Principal Consultant (Commerce & Digital)

WPP Enterprise Solutions; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus scheme

Training opportunities

Competitive pension

Medical insurance

Life assurance

Social events

Opportunities to buy and sell holidays

Family friendly policies

Discounts with hundreds of retailers

Job summary

WPP Enterprise Solutions is seeking a visionary Principal Consultant to influence transformation at the highest levels of global business, shaping consultancy solutions on a worldwide scale. You will mentor teams, drive growth, and deliver impactful outcomes for clients across multiple industries.

This senior role requires extensive e-Commerce expertise, strategic thinking, and exceptional relationship-building to expand complex engagements and deliver measurable business results.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in management or consultancy roles within the e‑Commerce domain.
• In-depth specialist sector knowledge in at least 1–2 areas, ideally including retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, or automotive.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to effectively lead and motivate cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Operate at C-suite level to engage and lead clients through complex transformational change across omni-channel ecosystems.
• Lead cross-functional engagements, serving as the primary point of contact for senior client stakeholders across a number of our largest clients.
• Develop and present compelling proposals, roadmaps, and presentations that clearly articulate value propositions and solutions.

Skills

Leadership

Consulting

Client engagement

Strategic thinking

Tools

CMS

PIM

Ecommerce platforms

Job description

Who We Are

WPP Enterprise Solutions designs, builds, and operates the growth systems that competitive businesses rely on. In a world where Al is reshaping how companies drive growth, we lead clients in business transformation and marketing modernization, connecting strategy directly to execution. Our 12,000 experts in engineering and platforms, commerce, consulting, content transformation, CRM, and CX work within a unified global operating unit across 40+ markets. WPP Enterprise Solutions works alongside best-in-class partners including Adobe, AWS, Braze, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Shopify, as well as innovators in AI, to deliver growth solutions tailored to the needs of our clients’ businesses. VML, part of WPP, supports WPP Enterprise Solutions by helping brands activate transformation through creativity and experience.

Principal Consultant

We are seeking a visionary and distinguished Principal Consultant to influence and drive transformation at the highest levels of our consultancy. This pivotal role offers a unique opportunity to act as a trusted advisor to C-suite global business leaders, shaping the future of our consultancy solutions on a global scale. As a senior figure within our organization, you will mentor and lead our clients and internal teams toward unparalleled success. Your profound industry expertise and collaborative leadership will be crucial in delivering impactful business outcomes, while your dedication to a people-first ethos will cultivate a culture of empowerment, growth, and continuous improvement across our Consultancy team and the entire Business Services department.

Other Core Elements Of This Role Will Be

• Orchestrating teams with diverse, cross-functional skill sets to collaboratively generate strategic, high-quality solutions to complex client challenges.
• Demonstrating a relentless passion for deciphering and resolving intricate client problems within the dynamic and evolving digital landscape.
• Proactively identifying new opportunities for client support by leveraging deep client insights and extending value beyond the initial engagements
• Utilizing advanced communication and analytical skills to swiftly dissect client issues, providing clear, actionable strategies in often ambiguous and high-pressure situations.

What You’ll Be Doing

You will have a distinguished consultancy background or an executive leadership position, demonstrating profound expertise in multiple specialized sectors. Ideally, your experience spans at least 1-2 key industries, such as retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, or automotive.

To highlight the seniority and scope of this role, consider these responsibilities and engagements comparable to the following positions: Consultancy Director, Consulting Manager, Lead Consultant, Senior Strategy Consultant, Head of Digital, Digital Director, Management Consultant.

Key Responsibilities

Client Engagement & Relationship Management

• Operate at C-suite level to engage and lead clients through complex transformational change across truly omni-channel ecosystems
• Tackle the biggest transformational business questions that lead our clients to global success across experience, technology and organisational change
• Lead cross-functional engagements, serving as the primary point of contact for senior client stakeholders across a number of our largest clients.
• Build and nurture strong, trusted relationships with clients, understanding their business challenges and objectives.
• Proactively identify and pursue opportunities to expand existing client relationships and generate new business.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and coach the more junior consultants, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment. Inspire and empower team members to take ownership, develop their skills, and reach their full potential.
• Promote knowledge sharing and best practices across the team and wider organization.

Strategic Consulting & Solution Delivery

• Leverage your expertise in eCommerce and specialist sector knowledge (e.g., retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, automotive) to provide strategic guidance and solutions to clients.
• Confident communicator who can articulately ask questions and actively listen to get to the core of the client problem
• Being comfortable with ‘grey’, bringing clarity to ambiguous situations and utilising your advanced problem-solving capability to analyse complex business problems and independently overcome obstacles quickly.
• A lateral thinker who is able to step back to assess the client and ask from a broader perspective
• Conduct thorough business analysis, identifying pain points, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
• A deep understanding of technologies that form a part of digital ecosystems, such as eCommerce platforms, CMS, PIM etc. as well as software delivery methodology including agile
• Develop and present compelling proposals, roadmaps, and presentations that clearly articulate value propositions and solutions.
• Support the delivery function with business insights to help keep the business & team focussed on outcomes

Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Proactively identify and implement process improvements to enhance team efficiency, output quality, and client satisfaction.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices, incorporating relevant learnings into your work.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of internal methodologies, frameworks, and tools.

What We Want From You

• Extensive experience in management or consultancy roles within the e-Commerce domain.
• In-depth specialist sector knowledge in at least 1-2 areas, ideally including retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, or automotive.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to effectively lead and motivate cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional relationship-building and networking skills, with a knack for building rapport with senior stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of digital ecosystems and technologies, including e-commerce platforms, CMS, PIM, and agile software delivery methodologies.
• Advanced problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse complex business problems, think laterally, and develop creative solutions.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and concisely to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Passion for client success and a commitment to exceeding expectations.
• Willingness to travel to client sites within the UK and potentially within the EU.

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.

Permanent Only

We offer a great benefits package including a discretionary bonus scheme, training opportunities, competitive pension, medical insurance, life assurance, social events, opportunities to buy and sell holidays, family friendly policies, discounts with hundreds of retailers and much more.

Benefits

• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Training opportunities
• Competitive pension
• Medical insurance
• Life assurance
• Social events
• Opportunities to buy and sell holidays
• Family friendly policies
• Discounts with hundreds of retailers

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

We lead with Heart, fostering empathy and trust where genuine connections and human-centric work flourish.

We empower your Brains for innovation, valuing relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence to solve complex challenges.

And we champion Courage, inspiring you to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions that push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

About WPP

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 agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.

WPP (VML/WPP Enterprise Solutions) 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.