VP Paid Search

3392 - VP, Activation and Delivery, UK 

Role Summary and Impact

The VP, Paid Search is accountable for leading a high-performing Paid Search team and shaping the strategic direction, delivery excellence, innovation agenda and commercial growth of the channel across a defined client portfolio and the wider MM&D UK business. This VP, Paid Search role will be part of the new Outcomes Activation & Delivery hub, a newly formed team bringing together key clients from across WPP Media focused on delivering measurable business outcome growth for clients.

This is a senior leadership role that goes beyond day-to-day channel management. The VP will own Paid Search channel excellence for Outcomes Hub, translating client business challenges into progressive search strategies, and ensuring Paid Search is positioned as a strategic growth lever across performance, customer experience, commerce and broader media transformation.
The role requires expert-level Paid Search knowledge, strong commercial judgement, confident client leadership and the ability to build narratives that connect platform innovation, automation, AI, data, measurement and audience behaviour to tangible business outcomes. It also requires a strong understanding of where Paid Search overlaps with Organic Search, Content, Digital PR, AI search environments, and the evolving Total Search proposition.

The successful candidate will lead and nurture a thriving search community that is head and shoulders above the competition, consistently meeting the needs of clients while proactively identifying opportunities to surprise, delight and improve outcomes. They will ensure the team has access to the latest tools, training, resources and innovation opportunities, and will play an active role in shaping agency leadership, MM&D UK delivery initiatives, narratives and workstreams.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership, talent and community
•    Lead, motivate and develop a high-performing Paid Search team, creating a culture of accountability, curiosity, high standards and continuous improvement.
•    Line manage Directors and/or Associate Directors, ensuring every team member has clear objectives, regular performance conversations and meaningful development plans.
•    Identify talent gaps across the Paid Search team and work with HR and leadership to recruit, retain and grow talent aligned to the agency's values, client needs and future capability requirements.
•    Provide coaching, mentorship and professional development opportunities, helping teams build both technical depth and broader strategic confidence.
•    Evangelise best-in-class Paid Search delivery across the team, ensuring people understand what excellent work looks like and feel enabled to deliver it consistently.
•    Ensure the Paid Search team is equipped with the knowledge, skills and commercial understanding required to operate within a Total Search environment, including traditional SEO, Generative Search Optimisation (GSO), Commerce Search and Social Search, fostering greater collaboration, integration and client impact across disciplines.
•    Manage department resource levels effectively, balancing client demand, team wellbeing, delivery quality, profitability and growth opportunities.
•    Develop the global hub relationship, actively improving the range, complexity and quality of tasks the hub can support, while increasing utilisation and embedding clear ways of working.

Develop, evolve and champion our market-leading Paid Search proposition
•    Define and own the strategic vision for Paid Search across the relevant client portfolio and team, ensuring our approach remains industry-leading, commercially differentiated and aligned to evolving client, consumer and platform behaviours.
•    Own channel excellence for the team, setting clear standards for planning, activation, optimisation, governance, testing, measurement, reporting and client-facing recommendations.
•    Support the development and execution of the Paid Search proposition and product strategy and roadmap, including new services, frameworks, operating models and best practice approaches that can scale across clients and MM&D UK.
•    Champion the use of AI, automation and technology-enabled solutions in a scalable way, developing innovative client-specific solutions that create competitive advantage and unlock new growth opportunities.
•    Ensure the team remains at the forefront of innovation across Google, Microsoft, retail media, social search, search marketplaces, emerging search engines and AI-driven search experiences.
•    Translate broader client business challenges into Paid Search strategies that address growth, profitability, customer acquisition, demand generation, retention, conversion, market share and customer experience objectives.
•    Build proactive growth plans for the client portfolio they are accountable for, identifying opportunities for incremental revenue, scope expansion, product adoption, innovation pilots and strategic transformation.
•    Embed a proactive client culture where teams consistently identify opportunities to surprise and delight clients through innovation, improved performance, insight-led thinking, stronger narratives and market-leading recommendations.
•    Partner closely with SEO, Content, Digital PR, Analytics, Commerce, Audience and wider media teams to create integrated search solutions that maximise visibility, relevance and performance across the full customer journey.
•    Support the evolution of Integrated Search and the broader Total Search approach, connecting Paid Search, Organic Search, content strategy, AI search optimisation and measurement into a more joined-up client proposition.
•    Contribute to wider MM&D UK delivery initiatives, narratives and workstreams, ensuring Paid Search thinking is represented in agency-wide transformation, operational improvement, product development and thought leadership activity.
•    Work effectively with media partners such as Google, Microsoft and emerging search technologies to deepen capability, secure access to innovation, shape relevant POVs and translate partner developments into client value.
•    Bring together the appropriate specialists to ensure the development of appropriate client-specific measurement, attribution and technology solutions that solve paid search challenges and deliver measurable commercial outcomes.
•    Cooperate with wider WPP Media teams to elevate search standards, advance the Paid Search practice, shape the search agenda and support delivery of priority initiatives.

