Associate Programmatic Director

<div class="content-intro"><p><strong>About WPP Media</strong></p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>For more information, visit <a href="wppmedia.com">wppmedia.com</a>.</p></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong><span data-contrast="none">Role Summary and Impact</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span data-contrast="none">This role is within The Goat Agency</span><span data-contrast="none">, a leading brand within WPP Media, where you will be instrumental in <span class="TextRun SCXW64445132 BCX4" lang="EN-CA" data-contrast="auto"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW64445132 BCX4">helping global brands harness the power of social and creator-led content to deliver measurable impact. Recognised as a global leader in the space, we deliver award-winning campaigns in more than 70 countries. With over 650 social natives worldwide, we create ambitious influencer programmes from tactical activations to long-term partnerships, designed to drive awareness,<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW64445132 BCX4">engagement </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW64445132 BCX4">and conversions across the full marketing funnel.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW64445132 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":240,"335559739":240}">&nbsp;<br></span></span></span></p> <h3><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong><span data-contrast="none"><span class="EOP SCXW64445132 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":240,"335559739":240}"><span class="TextRun SCXW9121248 BCX4" lang="EN-CA" data-contrast="none"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW9121248 BCX4">Skills and Experience</span></span>&nbsp;</span></span></strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">We’re looking for an Associate Director to own and grow Goat’s programmatic proposition, primarily across the UK and US, with the opportunity to support global projects.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This is a senior, hands‑on leadership role at the heart of our Influence Everywhere vision. You will:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Be accountable for the quality and performance of programmatic campaigns delivered by the team</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Run and execute campaigns yourself when needed – not just oversee others</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Act as the go‑to expert for programmatic strategy and technology</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Help shape and broaden our offering, including influencer‑led programmatic solutions and integrated responses to brief</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Lead and develop the programmatic team (e.g. Senior Programmatic Manager / Programmatic Manager), acting as the escalation point for complex work</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Drive integration and utilisation of programmatic across the wider business</span></li> </ul> <h3><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Key Responsibilities</strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Leadership &amp; Integration</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Own the vision, roadmap and day‑to‑day leadership of programmatic at Goat.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Take responsibility for the output of the team, ensuring high standards, strategic alignment and commercial impact.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Line manage and/or coach senior and junior programmatic team members as the team evolves.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Champion programmatic within Goat, building strong relationships with client services, strategy, influencer, paid social and creative teams to deliver truly integrated Influence Everywhere solutions.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Strategy, Delivery &amp; Innovation</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Lead programmatic strategy for key clients and new business, including proposal and pitch work.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Personally plan, build and optimise campaigns where needed, from briefing through to reporting.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Integrate programmatic with influencer and social activity to extend reach, frequency and performance beyond organic and paid social.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Identify opportunities to evolve our programmatic product, including influencer‑driven programmatic, new formats, data partnerships and measurement approaches.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Campaign Management &amp; Platforms</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Oversee (and where required, directly manage) end‑to‑end campaigns across formats and platforms, including:</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Display and video (including YouTube)</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">CTV and online video</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Amazon / retail media</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Digital OOH and other emerging programmatic channels</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Use DSPs such as The Trade Desk, DV360 (and others as relevant) for campaign setup, optimisation and reporting.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Optimise towards agreed KPIs, managing budgets, pacing, bidding and audience strategies.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ensure brand safety, viewability and fraud prevention standards are consistently met.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Insights, Reporting &amp; Global Collaboration</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Produce clear, actionable performance reports and post‑campaign analyses.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Present insights and recommendations to internal stakeholders and clients in a way that is commercially meaningful.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Use historic data and platform insights to inform planning, forecasting and future proposals.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Share best practice with other markets and support global or multi‑market clients where required.</span></li> </ul> <h3><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Role Requirements</strong></span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Strong experience planning, executing and optimising programmatic campaigns, ideally in an agency or digital media environment.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Hands‑on proficiency with key DSPs (e.g. The Trade Desk, DV360) and audience/data tools.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Experience leading or overseeing programmatic specialists (formal line management or clear senior escalation responsibility).</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Solid understanding of programmatic fundamentals: targeting, bidding, inventory buying, optimisation and measurement.</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Comfortable working across multiple formats and environments (e.g. display, video, YouTube, CTV, Amazon/retail media, digital OOH).</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Strong analytical skills, with the ability to turn data into clear, practical