Associate Director, Account Development (Emerging Brands)

NielsenIQ • Chicago, IL

7d • Remote

About The Position

NIQ's Emerging Team supports manufacturers, with this role sitting in the Non-Food manufacturer segment. These categories are vital to driving overall store traffic, loyalty, and revenue. As consumer behavior shifts and innovation accelerates, our clients rely on NIQ for the clarity and precision needed to make confident, data‑backed decisions. As an Associate Client Director in Account Development, you’ll serve as a trusted growth partner to a portfolio of clients within the U.S. Emerging Beauty, Baby, Personal Care, Home, and Pet Team. This is a high‑impact sales position designed for someone who loves building relationships, uncovering incremental sales opportunities, and shaping strategic conversations that lead to real business results. You’ll bring curiosity and commercial instinct to every interaction—learning your client's priorities, identifying where NIQ can help them win, and leading the charge to turn insights into action. Your goal: drive measurable growth and strengthen long‑term partnerships. You will be the central point of contact for your clients and the connector across NIQ’s full portfolio—Strategic Analytics & Insights, Panel, eCommerce, Retail Collaboration, Technology, Service Lines, and more. Through collaboration and leadership, you’ll ensure that your cross‑functional support team consistently delivers proactive, high‑value service.

Requirements

• 5–8+ years of relevant experience in CPG, sales, account management, category management, or market research/analytics.
• Familiarity with data such as POS, Consumer Panel, Analytics, or related technologies.
• Passionate about the CPG industry, hungry to learn more and self-motivated.
• Comfortable with managing sales targets and building and maintaining a pipeline of sales opportunities
• Experience managing both short‑cycle and long‑cycle selling motions .
• Proven ability to develop strategic account plans and engage & present to stakeholders at all levels, including the C‑suite.
• Exceptional presentation, proposal development, and communication skills.
• CPG experience is strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree is a plus.
• Strong consultative sales approach with excellent negotiation skills.
• A team‑oriented, detail‑focused mindset paired with strong project management capabilities.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple accounts and lead within a matrixed organization.

Nice To Haves

• Experience using Salesforce.com, SalesLoft, or LinkedIn Sales Navigator is helpful.
• A self‑motivated, growth‑oriented mindset—you bring the hunger to win, and you’ll be supported with expert leadership and coaching.

Responsibilities

• Grow and deepen client relationships with key decision makers, elevating NIQ’s presence, expanding solution adoption, and renewing existing business.
• Drive revenue growth through consultative selling, strategic account planning, and opportunity identification.
• Partner across NIQ teams —POS, Panel, BASES/Innovation, Analytics, Technology, Consumer Insights, and others—to deliver cohesive, compelling solutions.
• Guide NIQ specialty sales partners and service teams to ensure proposals and insights lead to client action and measurable value.
• Manage your sales pipeline with discipline, maintaining accurate tracking in Microsoft Dynamics.
• Lead efforts to continually increase client satisfaction and strengthen NIQ’s reputation as a trusted, innovative partner.
• Contribute to ongoing sales process improvements and communications within the greater Emerging team.

Benefits

• Flexible working environment
• Comprehensive healthcare plan (medical, Rx, dental, and vision).
• Flexible spending accounts and a Health Savings Account (including company contributions).
• Life and AD&D insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan including company matching contributions.
• Disability insurance.
• Tuition Reimbursement.
• Discretionary paid time off program and 11 paid holidays.
• Volunteer time off
• LinkedIn Learning
• Employee-Assistance-Program (EAP)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level