Associate Director ME&I

twentysix; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

VML, part of WPP, seeks an Associate Director, Marketing Effectiveness & Intelligence to lead social analytics and reporting across four North American brands. You will transform social signals into actionable insights shaping creative, content, and business decisions.

You won’t just pull data—you’ll make it mean something, translating raw metrics into clear narratives for senior leadership and guiding strategy across Brand partnerships.

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years of experience in social analytics, marketing effectiveness, or digital intelligence.
• Expertise with social listening platforms such as Brandwatch, Sprinklr, or Talkwalker.
• Strong ability to contextualize social metrics within marketing and business goals.
• Proven track record delivering insights to senior stakeholders with clarity.

Responsibilities

• Own detailed monthly performance reports for day-to-day organic social across four brands.
• Lead quarterly reporting and year-end wrap reports with strategic storytelling.
• Develop ELT (Executive Leadership Team) reports distilling data into actionable recommendations.

Skills

Social analytics

Data storytelling

Executive reporting

Collaborative

Tools

Brandwatch

Sprinklr

Talkwalker

Job description

Who We Are

VML, part of WPP, is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brands to drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and human first, award-winning work for blue chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. The agency is recognized by the Forrester Wave Reports, as a Leader among Marketing Creative and Content Service Providers, Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization. In addition, VML’s specialist health network, VML Health, is one of the world’s largest and most awarded health agencies. VML’s global network is powered by 26,000 talented people across 55+ markets, with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.

About WPP

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. For more information, visit WPP.com.

About the Role

We’re looking for an Associate Director, Marketing Effectiveness & Intelligence to lead social intelligence and reporting across four of our most dynamic North American brands: Colgate, Fabuloso, Tom's of Maine, and Hello. This role sits at the intersection of data, strategy, and storytelling — turning social signals into actionable intelligence that drives smarter creative, content, and business decisions.

You won’t just pull data. You’ll make it mean something.

Reporting & Analytics

• Own and deliver detailed monthly performance reports for day-to-day organic social across all four brands, providing clear narrative on what’s working, what’s shifting, and what to do next

• Lead quarterly reporting with a strategic lens, including high-impact year-end wrap reports that synthesize performance into compelling brand stories

• Develop and deliver ad hoc ELT (Executive Leadership Team) reports that distill complex data into executive-ready insights and recommendations

Social Listening & Intelligence

• Partner with Community Management and Creative teams on social listening pulls to surface content opportunities, cultural moments, and audience insights

• Conduct ad hoc social listening and analysis in support of crisis monitoring and management — acting as a rapid-response intelligence resource when the moment demands it

• Identify emerging conversations, sentiment shifts, and competitive signals that inform brand strategy

Cross-Functional Integration

• Collaborate with paid campaign teams to ensure organic and paid social efforts are aligned, sharing insights that optimize holistic performance

• Serve as the connective tissue between data and creative, ensuring insights flow into action across disciplines

Strategic Storytelling

• Translate raw data into clear, compelling narratives — articulating not just what happened, but why it matters and what to do about it

• Elevate reporting from functional deliverables to strategic tools that drive decision-making at every level

What You’ll Bring

• 5–7+ years of experience in social analytics, marketing effectiveness, or digital intelligence — ideally within an agency or CPG environment

• Demonstrated expertise in social listening platforms (e.g., Brandwatch, Sprinklr, Talkwalker, or similar)

• Strong command of organic social metrics and the ability to contextualize performance within broader marketing and business objectives

• Proven ability to manage multiple brands simultaneously without sacrificing quality or depth

• Experience delivering insights to senior/executive stakeholders with confidence and clarity

• Exceptional data storytelling skills — you think in narratives, not just numbers

• Collaborative mindset with the ability to partner across Creative, Community Management, Paid Media, and Strategy teams

• Comfort operating in fast-paced, reactive environments (crisis monitoring, ad hoc requests, shifting priorities)

• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage recurring deliverables alongside on-demand requests

Nice to Have

• Experience working on Colgate-Palmolive brands or similar CPG portfolios

• Familiarity with paid social measurement and how organic/paid ecosystems interact

• Experience with competitive intelligence and benchmarking

• Background in or exposure to cultural intelligence and trend analysis

Why This Role Matters

In a world drowning in dashboards, we need people who can think — who see the story behind the data and have the conviction to tell it. This role is your chance to shape how four iconic brands understand their audiences, respond to culture, and make smarter decisions every day.

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.

VML is a WPP agency (NYSE: WPP). For more information, please visit www.vml.com, and follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.