Group Director, Performance (15-month contract)

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 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. Group Director, Performance (15-Month Contract) About the Role At the heart of our agency's mission is a commitment to connecting our clients' business goals directly to high-impact media execution, ensuring every media dollar spent is accountable to meaningful business outcomes. We are seeking a Group Director (GAD), Performance for a 15-month contract . In this senior leadership role, you will own the strategic direction and commercial success of a highly prominent, fast-paced automotive client account. You will act as the key senior strategic partner to executive-level client stakeholders, ensuring that their performance media investments consistently drive measurable business outcomes (from brand favorability down to dealership leads and sales) through innovative, data-driven, and full-funnel omnichannel strategies. You will directly manage and mentor one direct report (Performance Director), while playing a critical leadership role across a wider matrixed team. Crucially, you will act as the strategic bridge between the client and our activation teams, working closely with specialists across Search, Social, and Programmatic to ensure that every campaign tactic, channel optimization, and platform execution flawlessly ladders back up to the overarching strategy and the client’s core business KPIs. What You’ll Be Doing (Key Responsibilities) Strategic Client Partnership: Serve as the primary senior strategic contact and trusted advisor for senior automotive client stakeholders, translating complex auto business challenges into impactful performance media solutions. Outcomes-Based Analytics Integration: Partner closely with client and agency Analytics teams to connect the dots across the data ecosystem. Lead the effort to integrate digital platform analytics with client CRM and dealer sales data to establish a single, unified view of performance and true business outcomes. Omnichannel Strategic Oversight: Oversee the development and execution of comprehensive, full-funnel performance strategies. You will ensure a robust omnichannel approach across Search, Social, Programmatic, and Commerce media. Activation Integration & Alignment: Work closely with and lead the channel Activation teams. Ensure there is no disconnect between strategy and execution, guiding teams to optimize towards business outcomes rather than just platform metrics. Team Leadership & M…