Senior Project and Release Manager UK

Wundermanthompson; Greater London; On-site; GBP 111,000 - 166,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Career development support

Opportunity to work with global brands

Job summary

VML is seeking a Senior Project Manager and Release Manager on a contractual basis to join our Delivery Team in the UK. You will lead technical releases, coordinate with architects and developers, and ensure governance across environments while guiding junior managers.

You’ll work with both Agile and Waterfall methodologies, manage dependencies, and communicate clearly with stakeholders to keep projects on track and aligned with client needs.

Qualifications

• BA/BS degree with a major in information management, marketing, communications, business or related areas is advantageous.
• Developer background or programming qualification is advantageous but not essential.
• Understanding of Jenkins or other release pipeline tools.
• Experience with code management tools such as Git, Bitbucket, SVN.
• Basic understanding of Terraform and collaborating with technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Release and technical reporting regarding project/account technical deliverables, architecture and release pipeline.
• Identify technical risks and issues and provide mitigation options to achieve resolution.
• Communicate with stakeholders (internal/external) including chairing technical meetings.
• Manage and coordinate internal technical specialists.
• Lead and inspire the team to achieve individual and team objectives.
• Ensure the technical team completes required work and suggest process improvements.
• Provide support to Junior Technical Project Managers within your account or across the organization.
• Define, plan, organize and manage the build of new infrastructure environments.
• Coordinate high quality technical solutions, on time, via effective time management.
• Keep up to date with emerging industry practices.
• Effectively run complex projects using Agile or Waterfall methodologies.
• Oversee releases across pre-production and production environments.
• Implement technical governance according to client needs.
• Build customer confidence by understanding needs and delivering first-class solutions.
• Set and manage client expectations with professionalism.
• Manage 3rd party product vendors, environments, and client technical resources.

Skills

Project management

Ecommerce

Azure

AWS DevOps

Agile/Waterfall

Stakeholder communication

Leadership

Education

BA/BS degree in information management, marketing, communications, business

Tools

Jenkins

Git

Bitbucket

SVN

Terraform

Job description

Who We Are

VML is a global creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands that drive growth. Guided by a Human First philosophy, VML is known for its innovative work for brands and consistently ranks among the world’s leading creative companies, including the WARC Creative 100. 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.

Senior Project Manager and Release Manager needed to join our Delivery Team on a contractual basis.

The opportunity

A Senior Project Manager, with a technical background, who has experience managing technical teams and releases across complex client environments. You encourage strong relationships with your team and have the ability the talk, at a technical level, with developers and senior technical team members (e.g., technical architects, solution architects etc). You follow best practices in development standards and coding reviews through having a good understanding of branching strategies, development standards and coding reviews through having a good understanding of branching strategies, development principals and CI/CD.

Please bear in mind that this is a contractual role.

What you'll be doing

• Release and technical reporting regarding project/account technical deliverables, architecture and release pipeline
• Identify technical risks and issues & provide mitigation options to achieve resolution
• Knowledgeably communicate with stakeholders (internal/external) including chairing technical meetings as required
• Manage and co-ordinate Internal technical specialists
• Lead and inspire the team to achieve individual and team objectives
• Ensure the technical team(s) complete what is expected of them successfully and suggest improvements to processes as required.
• Provide support to Junior Technical Project Managers within your account or across WTC&T giving them regular constructive feedback to help with their development
• Define, plan, organise and manage the build of new infrastructure environments
• Co-ordinate high quality technical solutions, on time, via effective time management
• Keep up to date with emerging industry practices
• Effectively run complex projects using Agile or Waterfall methodologies.
• Oversee releases across pre-production and production environments, demonstrating an understanding of dependencies between client systems.
• Implement technical governance according to the client's needs
• Build customer confidence by understanding their needs & delivering first class solutions
• Set and manage client expectations, addressing issues in a respectful and timely manner and ensuring the organisation maintains a positive image and provides a high-quality service
• Manage 3rd party product vendors, environments, and client technical resources

What we want from you

• Project Management experience, and ecommerce experience ideally within a retail environment.
• Ability to read log files, draw conclusions and direct further technical investigation
• Working with eCommerce frameworks and hosting solutions
• Understanding of cloud/on prem. Infrastructure
• Familiarity with Azure and AWS DevOps Tooling
• Defining, managing and delivering to customer expectations within strict deadlines
• Full knowledge of the project lifecycle and experience of various project development methodologies (including Agile, Incremental and Waterfall)
• Comfortable with complex technical environments and legacy systems integration
• Managing 3rd parties
• Strong time management & organisational skills
• Excellent negotiation skills and an ability to handle sensitive issues with tact and diplomacy
• Relevant Project Management qualifications
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Packages, especially MS Excel and MS PowerPoint
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

If you have some of this, even better

• BA/BS degree with a major in information management, marketing, communications, business or other closely-related areas is an advantage
• A developer background or programming qualification is advantageous but not essential
• Understanding of Jenkins or other release pipeline tools
• Experience of code management tools such as git, bit bucket, svn
• A basic understanding of Terraform - at a level you can engage with technical teams

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 y