Workplace Services Lead

WPP • Chicago, IL

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Workplace Services Lead serves as WPP’s senior Workplace Services representative for an assigned portfolio, with responsibility for stakeholder relationships, workplace outcomes, financial stewardship, and alignment with WPP and REWS standards. The role provides client-side operational governance, translating business priorities into workplace requirements and ensuring outsourced service providers meet WPP standards, financial objectives, and contractual commitments.

The portfolio may include campus and non-campus locations, so the role requires a flexible approach to oversight, governance, and stakeholder engagement. This is an onsite/in-office client-side leadership and governance role at a larger campus location in the respective region. Day-to-day service delivery and the direction, supervision, and management of provider personnel remain the responsibility of the relevant service provider.

The role partners with WPP stakeholders, REWS teams, and external providers to support workplace strategy and experience, portfolio optimization, financial management, provider performance, operational risk governance, HSSE and business continuity compliance, sustainability, and continuous improvement. It reports to the Regional Director REWS.

Requirements

• 5–7+ years of experience in corporate workplace, corporate real estate, workplace experience, or outsourced-service governance, preferably in a complex global organization.
• Bachelor’s degree in Facilities Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience operating as an intelligent client in an outsourced facilities-management environment and holding strategic service partners accountable for performance.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including experience with budget development and forecasting and governing service-provider relationships through budgets, contracts, SLAs/KPIs, and performance frameworks.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders, build trusted relationships, and drive alignment in a complex environment.
• Understanding of workplace management systems, reporting, and data analytics, with the ability to interpret outputs and use insights for decision-making, performance management, and provider governance.
• In-depth knowledge of HSSE regulations and best practices.
• Strong understanding of workplace strategy, space-planning principles, and portfolio-optimization practices.
• Experience leading complex workplace, transformation, or change initiatives across multiple locations and stakeholder groups.
• Ability to build collaborative supplier relationships and govern contractual commitments, commercial models, and provider performance.
• Ability to lead through influence, establish clear client expectations, and hold service-provider leadership accountable for agreed outcomes.
• Ability to collaborate with internal teams, providers, and stakeholders and to adapt to an evolving operating model.
• Knowledge of sustainability principles and practices.

Nice To Haves

• Relevant professional certifications in workplace, facilities management, corporate real estate, or related disciplines are desirable.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary REWS relationship lead for assigned businesses and senior stakeholders, translating business priorities and employee needs into workplace requirements and outcomes.
• Ensure workplace services, space, and experience align with WPP strategy, utilization objectives, employee needs, and global standards.
• Oversee space planning activities and portfolio optimization initiatives.
• Prepare annual budgets and quarterly forecasts with Finance stakeholders, monitor variances and savings opportunities, and challenge provider proposals to ensure spending aligns with approved priorities.
• Hold outsourced providers accountable for contractual commitments, SLAs/KPIs, financial targets, and service outcomes; challenge performance gaps and ensure provider leadership takes corrective action.
• Ensure properties comply with WPP and REWS risk, governance, and operational excellence standards.
• Identify, oversee, manage, and escalate material resilience and service risks and incidents; ensure appropriate governance, incident management, and timely resolution.
• Ensure compliance with WPP and REWS HSSE policies, Business Continuity certification processes, and other operational standards, partnering with relevant functions and service providers.
• Use provider reporting, workplace data, and stakeholder feedback to assess performance, identify continuous-improvement opportunities, and inform WPP decision-making.
• Work with Global REWS CoE teams to implement global standards and initiatives.
• Collaborate with ET to support seamless workplace technology integration.
• Partner with HR to support employee well-being and engagement programs.
• Work with Security to support a safe and secure environment.
• Work with Procurement to ensure changes and new contracts are routed through the team and to support responsible, sustainable supplier governance.
• Lead WPP stakeholder engagement and business adoption associated with workplace change, partnering with service providers and REWS teams on implementation.
• Provide accurate data to the central REWS team as required.
• Monitor performance against approved budgets and savings/value commitments, contractual SLAs/KPIs, stakeholder-experience measures, space-utilization objectives, governance and risk expectations, HSSE and business-continuity requirements, and sustainability targets.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits package; details are available at the company benefits website.
• Opportunity to create, influence, and complete projects at a scale described as unparalleled in the industry.
• Challenging and stimulating work, including unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers.
• A culture intended to enable people to do extraordinary work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior