Investment Associate Director

Role Summary and Impact: 

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Investment Associate Director. This role is pivotal in driving media value, optimizing budget allocation and fostering strong relationships with media partners across various markets worldwide. Leveraging WPP's global scale and advanced capabilities, including WPP Open and AI agentic tools, you will ensure superior media performance, cost efficiency and innovation, contributing directly to our clients' success and market leadership. You will be at the core of delivering international client trading commitments and pioneering innovative trading models globally, ensuring our clients receive the best pricing in every market. 

Key Responsibilities: 

Global Media Investment Management: 

• Manage local and central budget tracking 

• Manage the pricing delivery across all local markets ensuring everyone has a clear understanding of commitments, methodology and process.  

• Ensure local and global strategies are reflected within audit methodology 

• Support the management of global and regional client partnerships 

• Manage the delivery and tracking of media quality standards and best practices. 

Performance Optimization & Analytics: 

• Liaise with auditors to independently verify performance and delivery against commitments to our global clients, collaborating with local market teams for alignment on auditor verification. 

• Support in creating the content for high-level global client meetings. 

• Monitor, optimise and forecast pricing delivery versus targets by working together with local investment teams across various markets, identifying potential issues and escalating where resolutions are not possible. 

Team Leadership & Development: 

• Promote a collaborative environment within the investment team and across other WPP functions (e.g. planning, client services, analytics) to ensure integrated global solutions. 

Market Expertise & Innovation: 

• Maintain deep knowledge of global media market conditions, competitive landscapes, audience trends and emerging media opportunities. 

• Provide thought leadership on media trends, partnership opportunities and innovative buying models to clients and internal stakeholders worldwide. 

• Challenge results and data with local teams across various markets to understand the underlying reasons behind performance and market trends. 

Client & Partner Relationship Management: 

• Grow and maintain reciprocal relationships with WPP Media market teams through consistent and reliable communication and well-managed timelines. 

• Maintain an understanding of wider teams on your global clients and within Client Solutions to know the relevant person to speak to on specific tasks, i.e., knowing who the commercial or client lead is. 

• Ensure accurate reporting on media pricing commitments and coordinate consolidated performance back to global clients. 

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. 

Required Qualifications: 

• Extensive, relevant and progressive experience in a senior media investment or buying role (e.g. Senior Manager or Associate Director level) within a leading media agency network, auditors, or global client-side media team. 

• Demonstrated expertise in managing and optimizing substantial media budgets across diverse global markets and media channels. 

• Proven track record of successful high-value negotiations with global media owners and platforms, ensuring best-in-market pricing. 

• Deep understanding of the global ad tech ecosystem, programmatic buying platforms (DSPs), ad servers and measurement solutions. 

• Strong commercial acumen, with a focus on delivering demonstrable ROI and cost efficiencies for global clients, including an understanding of commercials/contracts across all global clients. 

• Exceptional leadership and team management skills, with experience developing and motivating investment professionals in a multi-cultural, global context. 

• Excellent communication (written and verbal), presentation and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence senior global stakeholders and foster relationships across international teams. 

• Highly analytical, data-driven and proficient in leveraging media intelligence tools and platforms, including advanced PowerPoint, Excel, and numerical skills for global data interrogation and reporting. 

• Ability to work strategically and tactically in a fast-paced, complex global environment, demonstrating strong attention to detail and ability to lead global reporting projects.

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