Director of Resource Management, North America

WPP Production; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

WPP Production (North America) seeks a Director of Resource Management to architect a unified resourcing ecosystem across the US and Canada. Lead cross-functional teams, shape the operating model, and drive data-informed decisions to optimize utilization and margin while enabling world-class creative work.

You will partner with Operations, Studio, Origination, and Delivery, align with Talent and Client Leadership, and report to the Managing Director, NA.

Qualifications

• 8-10+ years of progressive resource management, creative operations, or production management within an ad agency, production company, or global content studio network.
• Production lifecycle literacy across Origination, Studio, and Post-Production.
• Proficiency in modern operations tools and understanding of how resourcing and financial tools work together.
• Experience managing multi-office, cross-discipline talent pools across North America with budgets, SOWs, and utilization targets.
• Familiarity with enterprise AI/agentic platforms is a plus.
• Soft skills: emotional intelligence, persuasive communication, dispute-resolution, and staying calm under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Oversee resource allocation across North America and partner with deployment across all WPP Production.
• Forecast bandwidth, identify capacity bottlenecks, resolve conflicts, and rebalance staffing.
• Design and implement the enterprise capacity operating model with clear RACI responsibilities.
• Translate pipeline and growth forecasts into actionable resource demand.
• Coordinate with offshore capabilities to integrate capacity cost-effectively.
• Build and maintain standardized resourcing workflow across North American accounts.
• Collaborate with Head of Client Delivery to shape team structures and SOWs.
• Facilitate talent mobility across agencies and network production units.
• Align resource management with North America Talent Lead for cohesive functions.
• Strategize freelance needs and onboarding, manage approvals and contracts.
• Drive data governance and BI reporting; track utilization and freelance spend.
• Lead with diplomacy to balance creativity, delivery, and commercial realities.

Skills

Emotional intelligence

Persuasive communication

Dispute-resolution

Calm under pressure

Tools

Smartsheet

Monday.com

Job description

About WPP Production

We are WPP Production - the unified global production company that brings together all of WPP's content producers, studios and craft experts into one connected organisation. We combine world-class human craft with next generation technology to originate, design, and deliver multi-channel content systems at scale. Built for borderless collaboration and powered by deep craft expertise, we are the production engine designed for today's always on, AI driven marketing world.

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.

A Hybrid working model

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

What does the Director of Resource Management, NA do at WPP Production?

As the Director of Resource Management for WPP Production (North America), you will step into a strategic builder role-architecting and championing a unified resourcing ecosystem from the ground up across the US and Canada. Rather than inheriting a legacy playbook, you will have the autonomy and scope to shape this enterprise capability, serving as the strategic connector between Operations, Studio, Origination, and Delivery into a single, cohesive workflow.

In this pivotal leadership role, you will lead the evolution from reactive staffing to a forward-looking, data-informed capacity engine. You will establish the frameworks, operational rhythms, and cross-functional alignment needed to connect upstream pipeline demand with our multi-disciplinary talent across client delivery, shoot origination, studio, and post-production.

Acting as an objective partner across Delivery, Operations, Finance, and Client Leadership, you will bring change leadership, governance, and resource intelligence to life. Your impact will be foundational: strategically casting cross-capability teams that protect margin health, optimize utilization, and enable world-class creative work to flourish. You will report directly to our Managing Director, North America and partner closely with our Regional Talent Lead, Studio Leadership, and Head of Client Delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Casting & Regional Resource Optimization

• Cross-Capability Deployment: Oversee the process of resource allocation across North America, strategically partnering with deploying talent across all of WPP Production

Workload & Capacity Balancing

• Forecast bandwidth, identify capacity bottlenecks, resolve project/client resource clashes, and rebalance staffing across offices and hubs in real time.

Change Management & Operating Model Design

• Design and implement the enterprise capacity operating model. Define the RACI between Resource Management, Discipline Leads, Talent, and Delivery. Drive behavioral change across teams that are used to working in silos.

Demand Intake & Pipeline Visibility

• Partner with Growth and Client Leadership to translate the new business pipeline and organic growth forecasts into actionable resource demand.

Offshore liaising

• Work closely with our offshore capabilities within the global network. Establish a system for cross-capability deployment, alignment on resource process across all talent supporting North America. Partner closely with Production Operations to seamlessly integrate offshore capacity delivering a cost effective ecosystem.

Process Standardization & North America Integration

• Cohesive Operating Model: Partner with Operations and Studio and Production Leadership to build, roll out, and maintain a standardized resourcing workflow across all North American accounts and production centers.

• Collaboration with Client Delivery: Work hand-in-hand with the Head of Client Delivery to shape team structures, scope feasibility, phasing, and Statements of Work (SOWs).

• Cross-Agency & Network Mobility: Facilitate talent mobility across WPP operating agencies and network production units to realize WPP's one company vision.

• Align with Talent: Work closely with our North America Talent Lead to align resource management and talent acquisition and cohesive functions within the organization

Freelance & Extended Talent Ecosystem Management

• Contingent Workforce Strategy: Strategize forecast freelance needs; proactively build a plan for a streamlined process for last minute requests

• Compliance & Onboarding: Partner with Talent Acquisition to manage approvals, rate structures, contracts, NDAs, and onboarding workflows for freelance staff.

Data-Driven Operations & Platform Utilization

• Tool & Data Governance: Drive adoption and data hygiene across resource planning and tracking platforms (currently Xytech); define the data architecture and workflows that make these tools usable

• Utilization & Business Intelligence: Track key operational metrics, including bench time, billable utilization, burn rates, and freelance spend; provide regular executive reporting to leadership.

People & Relationship Leadership

• Conflict Resolution & Negotiation: Act as a diplomatic, solutions-oriented negotiator balancing creative ambitions, delivery schedules, and client commercial realities.

Requirements

• Experience: 8-10+ years of progressive resource management, creative operations, or production management experience within an advertising agency, production company, or global content studio network.

• Production Literacy: In-depth working knowledge of the modern production lifecycle across Origination (live action, stills, social shoots), Studio (versioning, localization, retouching, dynamic content creation), and Post-Production (editorial, CGI, motion, audio).

• Systems & Tools: Proficiency in modern operations and exposure to Resource Planning tools. Understanding of how Resourcing and Financial tools work together for Commercial decision purposes

• Scale & Complexity: Demonstrated success managing multi-office, cross-discipline talent pools across North America, with experience managing budgets, SOW alignments, and utilization targets.

• Operational & Systems Acumen: proficiency in modern operations platforms (Smartsheet, Monday.com); familiarity with enterprise AI/agentic platforms is a plus.

• Soft Skills: Exceptional emotional intelligence, persuasive communication, dispute-resolution abilities, and composure in fast-moving, high-volume production environments.

The base salary for this position at the time of this posting may range as listed 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.

US Pay Range

$75,000-$180,000 USD

Why work here

At WPP Production, you'll help shape the future of content production at a truly global scale. We bring together world-class talent, cutting-edge studios, and advanced technology to solve some of the most complex creative and production challenges in the industry. You'll work in a collaborative, borderless environment where craft excellence is valued, innovation is encouraged, and AI and next-generation tools are used to amplify not replace human creativity. With access to diverse projects, global career opportunities, and the backing of WPP's unmatched network, this is a place where you can grow your skills, make real impact, and create work that performs for every audience, across every channel, at every moment.

Inclusion and Impact

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

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