Director, Commerce Activation

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.

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.

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.

About EssenceMediacom: A Leading WPP Media Brand

EssenceMediacom is a new breed of media agency. Grounded in analytics & insights and powered by data & technology, we believe in the power of media and creative to drive breakthroughs for the world’s best brands. We help clients understand the modern marketing paradox and discover the breakthroughs brands need to win with their consumers. We are designed for the new communications economy — built on data & technology, built for people & algorithms, built around diverse schools of thought, built to test & learn at scale, and, crucially, built to evolve.

Role Summary & Impact

The Director, Commerce Activation role will have a deep interest and appreciation for the uniqueness of retail and marketplaces, and use their retail expertise to deliver excellence in biddable retail media channels: search and programmatic. They will ensure seamless integration of performance-led retail media efforts into a holistic commerce strategy, delivering best-in-class results across GroupM agencies. This role will work as a member a cross-functional team and inform, shape, and implement the most advanced performance-led strategies and solutions to unlock new growth opportunities across biddable channels for clients. This role will be responsible for partnering with agency teams to translate our client’s business briefs into jobs, ensure collaboration across biddable channels to maximize client outcomes, and assist in creating frameworks for teams working with retail media networks to develop performance projections and scenarios based on campaign parameters. An entrepreneurial spirit with a bias for action and problem-solving is necessary to be successful in this role.

Skills and Experience

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• Manage a team of direct reports and their career development.

• Identify improvement opportunities in biddable commerce activation with key agency stakeholders to uplevel how we serve GroupM Commerce clients across agencies.

• Partner with agency and client teams to help navigate the Commerce activation landscape.

• Utilize GroupM Commerce capabilities to service and deliver best-in-class solutions that accomplish client’s business objectives.

• Proactively identify opportunities for process improvements that can help teams work better together and with our clients.

• Lead the incorporation of cross-channel testing and optimization strategies.

• Assist in developing frameworks, case studies, trainings, and other content to continuously raise the bar of biddable Commerce media-buying teams.

• Manage relationships with select priority Commerce partners to ensure development & delivery of best-in-class biddable campaigns.

• Effectively create and deliver presentations and thought leadership to clients.

• Stay up to date on changing marketplace dynamics surrounding ad products, technology, and measurement across search and programmatic partners.

• Lead the adoption of GroupM Commerce for new business and existing accounts.

• Synthesize key data points, identify trends, and recommend activities to maximize business results and deliver an optimal customer experience.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Analytics, Marketing, Communications, Advertising; OR equivalent professional work experience

• 7+ years of experience in biddable performance media execution, with a strong preference for retail media execution.

• Experience managing a team of direct reports.

• Experience across the Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

• Deep understanding of retail commercial elements such as profit margin, inventory levels, forecasting, and demand planning to inform media decisions.

• Deep understanding of how different media channels work together and how retail media fits within the wider ecosystem.

• Experience with retail bid management platforms, such as Pacvue or Skai.

• Experience in campaign management and optimization across multiple retail platforms (Amazon, Instacart, Walmart, Target, Kroger, Criteo, Google, Meta, etc.).

• Ability to collaborate and work effectively with internal teams and external partners.

• A self-starter attitude that thrives in a fast-paced environment.

• Excellent project-management skills; able to coordinate projects across multiple teams and functions.

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.

WPP Media is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to, among others, individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. If you need an accommodation because of a disability to search and apply for a career opportunity with WPP Media, please send an e-mail to GroupM Leave Administration at [email protected] or call (212) 297-8507 and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

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The base salary range for this position at the time of this posting is indicated below. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package, go to https://mybenefits.wpp.com/public/welcome for more details.

US Pay Range
$100,000—$230,000 USD

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