Account Manager - Affiliate & Partner Marketing

Hamster Garage is a partner management agency based in Chicago. Our expertise spans across the partnerships and affiliates channel, encompassing affiliate marketing, brand partnerships, podcasts, influencer marketing, and more. We work with leading brands that are in a high-growth phase, like Airbnb, Canva, Uber, Brex, Masterclass, etc.

HG is a newer (established mid-2019), lean, and growth-minded agency working with innovative brands to meet their acquisition needs. We’re growing fast and looking to add team members to grow with the agency, and we need talented marketing professionals to help us leave our mark on the industry.

‍We're seeking an Account Manager to lead our affiliate and influencer marketing initiatives to drive portfolio growth. As a key member of our management team, you'll develop new business opportunities, lead strategic client relationships, and partner directly with leadership on company initiatives.

Based in Chicago with flexible remote arrangements available, this role offers unique exposure to both partnership marketing strategy and agency building. Working directly with our Affiliate Account Directors and founders, you'll help drive meaningful growth for global brands and innovative startups in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

• Experience working with Fortune 500 or VC-funded brands in their previous positions is strongly preferred

• Experience working with enterprise-level accounts, operating in multiple regions across the globe

• Self-starter who is willing to teach younger staff while also learning about HG’s approach to partner marketing

• Passionate about client management and able to multitask between clients without sacrificing quality

• Very detail-oriented and tactical to execute client initiatives

• Is able to find creative solutions to client needs

• Works well in a team environment, is team and culture-focused, and can help foster a collaborative and fun working environment

• Exceptional project management

• Excellent written and verbal skills. There will be a great deal of coordination through email and calls, so it is imperative to represent HG in the most professional and competent manner possible

• Strong analytical skills and comprehension skills. We work with a lot of data and need to be able to extrapolate and summarize data to optimize and make decisions to present to our clients, so a strong understanding of Microsoft Excel is needed

• KPI driven and results-oriented

• Experience with Microsoft PowerPoint is a plus. There will be many instances that require presenting our work to clients, which will require creating decks as client deliverables

• Displays accountability, always meeting deadlines and keeping commitments

• Ability to work independently

• Resourcefulness is vital to this position. There will be many scenarios that require the Senior Account Manager to be able to research solutions independently for discussion purposes with the client and HG team

• Experience with third-party affiliate tracking platforms like Impact Radius, ShareASale, Partnerize, PartnerStack, etc.

• Operational and process focused. As a young agency, we’re looking for someone who can help us build out processes that scale across multiple accounts

• Delivering results for the client by bringing creative and well-thought-out ideas, effectively managing the team’s deliverables on key client objectives, and monitoring the performance of those objectives

• Assist with business development efforts and go-to-market to help HG grow and sell work

• Understand the client’s goals and objectives

• Formulate and/or assist in the execution of strategies that will help achieve the client’s goals, and be able to articulate and engage with the client on the specifics of the strategy

• Be able to set clear expectations with a client

• Lead strategic partner recruitment

• Manage a team of Account Managers and Associates

• Effectively communicate performance and strategic direction for the program to the client and HG team members

• Ensure executional excellence across the team

• Be prepared to present, justify, and defend all recommendations to the client

• Provide recommendations for scale and/or efficiency within campaigns

• Develop, grow, and maintain strong strategic relationships with high-value partners in the client’s program

• Formulate and test new tactics, which can involve testing performance outside of traditional affiliates

• Teach, mentor, and direct younger staff members across the account to execute tasks

• Minimum of 3 years of affiliate experience for Account Manager and 5 years for Senior Account Manager

• Direct affiliate marketing experience required

• Knowledge of Affiliate Networks or SaaS platforms (e.g., ShareASale, Commission Junction, Impact) required

• Bachelor’s degree

• Ability to travel up to 10%

• Intermediate Excel capabilities and comfortable with formatting, formulas, and customizing reports using VLOOKUPs and SUMIF

A place where ambition meets impact. HG brings an in-house marketing incubation team approach to Partnership Marketing. We exist because our founder worked internally for one of the largest tech hospitality brands in the world and worked with the top agencies in the space, but couldn’t find the talent necessary to meet the highest standards required by the best brands.

Our mission is to provide best-in-class service and quality to our clients through top-tier talent and strategy. If you join our team, you’ll be part of a fast-growing team that is passionate about marketing and be able to make an impact on not only your clients but the company.

We’re small enough that you will be part of special projects and task forces to help build the company while working on client portfolios for some of the fastest-growing brands in the world and helping them cultivate strategies on how to acquire users.