Client strategy, proactivity and commercial growth
•    Act as a senior strategic advisor to client stakeholders, helping them understand how Paid Search can support broader business goals rather than operating as a standalone media channel.
•    Lead teams to interrogate client business context, market dynamics, customer behaviour, competitive pressure and commercial objectives, turning those inputs into ambitious but credible Paid Search strategies.
•    Ensure clients receive a gold standard product experience that is strategically progressive, data and technology led, commercially grounded and delivered in line with our product narrative.
•    Cultivate strong client relationships by providing exceptional operational output, clear strategic direction, proactive recommendations and a strong sense of ownership across every account.
•    Identify opportunities for growth across the Paid Search market and within the client portfolio, including new products, new scopes, automation-led efficiencies, performance improvement opportunities and integrated search propositions.
•    Identify and lead opportunities to expand Paid Search into broader Integrated Search and Total Search engagements, connecting SEO, Content, Digital PR, Analytics and wider media capabilities to solve client challenges and drive measurable business outcomes.
•    Ensure commercial objectives are fulfilled, including income growth, profitability, scope management, accurate forecasting and effective finance processes that reduce risk of write-offs, overspends and avoidable queries.
•    Lead Paid Search input into new business activity, codifying processes and reusable narratives that strengthen pitch quality, differentiation and conversion.
•    Support the creation of compelling client narratives that explain the role of Paid Search in a Total Search context. Considering a modern search behaviour, integrated planning, AI-enabled discovery, performance growth and customer decision-making.

Delivery excellence, governance and operational standards
•    Implement best practice across the department by identifying, improving and rolling out processes that raise delivery quality, efficiency, consistency and client confidence.
•    Use automation and new technologies to enhance workflow systems, reduce manual effort, improve QA, support faster insight generation and increase the strategic value of team outputs.
•    Ensure teams apply robust QA, governance, data security, privacy and risk mitigation standards across all clients and delivery processes.
•    Work closely with data and analytics teams to develop sophisticated reporting and measurement frameworks that provide clients with actionable insight, clear performance narratives and business-focused recommendations.
•    Maintain strong working relationships with cross-functional and central teams across the agency, ensuring Paid Search is effectively integrated into wider media planning, performance strategy and client transformation programmes.
•    Work across MM&D UK to ensure Paid Search is connected into overall marketing strategy, client operating models and agency-wide delivery priorities.
•    Act as the point of contact between partners and clients, ensuring clients have appropriate access to support, strategic direction, innovation opportunities and senior escalation routes when required.
Industry leadership, reputation and thought leadership
•    Represent WPP Media at industry events, conferences, seminars and partner forums to showcase thought leadership and strengthen the agency's reputation in Paid Search and modern search.
•    Work in partnership with platforms and industry partners to ensure the agency has an ever-evolving search POV that is practical, differentiated and useful for clients.
•    Develop thought leadership, POVs, case studies, award entries and client-facing narratives that demonstrate the strategic value of Paid Search, Integrated Search and Total Search.
•    Submit and win award entries by identifying exceptional work, shaping strong effectiveness stories and encouraging teams to recognise and codify excellence.

Skills and Experience

We are looking for candidates who are self-starters, commercially minded and motivated by the opportunity to push the boundaries of Paid Search. Successful candidates will combine deep technical expertise with strategic leadership, strong client judgement, operational rigour and the ability to inspire teams to deliver exceptional work.
It is essential that you have:
•    Expert-level Paid Search knowledge across Google, Microsoft and broader search ecosystems, with an understanding of emerging search environments, retail media, marketplaces and AI-led discovery behaviours.
•    A proven ability to lead large teams, set standards, manage performance, coach senior talent and build a culture of delivery excellence.
•    Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to map client business challenges to Paid Search priorities, integrated search opportunities and wider growth strategies.
•    A proactive mindset and the confidence to question the status quo.
•    A strong understanding of automation, AI, machine learning and workflow optimisation, with the judgement to apply technology in ways that improve quality, efficiency and strategic value.
•    Confidence working alongside GSO, SEO, Content, Analytics, Commerce, Audience and broader media teams to develop integrated search and Total Search solutions.
•    Excellent client leadership skills, including the ability to build trust with senior stakeholders, shape clear recommendations and translate complex channel thinking into commercially relevant narratives.
•    Immaculate attention to detail and a strong commitment to governance, QA, data security, privacy and financial control.
•    Experience developing products, frameworks, operating models, best practice guidance, thought leadership, award entries or pitch narratives.
•    A strong external perspective, including awareness of industry trends, innovation, platform developments and changes in consumer search behaviour.
•    Commercial acumen, with experience identifying growth opportunities, managing resource, protecting profitability and supporting new business activity.

What good looks like in the role
•    Clients see Paid Search as a strategic growth lever, not just an activation channel.
•    The team consistently delivers market-leading work with clear standards, strong governance and proactive recommendations.
•    Automation and AI are used responsibly to improve quality, efficiency, consistency and strategic focus.
•    Paid Search is actively connected with Organic Search, Content, Analytics, Commerce and wider media planning through Integrated Search and Total Search thinking.
•    The client portfolio shows evidence of growth, innovation adoption, improved delivery quality and stronger commercial outcomes.
•    The VP is recognised internally and externally as a leader who shapes the future of Paid Search, contributes to MM&D UK priorities and raises the standard of search delivery across the agency.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media is powered by our commitment toBe Extraordinary, investing in our employees to inspire transformational creativity. We alsoLead Optimistically, firmly believing in andChampioning Growth and Developmentfor every individual. This commitment allows WPP Media employees to leverage the extensive global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, build vital professional connections, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising.

WeCreate an Open environmentbuilt on trust and respect, where everyone feels they belong and has opportunities to progress. This inclusive culture is fostered through a variety of employee resource groups and frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our comprehensive benefits package reflects this commitment, including 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 characteristics. We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection in this open and supportive environment. 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 that while our philosophy is the same across WPP, benefits may vary by office/country.

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

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While we appreciate all applications received, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

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