Axel Springer group. Learn more at axelspringer.com/en/, and explore the Axel Springer Essentials here: axelspringer.com/en/inside/the-essentials-what-we-have-adapted-and-why