Head of Culture Activation

WPP; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Accommodations / flexible arrangements

Job summary

WPP is looking for a Head of Culture Activation to shape how we work, collaborate and deliver for clients within the Elevate28 transformation. This role will turn WPP’s strategy and values into everyday behaviours that create a more connected, accountable and enterprise-first culture.

The Head leads culture diagnostics, behavioural frameworks, activation campaigns and ambassador programmes to build a shared, enterprise-wide identity and consistent ways of working across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Significant culture and transformation leadership experience.
• Proven experience leading large-scale cultural change across global organisations.
• Data-led approach with culture insights and metrics.

Responsibilities

• Shape WPP’s cultural framework: define behaviours and ways of working.
• Lead culture diagnostics across units and regions to measure progress.
• Create the WPP Global Culture Playbook to embed culture in decision-making.
• Drive Enterprise-wide culture activation through True One WPP campaigns.
• Strengthen collaboration with enterprise-first mindset and AI confidence.
• Build a global Cultural Ambassador network to scale culture locally.

Skills

Culture transformation

Stakeholder management

Culture activation

Employee engagement

Change leadership

Job description

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.

We work with the world's most valuable brands and have global reach across 100+ markets, with deep local expertise.

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.

For more information, visit WPP.com.

The Head of Culture Activation will play a pivotal role in shaping how WPP works, collaborates and delivers for its clients. As part of the Elevate28 transformation, this role will turn WPP’s strategy and values into meaningful, everyday behaviours, helping create a more connected, accountable and enterprise-first culture.

From leading the global culture diagnostic and developing the WPP Global Culture Playbook, to activating True One WPP and building a global community of Cultural Ambassadors, this role will drive culture change at scale. The focus is clear: embed the behaviours that strengthen collaboration, client obsession, constructive candour, psychological safety and AI confidence across WPP.

What you'll be doing:

The Head of Culture Activation owns the cultural strategy and frameworks that bring WPP’s culture to life across the employee experience. The role leads culture diagnostics, behavioural frameworks, activation campaigns and ambassador programmes to build a shared, enterprise-wide identity and consistent ways of working.

Key Responsibilities

• Shape WPP’s cultural framework: Define the behaviours and ways of working that bring True One WPP and Elevate28 to life, translating enterprise values into clear, observable behaviours across the organisation.

• Lead culture insight and measurement: Drive WPP’s global culture diagnostic across operating units and regions, using insights and data to understand progress, identify priorities and measure cultural transformation.

• Create the WPP Global Culture Playbook: Develop practical frameworks and tools that enable leaders, managers and employees to embed WPP’s culture into everyday decision-making, collaboration and client delivery.

• Drive enterprise-wide culture activation: Lead the True One WPP campaign and wider culture initiatives, using leadership storytelling, communications and employee experiences to create meaningful and sustained behaviour change.

• Strengthen collaboration and high performance: Embed enterprise-first thinking, client obsession, constructive candour, psychological safety and AI confidence, while creating frameworks that encourage greater collaboration across WPP.

• Build a global Cultural Ambassador network: Establish and empower a community of Cultural Ambassadors who champion WPP’s culture locally, strengthen connections across the organisation and accelerate new ways of working.

• Embed culture throughout the employee experience: Ensure WPP’s culture is reflected from day one, including executive and employee onboarding, manager toolkits and key employee touchpoints.

• Own the Cultural Transformation Roadmap: Develop and oversee a three-year roadmap, establishing clear milestones and measures of progress while monitoring adoption, change readiness and transformation fatigue.

• Deliver measurable first-year impact: Establish the global culture diagnostic, behavioural framework, Culture Playbook, True One WPP activation campaign, Cultural Ambassador network and the longer-term transformation roadmap.

What you'll need:

• Significant culture and transformation leadership experience, with a track record of shaping and embedding culture, values and behaviours across complex, global organisations.
• Proven experience leading large-scale cultural change, bringing together diverse businesses, teams and identities around a shared enterprise culture and ways of working.
• Strong senior stakeholder credibility and influence, with the confidence to partner with executive leaders and navigate complex, matrixed environments.
• Deep expertise in culture activation and employee engagement, using compelling campaigns, storytelling and change strategies to turn cultural ambition into meaningful behaviour change.
• A data-led approach, with experience using culture insights, employee feedback and behavioural measures to track progress and inform transformation priorities.
• The ability to drive change at pace, balancing ambitious transformation goals with employee engagement, organisational readiness and change fatigue.
• A collaborative, enterprise-first mindset, with the ability to break down organisational silos and build a strong, authentic sense of shared identity across diverse global teams.

Who you are:

You're open: We are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are open-minded: to new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working.

You're optimistic: We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We approach all that we do with conviction: to try the new and to seek the unexpected.

You're extraordinary: we are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.

What we’ll give you:

Passionate, inspired people – We aim to create a culture in which people can do extraordinary work.

Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.

Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you up for the challenge?

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.