Director, Strategic Partnerships - Joint Business Planning

Director, Strategic Partnerships – Joint Business Planning

London, United Kingdom

About WPP Media

WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

Role Summary and Impact

The Director is a key role within WPP Media, responsible for leading a defined area of the business and ensuring operational excellence through effective planning, execution and team leadership. They translate broader functional priorities into practical action, delivering results through others and driving improvements across processes, client service and commercial performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of Joint Business Plans with strategically important multi‑touch partners that are integral to the WPP Media ecosystem.
• Translate partner plans into clear workstreams, owners, timelines and measurable deliverables.
• Monitor progress against agreed actions, resolving blockers and escalating risks where required.
• Maintain deep understanding of the partner portfolio, managing relationship and communication with partners and internal stakeholders.
• Support coordination of governance and tracking for partner plans to ensure commitments are met and value creation opportunities identified.
• Lead governance process for assigned partner plans, including business reviews, action tracking, stakeholder updates and performance reporting.
• Maintain clear visibility of commitments, risks, dependencies and opportunities across partner activity.
• Ensure senior stakeholders receive timely and accurate information to support decision‑making.
• Track value delivery across assigned partners and identify opportunities to unlock client growth, improve adoption of partner capabilities and support new business or innovation initiatives.
• Work with commercial and client teams to connect partnership activity to measurable business outcomes.

Skills and Experience

• Experience in strategic partnerships, commercial roles, business development or client‑facing roles within media, advertising or technology sectors.
• Strong understanding of the media and digital advertising landscape.
• Experience supporting joint plans, partnership activity or cross‑functional commercial programmes.
• Good relationship management skills with the ability to work effectively across internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and coordinate activity across teams.
• Commercial awareness and understanding of how partnerships create value for clients and the business.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to influence and collaborate without direct authority.
• Experience working with data, technology or platform partners would be beneficial.
• Ability to lead or manage a team and support day‑to‑day delivery.
• Comfortable operating within defined frameworks while identifying opportunities to improve processes and outcomes.

Measures of Success

Within 6 Months – Gain a comprehensive understanding of WPP Media and the broader business strategy, initiate actions to improve processes leveraging data/AI thinking, and receive proactive stakeholder engagement.

Within 12 Months – Demonstrate consistent delivery across strategic partnership activity, achieve positive stakeholder feedback, improve team ways of working, support stronger partnership outcomes and contribute to client growth aligned with Vision 30.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

We invest in our employees to help them do their best work and grow at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. Our benefits include competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision and dental insurance, substantial paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and support for mental health.

Our culture fosters creativity, collaboration and connection. Teams work in the office four days a week, with flexibility for accommodations and flexibility as needed.

WPP Media is an equal‑opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination. 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.

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