Director, Strategic Partnerships - Agency & Client Enablement

Director, Strategic Partnerships, Agency & Client Enablement

About WPP Media

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

The UK is the largest market within the WPP Media EMEA region, with over 4,500 people employed within the WPP Media ecosystem. Marquee UK key clients include the likes of Amazon, UK Government, BT, Tesco, Coca Cola, Bayer, Dell, Unilever, M&S, Ford, Nestle, Mazda, Danone and Colgate. We have a bold ambition: to make WPP Media UK the undisputed leader in our industry. We are evolving our business operating model, our ways of working and placing data, technology and AI at the heart of everything we do for our people and our clients.

ONE WPP – Vision '30

Join us in shaping the future of our industry with Vision '30 – our ambitious strategy to lead in the AI era. We are revolutionizing our business to unlock limitless growth opportunities for our clients and ourselves, built on four core priorities:

1. Collaboration: Foster unprecedented levels of data collaboration across WPP and partners through WPP Open, turning every channel into a smarter opportunity.
2. Data & Technology: Leverage our AI-powered Open Intelligence solution, connecting vast data to uncover unique insights, deliver predictive performance and superior brand experiences through our globally consistent DPAM process.
3. Innovation: Drive true innovation by generating intelligence from trillions of privacy-by-default data points, focusing on the 'why' behind customer behaviour to create unparalleled competitive advantages.
4. People: Developing future-ready talent involves evolving our focus from traditional media planning to strategic business outcomes, advanced technology and real-time measurable results, as AI increasingly automates media investment by 2030

We empower ambitious experts to deliver extraordinary work by challenging ordinary thinking. If you are passionate about an AI-driven future, thrive in a collaborative and data-centric environment, and are driven to deliver unparalleled growth, we invite you to be part of our transformative journey.

WPP Media is a single client centric company with a portfolio of go to market brands. Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom, Mindshare and T&P are our agency teams, these house multiple local and global clients. In addition, we have a number of client specific brands built to service specific clients. These include OpenDoor (Amazon), MFG (Google), OpenMind (Nestle), OpenConnect (BT/EE) and Media Futures Group (Google). All of these teams are supported by consistent capabilities, enterprise level tools and systems and our market leading OPEN platform.

Role Summary and Impact

The Director is a key management 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. This role requires strong leadership, sound judgment and the ability to manage complexity within a clearly defined area of responsibility.

Capability Description

As the Director of Strategic Partnerships – Agency & Client Enablement, you will lead the development and delivery of programmes that help agency and client teams understand, access and activate the capabilities of WPP Media's most strategic partners. Working across media, technology and data partners, you will ensure that partner innovation is translated into practical opportunities that drive client outcomes, commercial growth and competitive advantage.

This role will focus on the planning and execution of enablement activity, including communications, learning programmes, partner capability positioning, events, community engagement and adoption initiatives. You will work closely with agency, client, product, commercial and partnership teams to increase awareness, understanding and utilisation of partner capabilities across the business, ensuring that teams are equipped to identify and unlock value for clients.

You will act as the bridge between partner capability and business adoption, identifying opportunities to drive greater engagement, increase activation and improve the overall value delivered through WPP Media's partner ecosystem. Success in this role will be measured by the effective translation of partner investment and innovation into meaningful client outcomes, commercial growth and competitive advantage for WPP Media.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Agency and Client Enablement

• Own the delivery of enablement programmes for a defined portfolio of strategic partners and capabilities across WPP Media.
• Translate partner capabilities into clear agency-facing activation plans, communications, learning programmes and engagement opportunities.
• Monitor adoption and engagement across agency teams, identifying barriers and opportunities to increase utilisation.
• Develop a deep understanding of your partner portfolio and the client challenges those capabilities are designed to solve.

Enablement Programme Management

• Lead the governance and delivery of enablement activity for assigned partners and strategic initiatives.
• Manage annual enablement plans, including communications, training, events, accreditation programmes and stakeholder engagement activity.
• Maintain clear visibility of milestones, dependencies, risks and opportunities across enablement programmes.
• Ensure stakeholders receive timely updates, reporting and recommendations to support decision-making and prioritisation.
• Monitor progress against agreed actions, proactively resolving blockers and driving delivery.

Adoption, Value and Growth

• Track adoption and business impact across assigned partner programmes.
• Identify opportunities to increase awareness, engagement and activation of partner capabilities across agency and client teams.
• Work closely with client, agency, product and partnership teams to connect partner capabilities to commercial opportunities and client outcomes.
• Capture and share success stories, case studies and best practice to support broader adoption across WPP Media.
• Support new business and strategic client opportunities by showcasing relevant partner capabilities and value propositions.

Enablement Communications and Engagement

• Develop and deliver engaging communications that help agency teams understand and access partner capabilities.
• Create and maintain enablement resources including playbooks, guides, training materials and capability documentation.
• Support the planning and delivery of events, workshops, roadshows and learning initiatives.
• Foster strong relationships across agency, product, commercial and partner teams to build engagement and advocacy.
• Lead partner engagement initiatives that showcase WPP Media's capabilities, priorities and strategic agenda, strengthening relationships and driving deeper collaboration across the partner ecosystem.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Experience in enablement, client leadership, planning, strategy, partnerships, product marketing, capability development or client-facing roles within media, advertising or technology sectors.
• Strong understanding of how agencies operate and how media, technology and platform capabilities are brought to market.
• Experience delivering cross-functional programmes, learning initiatives, communications or adoption-focused projects.
• Strong relationship management skills with the ability to work effectively across internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Strong communication, presentation and storytelling skills, with the ability to simplify complex concepts for different audiences.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of how partner capabilities create value for clients and the business.
• Ability to influence and collaborate without direct authority.
• Experience working with media, data, technology or platform partners would be beneficial.
• Demonstrated ability to drive engagement, adoption or behavioural change within complex organisations.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to high-quality execution.
• Comfortable operating within defined frameworks while identifying opportunities to improve processes, programmes and outcomes.

Measures of Success

Within 6 Months: Gain a comprehensive understanding of WPP Media and our broader business strategy, plus you will have started to think about incorporating Vision '30 into your operational roadmap and key initiatives. Understand our business challenges and be able to articulate those beyond your immediate remit (macro level, country level, departmental level). Your team will acknowledge clear direction and support plus initial stakeholder feedback should reflect proactive engagement. A key measurable is that you should have also initiated discussions and actions to begin improving processes within your business area leveraging data/AI thinking, where relevant.

Within 12 Months: Demonstrate consistent delivery across strategic partnership activity, showing the impact of your leadership on operational performance and stakeholder engagement. You’ll receive positive feedback from internal and external stakeholders on the quality of coordination, delivery and commercial support, alongside positive 360-degree feedback on your leadership and contribution to WPP Media and Vision '30. You will have improved team ways of working, supported stronger partnership outcomes and contributed to client growth, partner activation or new business activity aligned to Vision '30 capabilities. Maintain strong stakeholder confidence and demonstrate effective team development.

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

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

#LIPROMOTED