Workplace Services Lead

WPP • New York, NY

5d • $100,000 - $230,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Workplace Services Lead serves as WPP’s senior Workplace Services representative for an assigned portfolio and provides client-side operational governance. The role owns stakeholder relationships, workplace outcomes, financial stewardship, and alignment with WPP and REWS standards. It translates business priorities and employee needs into workplace requirements and ensures outsourced service providers deliver against WPP standards, financial objectives, and contractual commitments.

The portfolio may include campus and non-campus locations and requires a flexible approach to oversight, governance, and stakeholder engagement as the REWS operating model evolves. This is an onsite/in-office role at a larger campus location in the respective region. It is a WPP client-side leadership and governance position; day-to-day delivery and management of provider personnel remain the responsibility of the relevant service provider.

The role partners with business leaders, REWS teams, Finance, Procurement, HR, Security, ET, landlords, and outsourced providers. It oversees workplace strategy and experience, space planning and portfolio optimization, budgets and forecasts, provider performance, operational risks and incidents, HSSE and business continuity compliance, and performance insights. It also supports global standards, sustainability commitments, workplace changes, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• 5–7+ years of experience in corporate workplace, corporate real estate, workplace experience, or outsourced-service governance, preferably within a complex global organization.
• Bachelor’s degree in Facilities Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience operating as an intelligent client within 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 governance of complex provider relationships through budgets, contracts, SLAs/KPIs, and performance frameworks.
• 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.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders, build trusted relationships, and drive alignment in a complex environment.
• Ability to build and maintain collaborative supplier relationships and hold service-provider leadership accountable for agreed outcomes.
• Ability to understand contractual commitments, SLAs/KPIs, and commercial models.
• Ability to leverage workplace data, reporting, and technology to evaluate performance, inform decisions, and challenge provider outcomes.
• Excellent collaboration skills across internal teams, service providers, and stakeholders.
• Understanding of business context and how workplace services contribute to organizational goals.
• Ability to identify workplace performance improvements through data innovation and best practice.
• Commitment to continuous learning, professional development, and adoption of industry best practices.

Nice To Haves

• Relevant professional certifications in workplace, facilities management, corporate real estate, or related disciplines.
• Knowledge of sustainability principles and practices.

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.
• Work with Finance stakeholders to prepare annual budgets and quarterly forecasts, monitor variances, and identify savings opportunities.
• Challenge service-provider proposals and ensure spending aligns with approved WPP priorities.
• Hold outsourced providers accountable for contractual commitments, SLAs/KPIs, financial targets, and service outcomes; address performance gaps and ensure corrective action.
• Ensure assigned properties comply with WPP and REWS risk, governance, and operational excellence standards.
• Lead the identification, oversight, management, and escalation of material resilience and service risks and incidents, ensuring 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 providers.
• Use provider reporting, workplace data, and stakeholder feedback to assess performance, identify continuous improvement opportunities, and inform decision-making.
• Implement global standards and initiatives in collaboration with Global REWS CoE teams.
• Collaborate with ET to support seamless technology integration in the workplace.
• 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 or new contracts are routed through the team and to support responsible and sustainable supplier governance.
• Lead stakeholder engagement and business adoption associated with workplace change, partnering with service providers and REWS teams.
• Provide accurate workplace data to the central REWS team as required.
• Monitor performance against approved budgets and savings/value commitments, contractual SLAs/KPIs, stakeholder experience, portfolio effectiveness, governance and risk requirements, HSSE and business continuity standards, and sustainability targets.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits package.
• Opportunity to work with passionate, inspired people and contribute to a culture that enables extraordinary work.
• Scale and opportunity to create, influence, and complete projects at an unparalleled industry scale.
• Challenging and stimulating work with creative problem solvers.

What This Job Offers

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