Associate Director, UK Investment

About WPP Media

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com.

WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com

Role Summary and Impact

Role responsibilities

• People management responsibility
• Manage day-day publisher relationships – be the key point of contact for publisher ad operations and programmatic sales 
• Process media bookings through internal systems
• Interface into WPP Media buying teams
• Accountability for delivery management and performance analysis of our direct media buys, evaluating fill rates, performance and volume 
• Provide awareness to team of media supplier organisations and changes 
• Provide support on business development of new products within existing relationships 
• Manage planning and allocation of investment across key products with the support of partnership and trading team 
• Management the overall relationship of publisher onboarding  
• Assist in mentoring and providing support for junior team members.
• Effectively support direct reports in their own career development as well as supporting their continual learning.

External 

• Proactively advocate the WPP Media businesses when meeting with external partners. 
• Provide monthly management/review of partnerships with our direct suppliers. 
• Negotiate the best rate for WPP Media
• Ensure we setup new media partnerships that provide the best quality and highest performing inventory from all suppliers 
• Business development with new and existing suppliers, so that we are accessing inventory at every desirable buying point. 
• Building strong relationships with media suppliers across all levels of business including Commercial Director/MD and Trading Lead relationships.  

Internal 

• Pipeline management of new media partnerships in salesforce, with strong use of KPI management to provide visibility to key stakeholders on business development. 
• Co-ordinating successful on-boarding of new media partners where other parts of the team will be responsible for inventory vetting, administrating the booking, analysing initial media quality and performance KPIs for a testing period. 
• Effective handover of new partnerships to manage delivery and performance
• Involved in monthly evaluation process of suppliers, working with Tech Ops and Intelligence teams to plan for future investment 
• Ensuring that we are using media value cross our investment 
• Principle stakeholder in evaluation of our sell-side technology requirements
• Proactively monitoring industry news and providing the team with notable updates

Skills and Experience

At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.

• Proven and consistent track record of executing against an aggressive growth strategy and delivering against sales targets in excess of company expectations 
• Deep knowledge of online business models and the programmatic landscape 
• Strong emotional intelligence – understands cultural sensitivities and developing high quality relationships 
• Personal network of senior relationships at Comscore 250 publishers 
• Experience in negotiation 
• Clear and concise written and verbal communication 
• Highly analytical and numerate
• Approachable and very personable 
• Excellent network and interpersonal skills 
• Resilient and energetic 
• Strong sense of initiative and personal ownership 
• Rigorous attention to detail 
• Thorough approach to solving problems 
• Ability to effectively operate with high energy and flexibility in a fast-paced, constantly evolving team environment 
• Focussed; but able to maintain perspective. 
• Competent computer skills, including Microsoft office specifically excel to an advanced level, as well as outlook, word and power point, with the ability to produce key documentation of a professional standard in all packages
• Strong sense of initiative and personal ownership  
• Dedicated to attaining team and personal goals  
• Ability to effectively operate with high energy and flexibility in a fast-paced, constantly evolving team environment 
• Experience of people management, supporting performance and career development of direct reports proactively.
• Ability to set workload and manage a team to deliver against team goals and objectives.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include 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 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.
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.

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

Please read our Privacy Notice (https://www.wppmedia.com/pages/privacy-policy) for more information on how we process the information you provide.

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