Associate Director, Retail Management Services (Amazon)

Wunderman Thompson (DBA VML); Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

WPP Enterprise Solutions in Chicago seeks an Associate Director, Commerce Operations for our Amazon squad, bridging strategy and day-to-day execution.

The role blends strategic planning with hands-on optimization of catalog, promotions, and retail readiness, leveraging data to drive growth and client outcomes.

You will work with a Retail Services Lead and Commerce Managers to deliver actionable recommendations and manage performance metrics.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years managing enterprise-level Amazon Vendor Central (1P) and Seller Central (3P) accounts.
• Ability to interpret complex data and turn performance trends into actionable recommendations.
• Deep knowledge of Amazon inventory templates, category templates, variation relationships, and the Amazon ticketing ecosystem.
• Advanced Excel skills (VLOOKUP, Pivot Tables, Concatenate, Text-to-Columns) to manipulate large catalog data sets.

Responsibilities

• Strategic & Commercial Advisory: provide day-to-day strategic support with clear business insights.
• Retail Priorities & Planning: advise on promotions, content, catalog, availability, and retail execution.
• Operational & Catalog Guidance: guide best practices for catalog setup and content, variation structures, and retail readiness.
• Operational Audits & Commercial Health: conduct holistic audits of marketplace operations and profitability.
• Collaborative Troubleshooting: partner with commerce managers to resolve operational issues and escalation paths.

Skills

Amazon account management

Commercial acumen

Data interpretation

Excel proficiency

Storytelling with data

Tools

Amazon Seller Central

Amazon Vendor Central

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.

About the Role

We are seeking a versatile and highly analytical Associate Director, Commerce Operations to join our Amazon squad. In this pivotal role, you will sit between our Retail Services Lead (who drives high-level portfolio strategy) and our Commerce Managers (who execute day-to-day tactical operations).

This is a unique hybrid role that requires you to seamlessly flex between strategic planning and deep operational troubleshooting. You will collaborate closely with the Retail Services Lead in translating client business performance into actionable recommendations, provide guidance on Amazon growth priorities, and consult on key initiatives such as promotion strategy, catalog optimization, retail readiness, and supply chain efficiencies.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Commerce Leadership

• Strategic & Commercial Advisory: Provide day-to-day strategic support, bringing commercial context and clarity to complex business results, marketplace trends, and operational issues.
• Retail Priorities & Planning: Advise on priorities across promotions, content, catalog, availability, and retail execution, delivering proactive recommendations to drive performance and growth.

Advanced Amazon Expertise

• Operational & Catalog Guidance: Guide best practices for catalog setup, product content (PDP optimization, A+ Content, imagery), variation structures, and retail readiness.
• Operational Audits & Commercial Health: Conduct holistic audits of marketplace operations, analyzing and presenting findings on in-stock availability, PO rejection rates, missed sales, and SKU-level profitability.
• Collaborative Troubleshooting: Partner with commerce managers to resolve complex operational scenarios, catalog errors, and suppressions, establishing clear escalation paths for platform hurdles.

Performance Analysis

• Data Interpretation & Reporting: Review Amazon performance data to provide strategic interpretation of what is happening, why it matters, and what should happen next.
• Metric & Goal Synthesis: Connect core retail metrics – such as sales, traffic, conversion, share of search, and buy box performance – directly to broader client business goals.
• Risk & Driver Analysis: Proactively identify emerging risks and growth opportunities by evaluating retail drivers beyond raw data, including promotional support, content quality, and operational friction.

Key Qualifications & Skills

• Experience: 5-8 years of experience managing enterprise-level Amazon Vendor Central (1P) and Seller Central (3P) accounts, ideally within an agency setting.
• Commercial Acumen: ability to interpret complex data and turn performance trends into actionable recommendations, leveraging strong commercial judgment to connect Amazon execution to business outcomes and present comfortably to client stakeholders.
• Technical Amazon Expertise: deep, practical knowledge of Amazon inventory templates, category templates, variation relationships, and the Amazon ticketing ecosystem.
• Advanced Excel Skills: you must be highly proficient in Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables, Concatenate, Text-to-Columns) to manipulate large catalog data sets.
• Data Synthesis & Storytelling: ability to pull raw data (Purchase Orders, Weeks of Cover, Traffic) and turn it into highly visual, executive-ready presentations that highlight "lost opportunities" and clear next steps.

The base salary range for this position at the time of this posting is indicated below. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package, click WPP Benefits for more details.

$75,000 — $180,000 USD

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.