- Senior
- Optionales Büro in London
WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients, and communities.
Working at WPP means being part of a global network of more than 100,000 talented people dedicated to doing extraordinary work for our clients. We operate in over 100 countries, with corporate headquarters in New York, London and Singapore.
WPP is a world leader in marketing services, with deep AI, data and technology capabilities, global presence and unrivalled creative talent. Our clients include many of the biggest companies and advertisers in the world, including approximately 300 of the Fortune Global 500.
Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow.
Why we're hiring:
We are looking for a highly experienced and people-centric Director of Program & Portfolio Management to lead the organizational alignment and execution of a digital transformation for an AI-powered marketing platform. This platform will harness creative, media, and production capabilities across the organization, enabling 150,000 employees globally to deliver seamless, integrated marketing solutions.
In this role, you will drive alignment across departments, manage large-scale portfolios, and focus on achieving measurable business outcomes and value creation. You will work closely with senior leadership, business units, and key stakeholders to ensure strategic initiatives are executed successfully. You will have the opportunity to shape the future of marketing at a global scale, using a value-led, entrepreneurial approach to ensure the transformation meets the organization’s strategic goals.
What you'll be doing:
- Program and Portfolio Management:
- Lead and manage the portfolio of strategic initiatives tied to the digital transformation of the AI-powered marketing platform.
- Ensure organizational alignment of key initiatives, ensuring that projects are sequenced appropriately for maximum impact and value.
- Develop and maintain a strategic roadmap for platform implementation, ensuring that milestones and priorities are clearly defined and executed efficiently.
- Set quarterly OKRs and measurable goals that align with business priorities and drive the transformation forward.
- Organize and lead annual strategic planning sessions to align the organization on the direction for the upcoming year.
- Report on the impact of the transformation and drive continuous improvement based on insights and data.
- Agile Business Delivery & Implementation:
- Lead and implement agile operations to ensure large-scale initiatives are delivered iteratively and efficiently.
- Build and maintain implementation roadmaps for agile delivery, tracking progress and adjusting as needed to ensure that goals are met on time.
- Develop agile frameworks to enhance the pace of delivery while ensuring quality and alignment with business needs.
- Collaborate closely with Product, IT, Creative, Media, and HR teams to ensure smooth execution of projects across workstreams..
- Stakeholder Management & Alignment:
- Serve as the primary liaison between senior leadership, business units, and external agencies, ensuring alignment across all stakeholders.
- Drive alignment through regular quarterly business reviews (QBRs) and business review presentations (BRPs)to track progress and outcomes.
- Lead cross-functional collaboration across agencies and departments, ensuring that the digital transformation initiatives are fully understood and executed consistently.
- Ensure the transformation efforts are communicated clearly to all stakeholders, reporting on impact, value, and results.
- Business Focus & Outcome-Oriented Leadership:
- Focus on delivering outcomes-driven leadership, ensuring the program is aligned with strategic objectives and business goals.
- Analyze and report on value creation from transformation efforts, ensuring that they are aligned with key business metrics such as efficiency, revenue growth, and customer satisfaction.
- Establish frameworks for monitoring and reporting success, ensuring the program delivers real, measurable business impact.
- Regular Monitoring & Continuous Improvement:
- Lead regular tracking and monitoring of OKRs, KPIs, and other metrics, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
- Plan and facilitate quarterly business reviews (QBRs) and business review presentations (BRPs) to ensure alignment and visibility.
- Lead annual planning sessions, setting clear directions for the digital transformation and aligning the entire team on strategic goals for the year.
What you'll need:
- 10+ years of experience in program management or portfolio management, with a strong focus on digital transformation, particularly within marketing, media, or creative services.
- Expert in agile methodologies, with experience in managing large-scale portfolios in an agile environment.
- Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and ensuring alignment across various departments to deliver strategic initiatives.
- Strong business acumen, with the ability to set and measure goals through OKRs, KPIs, and value-based metrics.
- Expertise in driving outcomes-based leadership, ensuring initiatives result in measurable business impact.
- Experience with strategic planning, agile operations, and implementing change management practices.
- Proven ability to manage stakeholders at all levels, driving alignment and influencing decisions across leadership and agencies.
- Clear communication skills, with the ability to present complex ideas and drive consensus in high-level executive conversations.
- Preferred Qualifications:
- People-Centric: A natural leader who thrives in motivating and inspiring teams. You create a positive, inclusive, and collaborative environment.
- Comfortable with Ambiguity: Able to thrive in uncertain, rapidly evolving environments, with a strong ability to adapt and pivot as necessary.
- Highly Organized: Exceptionally organized with a structured approach to managing multiple initiatives, deadlines, and priorities.
- Motivator of People: Passionate about driving others to succeed, with the ability to energize and guide teams through complex transformations.
- Clear Communicator: Ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and concisely across diverse audiences, including senior leaders, teams, and external partners.
- Entrepreneurial and Proactive: Takes initiative to identify opportunities and drive actions. Possesses a proactive mindset to solve problems and implement solutions.
- Value-Led: Committed to driving business outcomes with integrity, focusing on measurable results that deliver value to both the organization and its clients.
Who you are:
You're open: We are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are open-minded: to new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working.
You're optimistic: We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We approach all that we do with conviction: to try the new and to seek the unexpected.
You're extraordinary: we are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.
What we'll give you:
Passionate, inspired people – We aim to create a culture in which people can do extraordinary work.
Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.
Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you up for the challenge?
#LI-Onsite
We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
WPP is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
