Director, Agency Development at Taboola in Chicago, IL

Realize your potential by joining the leading performance-driven advertising company and a proud Great Place to Work® Certified employer in the US As a Director, Agency Development on the Agency Development team, you’ll be responsible for building and shaping Taboola's North American agency development strategy, building the playbook for how we show up, engage, and grow with the agency community. You’ll own and grow senior, top-down relationships across our top US holding companies and independent agency partnerships—engaging executive leadership and key practice leads—to build and deepen strategic partnerships that unlock revenue growth, champion Taboola’s value across agency leadership, and work hand-in-hand with our sales teams to make agencies true believers in performance advertising beyond search and social. This role operates upstream of individual campaigns and accounts, focusing on influencing agency strategy, education, and partnership at scale rather than direct deal execution. This is a high-impact, externally facing role for someone who thrives on building influential relationships and turning them into measurable business outcomes. To thrive in this role, you’ll need: 10+ years of experience in digital advertising at a top-tier technology or media company, with a strong focus on agency development Established relationships with VP and C-suite stakeholders at major US agency holding companies and their subsidiaries, spanning multiple practice areas such as programmatic, social, search, trading desks, investment, strategy, and principal-based buying Deep knowledge of the agency ecosystem — how holding companies, trading desks, and agency brands operate, plan, and buy media A track record of driving revenue growth and business impact through strategic agency partnerships, rather than direct account-level selling An ambitious entrepreneurial mindset. A love of building relationships, strategy, and commercial structures from scratch. You relish building things and hunting Deep understanding / fluency of how to integrate digital tech companies into agency buying and operating systems Comfort with frequent travel (typically 2+ domestic trips per month for 1-2 nights, with occasional longer trips) Bonus points if you have: Experience working closely with programmatic or performance-focused agency buyers and major holding companies and have independent agencies People management experience, with a track record of building or leading high-performing teams How you’ll make an impact: Own and grow Taboola’s senior-most relationships with top US agency holding companies & independents, trading desks, and key agency subsidiaries, serving as the primary point of contact and strategic partner Map and engage agency organizations top-down—building relationships across executive leadership, practice areas (e.g., programmatic, social, search), and key decision-makers Drive large-scale (cross-account, cross-department) agency enablement through trainings, demo days, workshops, and strategic roadshows—educating stakeholders on Taboola’s platform capabilities and positioning Taboola as a core partner across the agency ecosystem. Partner with leading agencies on cobranded marketing, thought leadership, tentpole activation, PR, event activations Collaborate closely with Taboola’s sales teams to connect agency relationships to the right opportunities, helping convert agency enthusiasm into measurable revenue outcomes Support commercial agreements (e.g., trading agreements, incentive structures, rate cards, principal buying agreements) where they meaningfully advance strategic partnerships and revenue growth Gather market intelligence and relay agency feedback to internal teams — including product, marketing, and GTM — to continuously sharpen Taboola’s agency offering Represent Taboola as a credible thought leader at key industry events and in the broader agency community. Work to turn around legacy perceptions of Taboola by taking a proactive approach on reeducation. Build and manage a small agency development team, setting goals and tracking performance Why Taboola? If you ask Taboolars what they love about working here, they’ll tell you that they’ve been empowered to realize their full potential while growing and learning from and with smart and talented people. They’ll also share more about: Adam Singolda, Taboola Founder and CEO says; “You can copy anything from another business but you can’t copy a company’s culture. Well-being: Enjoy comprehensive benefits (health, dental, vision, 401k matching), pre-tax commuter benefits, and a fully stocked kitchen. Flexibility: We offer a hybrid work schedule with 3 days in-office with an option to come in more often if desired. Work with some of the biggest names: Our publisher partners include Yahoo, Conde Nast, Fox Sports, NBCU, ESPN, CBS, and E! Online. Our advertiser clients include Wells Fargo, Honda, Pinterest, and Expedia. Ready to realize your potential? Taboola is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity in all forms. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and believe such an environment is critical for success. Employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. Learn more about #TaboolaLife on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, & the Taboola Life Blog. About Taboola Taboola empowers businesses to grow through performance advertising technology that goes beyond search and social and delivers measurable outcomes at scale. Taboola works with thousands of businesses who advertise directly on Realize, Taboola’s powerful ad platform, reaching approximately 600M daily active users across some of the best publishers in the world. Publishers like NBC News, Yahoo, and OEMs such as Samsung, Xiaomi and others use Taboola’s technology to grow audience and revenue, enabling Realize to offer unique data, specialized algorithms, and unmatched scale. #LI-RT1 #LI-Hybrid The pay and commission offered may vary depending on several factors such as location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We may offer several perks as part of the compensation package that include a discretionary bonus, equity, flexible PTO, medical/dental/vision insurance, a competitive 401(k) match, paid parental leave, and more. Base Salary Pay Range $200,000—$280,000 USD Base Salary + OTE Pay Range $287,000—$400,000 USD