WPP is at the forefront of the marketing and advertising industry's largest transformation. We are looking for a Programme Director to lead the people side of this transformation, ensuring that new ways of working are adopted, benefits are realised, and change fatigue is minimised.
Requirements
- Extensive experience leading largescale, complex technology transformation programmes in a global or multi-entity organisation.
- Proven track record of delivering enterprise-wide platforms, cloud migrations, infrastructure modernisation, or major application deployments.
- Strong background in portfolio, programme, and project management, with familiarity in both waterfall and hybrid delivery.
- Demonstrated experience working in environments with multiple vendors, system integrators, and third-party delivery partners.
- Ability to define and articulate a clear programme vision, roadmap, and benefits case.
- Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence senior stakeholders, including C-suite, functional heads, and agency/market leaders.
- Experience leading matrixed teams and managing cross-functional delivery across geographies.
- Demonstrated ability to set the right delivery culture, behaviours, and expectations.
- Deep understanding of programme governance, including stage gates, reporting, RAID management, and financial controls.
- Ability to establish and maintain robust delivery frameworks, quality standards, and assurance.
- Skilled in risk management, including identifying systemic risks, interdependency conflicts, and developing mitigation plans.
- Ability to ensure regulatory, security, and compliance alignment across programme components.
- Strong capability in budget ownership, forecasting, cost control, and benefits realisation.
- Experience conducting business cases, cost–benefit analysis, and ROI assessments.
- Ability to manage vendors against contractual commitments and performance KPIs.
- Exceptional comms skills, able to simplify complex programme detail into exec level insight.
- Ability to build trusted relationships with senior sponsors, delivery teams, and external partners.
- Skilled in managing change impacts, driving adoption, and minimising business disruption.
- Experience overseeing change management, including communications, training, and readiness.
- Ability to ensure new processes, technologies, and capabilities are embedded and sustained.
- Comfortable addressing change fatigue, capability gaps, and resistance points.
- Strong understanding of relevant enterprise technologies.
- Ability to balance technical constraints, architectural requirements, and business needs.
- Highly organised, resilient, and comfortable operating in ambiguous or evolving environments.
- Strong problem solver with ability to make clear decisions under pressure.
- Inclusive, people centred leader who motivates high performing teams.
Benefits
- Passionate, inspired people
- Scale and opportunity
- Challenging and stimulating work
- Hybrid work approach with teams in the office around four days a week
- Equal opportunities employer
- Flexible work arrangements
