Account Manager - Affiliate & Partner Marketing

United States (remote) | Full-time | Up to 10% travel

About Hamster Garage

Hamster Garage is a partner management agency based out of Chicago. Our expertise spans the partnerships and affiliates channel, encompassing affiliate marketing, AEO and AI visibility, brand partnerships, podcasts, influencer marketing, and more.

We work with leading brands that are in a high-growth phase, like Tesla, Coinbase, Slack, Uber, Xero, and Masterclass. Faced with an increasingly global client base, we are looking to expand our footprint globally as we look to expand our coverage and business model.

Role Overview

As an Account Manager, you will own the strategy and reporting, and project manage execution for a portfolio of affiliate programs at different leading brands. You will be the primary point of contact for your clients, lead their strategy and performance, and manage the Associates who execute the day-to-day.

You will also have a real hand in building the agency as we grow; improving how we work, training the team, and weighing in on hiring. If you have managed affiliate programs before and want more ownership, more strategic scope, and a fast-paced work environment, this role is for you.

What You Will Do

Program Strategy and Performance

• Develop and execute affiliate strategies across recruitment, activation, optimization, and compliance that drive and impact revenue and customer acquisition for each client.

• Set realistic, ambitious goals with clients based on their business objectives, then own hitting and exceeding them.

• Own revenue forecasting and budget allocation for your portfolio, adjusting strategy when performance, pacing, and/or partner activity shifts.

• Test new tactics, including partnerships beyond traditional affiliates, to find new sources of growth.

Client Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact for your clients for day-to-day program management, leading regular calls and larger strategy discussions with the help of your Director.

• Turn performance data into clear, compelling recommendations.

• Handle challenging client situations independently.

• Identify renewal and upsell opportunities by understanding where each client's program can grow next.

Partner Growth

• Lead strategic partner recruitment, prioritizing partners that fit each client's audience and goals.

• Build and maintain relationships with high-value partners, and negotiate terms that keep them motivated to grow.

Team Management

• Manage and mentor Associates, setting expectations, reviewing their work, and giving regular feedback.

• Improve how HG runs accounts by building processes that scale across multiple clients.

• Contribute to company growth through training, onboarding, and the hiring process.

Who We Are Looking For

• Minimum bachelor's degree.

• 3+ years of direct affiliate marketing experience.

• Hands-on experience with platforms like Impact, ShareASale, CJ, or Partnerize.

• A track record managing client relationships, ideally with enterprise, Fortune 500, or VC-backed brands.

• Strong Excel skills (VLOOKUPs, SUMIFs, custom reports).

• Confident written and verbal communication, including presenting and defending recommendations.

• Experience mentoring or managing junior team members.

Nice to Have

• Experience running programs across multiple regions.

• Agency or brand side experience

• Exposure to influencer, podcast, or brand partnerships beyond traditional affiliates.

• Strong PowerPoint or Canva skills.

Why Hamster Garage?

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.