Head of Client Delivery, North America

WPP Production•New York, NY

6d•$125,000 - $295,000•Hybrid

About The Position

At WPP Production, the Head of Client Delivery is the strategic engine that powers how we bring world-class creative work to life. In this role, you are the senior leader accountable for establishing and delivering the vision and strategic direction of North America Client Delivery. You are the partner to our clients, the architect of our operational strategy and frameworks, and the champion for our delivery teams. You own the holistic operational framework while implementing best practices and leveraging evolving existing and new technologies to deliver the highest standards of excellence. You’ll step into a high-stakes client meeting and command the room, guiding our partners with a steady, strategic hand. You’ll collaborate with our leadership team on more than just process-you'll bring strategic thinking about how we can work smarter, grow our capabilities, and build for the future. You’ll be the one to figure out how to turn a corner with a challenging client or project, transforming a difficult situation into a success story. Internally, you drive the teams responsible for execution, ensuring they are supported, engaged, and growing. You will partner with North America leadership, as well as our teams, including Production, Finance, Client Growth, Commercial, Technology and regional hubs, to deliver with excellence. You’ll have oversight of project financials, resource allocation, and the technology that enables us to deliver. You will be responsible for ensuring that your team drives world-class quality of service, on-time and on-budget completion of deliverables, and consistent and exceptional Client experience across all Client accounts in North America. In short, you are the leader who connects our creative ambition to our operational reality. If you are a forward-thinking operator who thrives on building systems, driving culture, mentoring people, and solving complex challenges for clients, this is what it means to be the Head of Client Delivery at WPP Production.

Requirements

Extensive experience (likely 15+ years) in a senior delivery, production, or operations role within a creative agency or production environment
You can see the bigger picture. You don't just follow process; you question it, improve it, and know when to create a new path entirely
Expertise in model implementation and transformation
Possess proven executive presence with the ability to command a room, inspire confidence, and drive decisions with senior clients and internal leaders. You have stories about how you’ve turned a corner with a challenging client
Outstanding communication, negotiation and executive stakeholder management
Comfortable with the commercials and financials, from pricing, and scoping to resource management, monthly reporting and profitability reporting
Experience driving excellence across complex portfolios of Clients and projects
Strong track record of building, mentoring, and retaining strong, engaged teams.
Lead with a balance of empathy and accountability
You have a keen interest and work experience in emerging trends (like AI in production, new Martech) and a curiosity for how they can be applied to drive efficiency and creative excellence
Skilled at navigating complex organizational structures and collaborating effectively across different disciplines and departments
Demonstrated experience leading global and offshore-enabled delivery models, including governance, QA standards, handoffs, and time-zone optimized workflows
Proven ability to create operational delivery models for pitches (not the creative narrative), including resourcing plans, timelines, pricing assumptions, role clarity, and risk mitigation
Comfortable being the ultimate point of accountability for delivery outcomes, with a clear escalation mindset and strong cross-functional influence

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a holistic operational strategy that supports agency growth, enhances efficiency, and anticipates future needs (e.g., offshoring, new technologies, etc.)
Act as a key consultant and guide for discipline leads and senior leadership, helping navigate internal complexities and drive strategic initiatives
Take charge of new business delivery strategy by owning operational modeling for pitches (delivery approach, resourcing (onshore/CoE mix), workflow, governance, assumptions/risks) supporting the pitch narrative with an executable model and ensuring we’re set up for success from day one
Own the financial health of our engagements and projects by overseeing scoping, estimation
Lead the Client Delivery organization to meet utilization, margin and staff mix targets
Build strong, trusting relationships with senior Client stakeholders, agency partners and internal partners across Client Growth, Production, Technology, Commercial and Finance
Navigate complex cross-functional priorities and influence decision-making at a senior level
Lead the onboarding of new Clients, implementing optimal Client Delivery structures and ways of working
Represent Client Delivery at the highest levels of the organization, championing its role and impact
Shepherd clients and teams through our delivery process, building trust and ensuring they feel supported and informed at every stage of the engagement
Act as a senior point of contact and escalation point for key clients and agency partners as thesingle accountable owner for delivery, providing confident guidance, navigating complex conversations, and strengthening the partnership
Proactively identify and pursue organic growth opportunities across the Client Delivery portfolio
Ensure the right team structures, roles and capabilities are deployed against Client scopes and business needs
Implement and refine processes, workflows and standards that define best-in-class Client Delivery
Align ways of working to global workflows, SLAs and KPIs, ensuring full consistency with network delivery standards
Set, enforce and continuously elevate delivery quality standards across all teams
Drive continuous improvement, simplification and standardization across Client Delivery
Design, implement, and refine scalable processes for client onboarding, new hire training, financial tracking, and reporting to ensure a smooth and consistent experience for all
Understand and deploy WPP Production technology and tool ecosystem, including the ongoing exploration and evolution of new Martech and AI solutions
Represent the North America region on global counsels related to client delivery and technology solutions and implementations
Partner with finance on process improvements and monthly reporting to ensure operational and financial alignment
Lead, mentor, and foster the professional growth of the delivery team
Serve as the primary point of support for your team, addressing issues, providing guidance, and partnering with HR as needed to build a resilient and high-performing team
Champion team growth and engagement initiatives to maintain a positive, collaborative, and effective team culture
Oversee all resource planning, collaborating with discipline leads to ensure projects are staffed effectively with a location-agnostic, globally distributed team (onshore/offshore)
Strategically guide a holistic global plan for optimized team delivery factoring in network models to successfully drive effectiveness and cost efficiency, while not sacrificing work delivery