Associate Director, Programme Management

10555 - Associate Director, Programme Management - Global

Role Summary and Impact

The Associate Director of Programme Management will work closely with the Programme Leads and wider project team to deliver, maintain, and drive adoption in the business of a portfolio of solutions that provide our agencies with advantage through access to internal business data intelligence via application of best-in-class systems.

• With the Programme Leads and the Head of Global Business systems, develop a program of works for existing and new systems that supports WPP Media’s goals and best practices for maintenance internal business data on their clients.

• Translate project requirements into tangible deliverables and solutions with a key focus on the cost and time to deliver.

• Own project planning required to deliver the programme objectives

• Contribute to solution design in a thoughtful and user centric manner: How will end users engage and get best value from the products of the programme?

• Work directly with all project contributors - from external vendors, internal team members to all stakeholders to allocate and prioritize this wider team’s workload to reach business goals and to incrementally deliver value.

• Continuously prioritize the backlog to ensure that the team are focusing on the most impactful areas first.

• Define goals, timelines, and potential risks.

• Maintain clear project plans and monitor progress against them

• Testing to ensure that the product functions correctly and meets quality standards in the deployed state.

• Assist in implementation the product including onboarding of new users and migration of data. This may involve managing updates or new features gradually to minimize disruption and ensure a smooth transition.

• Change management. Programme management does not end with technical implementation. Delivery of the change and adoption throughout the business both at launch but also through an ongoing programme of works is the Director of Programme Management’s responsibility

• Ensure that users are fully enabled and trained ready to drive quality outcomes including designing supporting materials, user guides and online demonstrations.

• Gather feedback from users and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement for future deployments.

• Derive actionable insights from usage metrics that can be used to inform improvements in our products and processes in the service of driving product greater adoption in the practitioner user base.

• Assist in the development of reporting solutions to democratise the data, captured in our applications

• Contribute to the overall vision, product goals, roadmaps, and backlog for the products in your portfolio.

Measure of success in first 100 days

• Undertake a full audit of the projects in scope core to the program’s 2026 objectives and achieve full knowledge transfer making a tangible impact on product delivery.

• Establish meaningful relationships with business owners to support future change requests and features required as part of the transformation required in client teams for successful implantation of the product.

• Produce a plan with clear tasks required to deliver the core system out to the target launch markets and manage the delivery of those tasks to successful completion

• Develop, in consultation with the product owner a staged approach to deliver the core projects as a master program plan, complete with priorities and resource requirements.

Skills and Experience

• Experience of working with internal business teams, managing core in-house project teams and external suppliers.

• Proven experience in a platform, product or technology service deployment and enablement role.

• Deep understanding of the product development lifecycle and change management methodologies

• Ability to communicate with and understand cross-functional, highly matrixed, multi-geographical teams.

• Highly effective communication and interpersonal abilities, with a focus on collaboration, consensus, and relationship building.

• Exceptional resourcefulness and quick, practical thinking in a demanding environment.

• A strong and flexible work ethic; able to work under pressure and juggle multiple responsibilities to meet deadlines and deliver results.

• Proficiency in project management software such as Asana, Wrike, Jira/Confluence, Azure DevOps

• Familiar with agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) to deliver technical products and data solutions.

• Experience in Ai tools and processes including Machine Learning and Gen AI

• Working Knowledge of Power BI or similar reporting solutions software would be an advantage

• Proven experience in project/change management

• An excellent communicator with highly developed stakeholder management and influencing skills. You apply these across a broad range of roles from C-suite and ExCo level sponsors to product owners and development team members.

• An excellent listener who can balance multiple perspectives on opportunities, challenges and requirements and translate into action.

• Highly analytical and data-driven

• A “can-do” attitude to achieve objectives

• Motivated, self-starter, self-reliant, resilient, and ambitious

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media is powered by our commitment to Be Extraordinary, investing in our employees to inspire transformational creativity. We also Lead Optimistically, firmly believing in and Championing Growth and Development for every individual. This commitment allows WPP Media employees to leverage the extensive global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, build vital professional connections, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising.

We Create an Open environment built on trust and respect, where everyone feels they belong and has opportunities to progress. This inclusive culture is fostered through a variety of employee resource groups and frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our comprehensive benefits package reflects this commitment, including competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection in this open and supportive environment. 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. Please note that while our philosophy is the same across WPP, benefits may vary by office/country.

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location

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While we appreciate all applications received, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

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