Advertising Account Manager, Mandarin & English (Cross-Border)

takealot.com , South Africa's leading e-commerce platform and a proud member of the Prosus ecosystem, is seeking a driven and commercially minded Advertising Account Manager, Mandarin & English (Cross-Border) to join our Takealot Group Advertising team in Cape Town. In this role you will be the primary partner for our fast-growing community of international Marketplace sellers, equipping them with the knowledge, strategy, and hands-on support needed to unlock the full potential of Takealot's self-service Sponsored Advertising platform. Sitting at the exciting intersection of retail media, e-commerce, and cross-cultural commerce, you will bridge the gap between our Cape Town-based advertising team and Mandarin-speaking sellers — driving advertising revenue, accelerating seller growth, and shaping the future of retail media on Africa's largest online shopping destination. Proficiency in both Mandarin and English is essential to succeed in this role. Advertising Account Manager, Mandarin & English (Cross-Border) – International Sellers is a specialist commercial role within the Takealot Group Advertising team. You will manage a portfolio of Mandarin-speaking Marketplace sellers, driving adoption and performance on Takealot's Sponsored Advertising platform while consistently achieving retail media revenue targets . You will combine strong consultative sales skills with deep platform expertise and a data-first mindset to deliver measurable results for sellers and for Takealot. This position reports to the Portfolio Account Lead. Your responsibilities will include: Retail Media Sales & Revenue Growth: Consistently meet and exceed advertising sales targets; proactively identify and convert upsell opportunities across international seller accounts. Seller Onboarding & Platform Enablement: Drive adoption of Takealot's self-service Sponsored Advertising platform by Mandarin-speaking Marketplace sellers; deliver platform training and skills transfer in Mandarin, ensuring sellers can independently operate and optimise campaigns. Strategic Account Management: Serve as the primary point of contact for a portfolio of international sellers; build trusted, long-term partnerships that deepen seller engagement and increase advertising investment over time. Media Planning & Consultative Selling: Develop tailored media plans and advertising strategies for top-tier sellers, aligned to their business objectives, seasonal peaks, and product launch calendars; present compelling, data-backed recommendations. Campaign Performance Management: Monitor live campaign performance against agreed KPIs (e.g. ROAS, CTR, conversion rate, spend pacing); generate regular performance reports (weekly/monthly/quarterly) and deliver actionable optimisation insights to sellers. Campaign Execution & Coordination: Coordinate the collection of creative assets; manage the integration of booked campaigns into the marketing calendar; liaise with retail marketing managers to ensure on-time, on-brief delivery. Billing & Financial Operations: Ensure managed services campaigns are invoiced accurately and on time each month; oversee reconciliation and invoice adjustment processes. Seller Acquisition: Develop and implement acquisition strategies to grow the base of international sellers investing in advertising on the platform. Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with creative, analytics, campaign management, and CRM teams to ensure seamless execution and alignment with client objectives; support Marketplace Account Managers to drive advertising uptake across their key accounts. Seller Education & Content Development: Contribute to the development and hosting of educational webinars and training sessions in Mandarin; collaborate with the CRM team to produce seller-facing case studies and adoption/retention enablement materials. Platform Issue Resolution: Act as the first point of escalation for seller platform queries; escalate operational and technical issues to the rele…