Senior Program Director

VML; Kansas City (MO); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

401k match

Paid time off

Job summary

VML, a global creative company, seeks a Senior Program Director to lead CX and Direct-to-Consumer delivery for a flagship digital commerce platform. In this client-facing role you will orchestrate end-to-end delivery, bridging CX design, product ownership, and technical execution.

You will guide cross-functional teams, establish operational readiness, manage RAID and dependencies, and drive agile ceremonies from discovery through pilot launch.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years in program management leading large digital commerce initiatives.
• Direct-to-consumer delivery experience and platform roadmaps.
• Strong client-facing and executive-level communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams across CX, UX, tech, and agencies.
• Define governance, RAID logs, and PI planning across trains.
• Translate business needs into technical roadmaps and user stories.
• Ensure on-time delivery from discovery to pilot launch.

Skills

Program Management

PMO Leadership

Digital Product Delivery

Agile Methodologies

Stakeholder Leadership

DTC / Digital Commerce

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Monday.com

Figma

Smartsheet

Job description

Who We AreVML 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.Who We Are Looking For:VML is hiring a Senior Program Director to serve as the strategic and operational CX & Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Delivery Lead for a flagship enterprise digital commerce platform launch on one of our largest healthcare clients.In this client-facing role, you will lead the end-to-end delivery of an innovative, consumer-centric digital commerce ecosystem—bridging modern customer experience (CX) design, digital product ownership, and technical execution. We are looking for a platform and commerce delivery leader who understands online transaction mechanics, consumer onboarding/qualification flows, and site architecture. You don't need deep healthcare or life sciences experience; rather, you bring proven mastery in orchestrating large-scale digital product roadmaps, standing up operational readiness frameworks, and driving complex, multi-disciplinary teams through agile delivery from discovery through pilot launch.What You'll Do:People & Team Leadership | Partner directly with senior client stakeholders and agency leadership to serve as the strategic and operational lead for the CX & DTC workstreams. Lead, inspire, and mentor a dedicated program delivery pod, while orchestrating cross-functional teams spanning experience strategy, UX/UI, technical architecture, engineering, and partner agencies.Operating Model & Process | Establish the foundational operational readiness framework for the engagement. In the early phases, you will map end-to-end processes, cross-functional stakeholders, workflows, and RACI models to define ways of working and team governance. Own program-level RAID logs, dependency management, milestone tracking, and cross-workstream coordination across agile release trains.Product & CX Delivery | Operate with a DTC digital commerce product owner mindset. Champion the customer experience strategy from concept through activation, ensuring that consumer journeys (education, qualification/intake, transaction mechanics, and fulfillment touchpoints) translate seamlessly into technical user stories, backlog prioritization, and site architecture.Agile Governance & Delivery | Lead and facilitate structured agile ceremonies, cross-team sprint cadences, and Program Increment (PI) planning sessions across multiple technology, design, and commercial workstreams. Leverage tools like Jira, Confluence, Monday.com, and Figma to maintain unified delivery visibility, transparent communications, and velocity.Commercials & Program Governance | Manage workstream scope, deliverables, and resource allocation across an enterprise-level multi-million-dollar program budget. Partner with account and finance leads to monitor staffing plans, utilization, burn rates, and statement of work (SOW) compliance, proactively mitigating delivery risks.Who You Are:A Digital Commerce Architect & Builder | You have hands-on experience standing up new direct-to-consumer digital commerce platforms from the ground up. You understand how online transactions actually work—from consumer intake and authentication to data privacy, catalog management, and checkout flows.A Strategic Product-to-Delivery Translator | You bridge the gap between high-level customer experience vision and tactical technical execution, comfortably translating business needs into detailed technical requirements, user stories, and release roadmaps.A Systems & Process Innovator | You thrive in establishing order within ambiguity. You enjoy defining governance, crafting RACI matrices, mapping complex dependencies, and building operational rigor that enables large teams to move fast with confidence.Open, Collaborative, and Resilient | You excel in senior client-facing environments, with an innate ability to navigate enterprise complexity, build consensus among diverse stakeholders, and keep delivery teams motivated, aligned, and focused on shared milestones.Ego-less & Hands-On | While you provide high-level strategic direction, you are equally comfortable diving into the details—auditing a user flow, managing a RAID log, building an executive narrative deck, or unblocking an engineering dependency.What You'll Need:8-10+ years of progressive program management, PMO leadership, and digital product/commerce delivery experience, ideally within a premier digital consultancy, interactive agency, or high-growth D2C product company.Demonstrated track record of delivering direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital commerce platforms, with deep familiarity with user qualification/intake journeys, transaction flows, and backend platform integrations.Strong digital product ownership skillset, including site hierarchy/architecture, journey mapping, backlog grooming, and requirement gathering.Expertise in Agile delivery methodologies and frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe), with proven experience facilitating large-scale Program Increment (PI) planning and multi-team dependency mapping.Advanced proficiency with modern delivery and design collaboration tools: Jira, Confluence, Monday.com, Figma, and Smartsheet.Exceptional client-facing leadership and executive communication skills, including the ability to structure compelling presentation decks, lead governance workshops, and manage executive stakeholders.Healthcare, life sciences, or telehealth/digital pharmacy experience is a plus, but not required; deep consumer commerce and digital platform delivery expertise is the primary requirement.What We Offer:Passionate, driven people: We champion a culture of people who do extraordinary work.Consciously cultivated culture: We aim to embody the behaviors to build an inclusive community that is in it together, bringing both positivity and active listening into the workplace as we simultaneously strive to empower creative bravery.Competitive benefits: What we offer full-time hires ranges from the full spectrum of group health coverage options (medical, dental, vision) to a generous 401k match (100% dollar-for-dollar match, up to 5% of salary contribution), and a variety of paid time off offerings that reflect our investment in all aspects of your overall life balance and wellness.Growth-minded opportunities: We aim to nurture a culture of real-time feedback, a growth-oriented mindset, and plenty of training opportunities through VML and WPP so you can continue to grow personally and professionally.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.When you click \"Submit Application\", this will send any information you add below to VML. Before you do this, we think it's a good idea to read through our Recruitment Privacy Policy. California residents should read our California Recruitment Privacy Notice. This explains what we do with your personal data when you apply for a role with us, and, how you can update the information you have provided us with or how to remove it.