Data Programme Director

WPP; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading creative transformation company is seeking a Programme Director to lead the evolution of its Enterprise Technology capabilities. This role involves strategic leadership, governance assurance, and stakeholder engagement to ensure the successful transformation of WPP’s data platforms. Candidates should have extensive experience in large-scale technology programmes and a strong background in project management. The role embraces a hybrid working model, fostering creativity and collaboration among teams.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Collaborative work culture

Career development opportunities

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading large-scale technology transformation programmes.
• Proven record of delivering enterprise-wide platforms and cloud migrations.
• Strong background in project management with familiarity in waterfall and hybrid delivery.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the programme vision and objectives.
• Establish robust governance frameworks and manage risks.
• Drive delivery of measurable business benefits.

Skills

Strategic Leadership

Governance & Assurance

Stakeholder Engagement

Change Management

Risk Management

Tools

Wrike

Job description

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients, and communities.

Working at WPP means being part of a global network of more than 100,000 talented people dedicated to doing extraordinary work for our clients. We operate in over 100 countries, with corporate headquarters in New York, London and Singapore.

WPP is a world leader in marketing services, with deep AI, data and technology capabilities, global presence and unrivalled creative talent. Our clients include many of the biggest companies and advertisers in the world, including approximately 300 of the Fortune Global 500.

Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow.

Why we're hiring

WPP is at the forefront of the marketing and advertising industry's largest transformation. Our Global CIO is leading a significant evolution of our Enterprise Technology capabilities, bringing together over 2,500 technology professionals into an integrated global team. This team will play a crucial role in enabling the ongoing transformation of our agencies and functions.

The Data Programme will transform WPP’s data platforms and ways of working, positioning the group as a top-quartile technology company. It aims to modernise WPP’s data infrastructure, enabling operational excellence, unlocking innovation, and supporting sustainable value creation by focusing on integration and standardisation of data, strengthening data governance, and supporting AI and analytics capabilities.

A dedicated Programme Director is needed to orchestrate the people side of this transformation, ensuring that new ways of working are adopted, benefits are realised, and change fatigue is minimised.

Programme Director responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Define and maintain the programme vision, objectives, and roadmap, ensuring alignment with business strategy.
• Governance & Assurance: Establish robust governance frameworks, manage risks, and ensure compliance with organisational standards.
• Benefits Realisation: Drive delivery of measurable business benefits, tracking progress against agreed KPIs and outcomes.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, sponsors, and delivery teams to secure commitment and resolve issues.
• Resource & Financial Management: Oversee programme budgets, resource allocation, and vendor management to optimise cost and value.
• Change & Adoption: Ensure readiness and adoption of new capabilities, minimising disruption and embedding change effectively.

What you'll be doing

• Develop the global vision and roadmap for the programme.
• Build strong relationships with leaders to influence and drive collaboration.
• Establish and lead transformation programmes across WPP Enterprise Technology.
• Ensure deliverables are of the highest quality with clearly articulated scope and quantifiable business benefits.
• Be accountable for programme definition, planning, orchestration, and delivery.
• Identify, define, and manage all aspects of the programme’s projects—overall programme project plan, execution, resource management, risk and issue tracking, quality, governance, change management, risk management, communications, and budget.
• Coordinate dependencies, including those with projects, suppliers and stakeholders outside the programme.
• Provide visibility across teams to mitigate coordination challenges.
• Develop and maintain programme risk management plans and coordinate risk identification, qualification, response development, and control.
• Work closely with the PMOs to ensure accurate reporting of the programme.
• Run stage gates for each project in the programme in collaboration with PMOs.
• Act as liaison between stakeholders, sponsors and steering committee, managing these relationships.
• Conduct financial analysis of programme alternatives, including cost/benefit analysis to determine programme feasibility.
• Develop and compose business cases to support justification of programme investment.
• Manage third‑party suppliers/partners to contractual commitments.
• Performance‑manage project management staff and provide coaching and feedback for their professional growth.
• Ensure programme projects use Transformation Delivery Framework and tools such as Wrike.
• Support the PPM Centre of Excellence by identifying and championing areas where improvements may benefit project performance.
• Share activities and lessons learnt across the PM community.

What you’ll need – Experience & Background

• Extensive experience leading large‑scale, 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 with multiple vendors, system integrators, and third‑party delivery partners.

Leadership & Strategic Capability

• 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 or market leaders.
• Experience leading matrixed teams and managing cross‑functional delivery across geographies.
• Demonstrated ability to set the right delivery culture, behaviors, and expectations.

Governance, Control & Delivery Excellence

• Deep understanding of programme governance — 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.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Exceptional communication skills, able to simplify complex programme detail into executive‑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.

Change, Adoption & Business Readiness

• 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.

Technical Competence

• Strong understanding of relevant enterprise technologies.
• Ability to balance technical constraints, architectural requirements, and business needs.

Personal Attributes

• 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.

Who you are

• Open‑minded and collaborative, respecting diverse views.
• Optimistic, believing in the power of creativity, technology, and talent.
• Extraordinary, committed to achieving amazing results together.

What we’ll give you

• Passionate, inspired people – a culture that nurtures extraordinary work.
• Scale and opportunity – influence and complete projects at unparalleled industry scale.
• Challenging and stimulating work – join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you ready for the challenge?

#LI‑Hybrid

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 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.