Media Operations, VP (Parental Leave Cover)

About this role

About WPP Media

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. With exceptional talent, trusted data and intelligence, and world-class partnerships – all united by our pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity, and deliver transformational growth.

WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, 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.

For more information, visit wppmedia.com.

1447 - VP Practice Operations, MM&D UK

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:

• Collaboration: Foster unprecedented levels of data collaboration across WPP and partners through WPP Open, turning every channel into a smarter opportunity.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Operational Excellence by Design

Our ambition is simple: make operational excellence the default, not the exception. We are building a culture where strong governance, clear accountability, and consistent ways of working enable teams to deliver high-quality, error-free outcomes at scale—every time. This isn’t about bureaucracy. It’s about protecting quality, reducing risk, and giving our people the clarity and confidence to do their best work. Governance will be embedded into workflows, supported by the right tools, and owned across both onshore and GOC teams.

Operations exist to drive growth, protect delivery, and enable scale—making it a critical strategic lever for the business, not just a support function.

Role Summary and Impact

The Vice President (VP), Practice Operations is a senior leadership role within Media Management & Delivery (MM&D), responsible for driving operational excellence and transformation across a defined portfolio of clients.

Reporting to the SVP, you will translate strategy into action—embedding consistent, scalable, high-performance ways of working across client teams. You will lead the delivery of operational transformation, improving quality, efficiency, and performance while unlocking greater value for clients and the business.

You will act as a senior partner to both client and agency stakeholders, driving the adoption of new capabilities, delivery models, and technologies.

This role is central to embedding our Operational Excellence by Design vision—ensuring governance, accountability, and consistency are built into how we operate, not added as an afterthought.

Capability Description

The Practices function is MM&D’s centre of craft excellence, responsible for elevating media capability across the organisation. These specialists define future‑focused media standards and create the strategic roadmaps that guide our teams. By developing new methodologies, strengthening market partnerships, and uniting experts into specialist communities, they set and advance industry benchmarks. They equip Delivery teams with forward‑looking plans, best‑in‑class tools, and the strategic vision that drives innovative investment approaches and impactful Joint Business Plans. As a core catalyst within MM&D, the Practices team ensures we stay at the forefront of the industry and provides a destination for specialists seeking to deepen their expertise.

Operating Model & Leadership Structure

Operations are designed to combine accountability for delivery with…