Lead Product Manager - Contract

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

Job summary

VML is seeking a Lead Product Manager to own the product strategy for a major retail ecommerce transformation. You will translate business needs into a clear roadmap and lead cross-functional teams across Product, UX/UI, Delivery, and Optimisation.

In this strategic leadership role, you’ll drive discovery, design, development, launch and continuous improvement, aligning with senior stakeholders and delivering measurable commercial value within a hybrid London-based program.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience as a Lead/Senior Product Manager in Retail e-commerce.
• Proven track record delivering large-scale digital transformations.
• Experience migrating platforms from legacy systems to modern architectures.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive product strategy and roadmap for your product scope, aligning with programme direction and wider business objectives.
• Lead multidisciplinary squads across Product, UX/UI, Delivery and Optimisation.
• Champion user research, journey mapping, and problem validation to ensure features solve genuine customer problems.
• Translate complex technical and commercial trade-offs into clear, actionable roadmaps for senior stakeholders.
• Embed Agile, Lean and continuous discovery methodologies into the team’s DNA.
• Deliver measurable commercial value by driving revenue growth, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Skills

E-commerce experience

Digital transformation

Cross-functional leadership

Agile / Scrum / Kanban

Jira

Confluence

Strategic & commercial acumen

Stakeholder management

Product vision & strategy

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Job description

Who We Are

VML is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brandsto drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and award-winning human-first work for clients including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. In 2026, VML was named Campaign’s Global Network of the Year and ranked #2 Creative Network of the Year at Cannes Lions. VML’s global network spans 55+ markets with principal offices in Buenos Aires, Kansas City, London, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore.

VML is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel.

For more information, please visit www.vml.com and follow along on LinkedIn #WeAreVML.

Lead Product Manager needed to own the product strategy, discovery, delivery and adoption of on of our key clients digital transformations.

The opportunity

We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Lead Product Manager to drive product strategy, discovery, design, delivery and adoption for one of our key retail clients’ Ecommerce transformation programmes.

As Lead Product Manager, you will be working within the client’s Product team with accountability for translating business and customer needs into a clear product strategy and measurable outcomes. You will lead cross-functional teams through discovery, design, development, launch and continuous improvement, while building alignment across senior stakeholders, programme and delivery teams.

This is a strategic leadership role, not solely a backlog-management position. You will be embedded within the client’s Product team, alongside agency colleagues and client staff. We are looking for someone who can operate confidently from product vision and commercial strategy through to detailed execution.

What you’ll be doing:

• Own the product Vision:Define, communicate, and drive the product strategy and roadmap for your product scope, ensuring alignment with programme direction and wider business objectives
• Lead Cross-Functional Delivery:Lead multidisciplinary squads across Product, UX/UI, Delivery and Optimisation, making pragmatic trade-offs to balance rapid delivery with long-term objectives
• Drive Customer-Centric Discovery:Champion user research, journey mapping, and problem validation, ensuring that every platform feature solves genuine customer problems and enhances the digital shopping experience.
• Stakeholder Alignment & Strategy:Act as a strategic product voice for senior executives and business leaders, translating complex technical and commercial trade-offs into clear, actionable roadmaps.
• Champion Modern Product Practices:Embed Agile, Lean, and continuous discovery methodologies into the team’s DNA, fostering a culture of high performance, accountability, and customer empathy.
• Deliver Measurable Commercial Value: Focus relentlessly on strategic outcomes, connecting product decisions directly to revenue growth, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

What we want from you

• E-commerce & Digital Transformation Expertise:Extensive experience as a Lead/Senior Product Manager within Retail e-commerce, with a proven track record of driving large-scale digital transformation projects.
• Platform migration:Demonstrable experience in managing the complex transition from legacy systems to modern architectures.
• Cross-Functional Leadership:A deep understanding of how to seamlessly integrate Engineering and UX/UI disciplines, motivating teams without necessarily having direct line-management authority.
• Strategic & Commercial Acumen:The ability to pivot effortlessly between high-level commercial strategy and detailed technical execution, making confident decisions in complex, ambiguous enterprise environments.
• Agile Mastery:Strong practical knowledge of modern product management frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, outcome-based planning) and proficiency with tools like Jira and Confluence.
• Omnichannel Retail Insight:A strong grasp of the modern retail ecosystem, understanding how a cutting-edge online customer experience integrates with wider physical and digital touchpoints.
• You: Self-starter, decisive, able to deal with ambiguity and to influence wider stakeholders within a large programme of work.

If you have some of this, even better

• A recognised Product Management or Agile Product Owner certification is desirable.

What we can offer you

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we’ll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We’ll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.

Our culture thrives on our core values, designed for impact-driven individuals: Heart, Brains and Courage.

We lead withHeart, fostering empathy and trust where genuine connections and human-centric work flourish.
We empower yourBrainsfor innovation, valuing relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence to solve complex challenges.
And we championCourage, inspiring you to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions that push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

How we use AI in the recruitment process:
To ensure more focused and engaging conversations, we leverage AI in our recruitment processexclusively for secure, objective note-taking, never for evaluative judgments. This allows our team to be fully present with you. You are always welcome torequest a transcript of these notes or opt outof this feature at any time. Opting out will not impact the outcome of the interview process"

WPP Enterprise Solutions is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel.

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 an average of four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

WPP (VML) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to 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.