Group Director, Creator & Influencer

twentysix; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

VML, a leading WPP creative agency, seeks a Group Director, Creator & Influencer to drive creator strategy across major North American accounts. You will shape programs from concept through delivery, partnering with cross-functional teams to ensure scalable, high-impact outcomes.

The role requires 10+ years in influencer marketing and a proven ability to guide senior clients, teams, and growth initiatives in a hybrid work environment across the US.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in social, influencer, creator marketing, content, digital, or integrated marketing with deep specialization in creator strategy.
• Proven experience leading complex creator programs for enterprise clients across multiple brands or markets.
• Strong understanding of the full creator marketing lifecycle including network design and measurement.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of creator and influencer strategies for major North American clients including always-on and performance-led programs.
• Translate objectives into creator roles, audience strategies, platform approaches, KPIs, and activation plans.
• Oversee end-to-end program delivery, ensuring quality and alignment with VML standards.
• Guide sourcing, vetting, negotiation, contracting, content development, and reporting for creator campaigns.
• Collaborate with Business Affairs, Legal, Finance, Data, Media, Creative, Strategy, and Delivery teams to scope and govern influencer work.
• Advise clients on creator strategy, align with brand and commerce objectives, and identify growth opportunities.

Skills

Creator strategy

Executive communication

Team leadership

Influencer marketing

Strategic thinking

Client management

Business development

Cross-functional collaboration

Negotiation

FTC compliance

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.

Who We Are Looking For

Reporting to the Managing Director, Social & Influencer, the Group Director, Creator & Influencer will be a senior leader within VML’s growing creator and influencer marketing capability.

This person will help translate VML’s creator vision into repeatable client strategy, operational excellence, and high-quality delivery across North American accounts, with connectivity to global and WPP partner teams as needed. They will be both a strategic advisor and hands‑on operator — someone who can shape a client’s creator approach, guide cross‑functional teams, strengthen ways of working, and ensure creator programs are built to drive measurable business outcomes.

The ideal candidate understands that creator marketing is no longer a campaign add‑on. It is an integrated system of influence that connects brand strategy, social platforms, content production, paid media, commerce, community, governance, and measurement. They have experience leading complex influencer and creator programs for enterprise clients and can confidently move between strategy development, creator network design, execution oversight, client counsel, team leadership, and new business growth.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of creator and influencer strategies for major North American clients, including campaign-based, always‑on, ambassador, UGC, subject matter expert, social commerce, and performance‑led creator programs.
• Translate client business objectives into clear creator roles, audience strategies, platform approaches, content pillars, KPIs, creator network designs, and activation plans.
• Oversee end‑to‑end creator and influencer program delivery, ensuring work is strategically grounded, operationally consistent, and delivered to VML standards.
• Guide teams through creator sourcing, vetting, outreach, negotiation, contracting, briefing, content development, approvals, publishing, paid amplification, reporting, and optimization.
• Partner closely with Business Affairs, Legal, Finance, Data, Media, Creative, Strategy, Client Engagement, and Delivery teams to ensure influencer work is properly scoped, staffed, governed, and executed.
• Serve as a trusted senior advisor to clients on creator and influencer marketing, helping them understand the strategic role of creators across brand, social, content, media, commerce, and community.
• Identify growth opportunities within existing client relationships and help shape proposals, scopes, staffing plans, RFP responses, pitch narratives, and strategic recommendations.
• Partner with the Managing Director to strengthen VML’s creator and influencer capability, with a focus on quality, consistency, talent development, and scalable delivery.
• Manage, coach, and develop team members, helping them build deeper fluency in creator strategy, platform behavior, creator evaluation, campaign operations, negotiation, measurement, and client leadership.
• Collaborate with VML, WPP, and specialist partner agencies where needed to deliver the right solution for each client, while ensuring partners are integrated into VML‑led strategy, process, governance, and quality standards.

Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of experience in social, influencer, creator marketing, content, digital, or integrated marketing, with deep specialization in creator and influencer strategy.
• Proven experience leading complex creator and influencer programs for enterprise clients, ideally across multiple brands, categories, markets, or business units.
• Strong understanding of the full creator marketing lifecycle, including strategy, creator network design, sourcing, vetting, negotiation, contracting, briefing, content development, approvals, publishing, paid amplification, reporting, and optimization.
• Ability to connect creator strategy to broader brand, social, media, commerce, content, and customer experience objectives.
• Experience developing creator playbooks, operating models, strategic frameworks, POVs, RFP responses, client presentations, and measurement narratives.
• Strong fluency in social platforms, creator behaviors, audience signals, cultural trends, UGC, ambassador models, paid creator amplification, social commerce, and performance‑led creator programs.
• Practical understanding of creator negotiations, usage rights, exclusivity, compensation models, contracting workflows, FTC disclosure requirements, brand safety, and compliance considerations.
• Proven ability to coach, manage, and develop direct reports and cross‑functional teams.
• Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex creator marketing topics for senior clients and internal stakeholders.
• Commercial mindset with experience identifying growth opportunities, shaping scopes, supporting pitches, and contributing to agency revenue growth.
• Builder mentality: comfortable creating structure in ambiguity, improving processes, and helping scale a fast‑growing agency capability.

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.

_$100,000—$230,000 USDWe 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, andfollowalong on Instagram,LinkedIn, andX.