Performance Business Director

About WPP Media

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 pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity, and deliver transformational growth. 

WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

For more information, visit wppmedia.com .

About WPP Media

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com.

WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com

About Mindshare: A Leading WPP Media Brand

Mindshare delivers Good Growth for its clients. As “Growth Architects," we drive growth that benefits all stakeholders — better for people, planet, and business — by using media with intention. This approach creates more meaningful connections with consumers, increases consumer trust in the brand, and delivers better outcomes for all stakeholders.

Role Summary and Impact

Role Overview

The Performance Business Director is responsible for translating client business goals into high-impact, cross-channel performance plans that drive measurable outcomes. You will shape the tactical performance direction across Search, Social, Programmatic and emerging platforms—translating strategy into activation frameworks that accelerate client growth.

As an embedded leader, you will strengthen the agency’s digital performance product, unlock new revenue opportunities, and guide senior global clients through the evolving media landscape. You will connect WPP Media capabilities, local market expertise, and proprietary solutions to deliver high-impact, measurable outcomes.

This is a hybrid role designed for someone who can operate strategically at senior levels while remaining hands-on with performance levers, activation logic, and data-led decisioning.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Activation

• Drive strong client and internal stakeholder relationships, acting as the go-to performance activation lead and translating performance needs into the wider plan and client business goals
• Translate briefs into actionable, measurable media plans with clear KPIs and performance guardrails.
• Design the connections system and cross-channel activation plan, collaborating closely with Search, Social, Programmatic and Data teams.
• Ensure continuous, proactive knowledge sharing so activation teams are informed, aligned and delivering consistently.
• Lead the performance planning approach and drive workstreams that elevate our digital performance product.
• Monitor adherence to WPP Media activation standards and rapidly address gaps with corrective plans.
• Champion the use of WPP Media proprietary products and solutions, embedding them into active plans where they unlock performance advantages.

Performance Strategy

• Maintain laser-focus on client outcome growth using digital maturity frameworks, predictive analytics, optimisation techniques and advanced audience insights.
• Translate business targets into activation-ready performance strategies (forecasting, budget modelling, gap-to-target support).
• Consolidate insights across channels and convert them into tactical activation opportunities.
• Build integrated activation solutions across all biddable and non-biddable touchpoints—highlighting opportunities to embed Nexus proprietary tools.
• Provide clear recommendations on platforms, measurement solutions, proprietary products and optimisation levers.
• Lead the development and presentation of best-in-class, activation-led planning for major campaigns.
• Manage performance budgets, pacing, bid strategies, and optimisation decisions to protect and enhance performance outcomes.
• Oversee in-flight optimisation across channels to ensure budgets are reallocated to the strongest performance drivers.
• Craft and deliver compelling strategic narratives and commercially sound recommendations to bring the client with you on performance improvements and approaches.

Data & Insights

• Accountable for transforming client business objectives into strategic, cross-channel performance plans that deliver measurable, high-impact results
• Leverage analytics outputs (MMM, MTA, GA4, platform insights) to guide planning and optimisation.
• Provide expert advice on data activation—including audience strategies, first-party data usage, and signal strengthening.

Future-Facing Performance

• Lead thought leadership in areas such as AI-driven media (PMax, Advantage+, automation), measurement evolution (GA4), and platform innovation.
• Build proactive roadmaps that unite capabilities across Nexus to accelerate client digital maturity and business outcomes.
• Develop experimentation agendas, test-and-learn frameworks, and feed insights back into activation planning.

Skills and Experience

At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust .
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise .

• 7+ years across paid media, digital performance, strategy, retail or consulting.
• Deep understanding of at least two performance disciplines (Search, Social, Programmatic, Retail Media).
• Ability to turn complex data into compelling activation stories that influence senior stakeholders.
• Strong knowledge of measurement, data tracking, platforms and AdOps.
• Proven experience managing large, complex performance accounts with measurable business results.
• Exceptional communication, leadership and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to evaluate financials, model budgets and influence investment decisions.
• Confident operating in matrixed organisations, providing leadership through change and maintaining high team performance.
• Experience guiding indirect teams and cross-functional specialists through shared KPIs.
• Thrives in fast-paced environments and capable of driving teams to deliver high performance under pressure.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.

WPP Media 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.

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.

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location

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