Programmatic Planning & Operations Director

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 Open Door: A Leading WPP Media Brand 

At WPP, we’re constantly reinventing the future of creativity on an ever-broader canvas, bringing together unrivalled talent, resources and skills to provide an integrated offer of communications, experience, commerce and technology. 

Over the last decade, we have developed a dedicated global client practice with the mission of accelerating WPP’s impact for our largest clients by bringing them the best of WPP. Each team is custom-built around a client’s specific needs and challenges, providing easy access to the right capabilities. And that’s why we’ve built OpenDoor for Amazon. 

OpenDoor is a unique integration of the best of WPP and Amazon – building on their respective strengths and visions. Whether at WPP or at Amazon, every project is an OpenDoor on new possibilities. Anything and everything can be an opportunity for our people to drive impact – for them to innovate, learn, thrive, and occasionally fail too. 

The unique OpenDoor partnership model is built to deliver next level Productivity, fueled by our industry-leading approach to People, Platforms, and Process. OpenDoor spans across all WPP agencies and disciplines such as media, business consultancy, communications and brand strategy, tech and commerce, public relations, and production. 

OpenDoor’s values are built from Amazon’s own 16 Leadership Principles, and WPP’s core values of Open, Optimistic and Extraordinary. Together, when WPP’s Creative Transformation meets Amazon’s next-level customer centricity, our people come together to challenge and impact what’s done today and build a better future. 

By joining OpenDoor, not only are you joining a cross-function team partnering with one of WPP’s top five global clients, but you are also taking a step to challenge yourself and the world around you every day, working in the most unusual way on some of Earth’s most ambitious opportunities in marketing, tech, media, business, and creativity. 

Role Summary and Impact 

As part of the Global Operations Centre (GOC) in Poland, you will work closely with teams across the United States, Europe, and Asia to deliver high-impact solutions in a collaborative, multicultural environment. We are looking for a Programmatic Planning & Operations Director, who will: 

Campaign Management

• Build effective media plans to organize campaign actions and goals

• Oversee and ensure best-in-class campaign activation across relevant accounts, ensuring campaigns are operating at the highest standard and delivering highest quality output for our clients.

• Take a proactive role, supervising campaign activation and optimisation rigor, while also supporting global hub, executives, and managers, across your clients.

• Create templates and proven methodologies for optimisation approach for key trading tactics and optimisation logs.

Client and Partner Management

• Build strong, effective relationships with clients maintaining relationships of trust and respect

• Demonstrate an understanding of the media and technology developments that influence our client’s business.

• Drive revenue growth through spotting new optimisation opportunities, services or products and delivering excellent results.

• Develop strong relationships with media owners and other service providers to select the most appropriate suppliers for campaigns.

• Understand the products and solutions that could be relevant for clients that have been developed within the group.

People Management

• The ability to motivate and train individuals, being a key stakeholder in the development of junior staff.

• To support and nurture junior & global hub employees, ensuring their training and development needs are constantly evaluated and fulfilled.

• Clearly outline tasks and objectives with the Programmatic Associate Director, with specific deliverables and timelines for progression.

• Highlight great teamwork, and client initiatives. Demonstrate examples of Programmatic best practice to the wider team and contribute to department and wider agency PR and communications.

Operational Excellence

• The appropriate use of tools to drive accountability in programmatic buying, operational efficiencies, and actionable business insights, with the scoping of agreed client outputs.

• Ensure financial accuracy, integrating the planning and buying process, and reconciliation of spends, including client terms and programmatic fees, via buying templates and processes.

• Maintain standards and process throughout the end-to-end campaign lifecycle

• Proactively seek opportunities to develop and enhance your understanding and knowledge of the programmatic landscape, latest tech platforms, vendors, and suppliers.

Skills and Experience 

If this opportunity looks right for you, we are looking for candidates who have: 

• Strong experience in programmatic roles and client-facing positions.

• Experience in managing multi-location activations teams. 

• Experience in training and maintaining quality standards at scale.

• A strong background in biddable media is a must.

• Proven track record of managing complex, multi-market accounts where you’ve delivered measurable business outcomes.

• EU regional experience is required

• Ability to craft a compelling, data-driven story that is anchored in the client’s business need.

• Ability to anticipate challenges/opportunities and deliver highly persuasive, strategic & structured communication.

• Confident in forecasting budget during campaign delivery as many times as needed.

• Solutions-oriented and high levels of organisation.

• An empathetic and thoughtful leader comfortable with working through detailed, written communications.

• Ability to effectively work in a matrix organization.

• Proficiency in English