Job Overview
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
WPP's Enterprise Technology (ET) is undergoing a significant transformation. We're seeking an ET ITFM Platform Implementation Director on a 6 month FTC basis, to lead the end‑to‑end implementation of a Group‑wide IT Financial Management (ITFM) and Technology Business Management (TBM) platform.
This critical role will replace legacy manual processes, establishing a modern, scalable financial architecture that fundamentally reshapes how ET plans, budgets, forecasts, and recharges technology spend across 700+ operating companies. A key milestone includes rebuilding the FY2027 budget process for automation and improved decision‑making.
This isn't a back‑office initiative; it's a hands‑on, transformative role directly impacting ET's operating model. The ideal candidate will have deep enterprise system implementation and finance/FP&A experience, capable of leading large‑scale global programs, managing detail, and presenting to senior leadership.
Responsibilities
Driving ITFM/TBM Platform Implementation:
- Lead the full lifecycle implementation of our Group‑wide IT Financial Management (ITFM) and Technology Business Management (TBM) platform, ensuring delivery on scope, time, and budget.
- Architect the future: Define the solution architecture and data model, collaborating with vendors and internal teams for cost modelling, service costing, recharges, and benchmarking.
- Get hands‑on: Directly configure the platform – building cost models, allocation hierarchies, validating data mappings, and meticulously testing outputs for accuracy.
- Integrate seamlessly: Partner with ET’s tech and data teams to establish robust integration points with existing platforms (ERP, CMDB, cloud tools), creating a unified technology ecosystem.
- Manage strategic partnerships: Oversee vendor relationships and third‑party implementation partners, ensuring accountability for deliverables, quality, and timelines.
- Orchestrate adoption: Design and execute a phased rollout plan across ET and all WPP Networks, followed by establishing crucial data governance and reporting frameworks to ensure accurate, auditable financial data.
- Embed into operations: Drive the integration of the platform’s outputs into the working rhythms of ET Business Platforms, Technology Operations, Cyber, Risk & Compliance (CRC), and Network ET teams, ensuring widespread adoption beyond finance.
Transforming Planning & Budgeting:
- Redesign our budget process: Lead the complete overhaul and implementation of ET’s FY2027 budget process, replacing manual, spreadsheet‑driven methods with a structured, automated, and auditable framework via the new platform.
- Define financial clarity: Own the definition of ET budget structures, cost taxonomies, and planning inputs, establishing what needs to be included for comprehensive financial oversight.
- Empower decision‑making: Develop advanced budgeting and forecasting models that provide granular transparency (service, cost‑centre, and operating‑company levels), enabling faster, evidence‑based investment and cost decisions for ET leadership.
- Collaborate for alignment: Work closely with ET Finance and Network finance teams to define requirements, challenge assumptions, and ensure alignment with WPP’s strategic objectives.
- Automate for accuracy: Implement automated allocation and recharge methodologies, drastically improving accuracy and efficiency across all ET cost pools.
- Ensure financial integrity: Personally validate all key model outputs, reconciliations, and recharge calculations, ensuring the numbers are unequivocally correct before go‑live.
Strategic Leadership & Governance:
- Be the programme’s senior voice: Act as the primary point of contact for the programme across ET, Networks, and operating companies.
- Bridge strategy and execution: Serve as the crucial link between ET Strategy & Transformation’s change agenda and the financial delivery requirements of ET Finance.
- Drive governance: Establish and chair a programme steering committee, providing clear, regular reporting on progress, risks, and dependencies to the Finance Director, Enterprise Technology, and senior Group leadership.
- Cultivate relationships: Build strong, collaborative partnerships across all ET verticals (Business Platforms, Technology Operations, CRC, Strategy & Transformation) and with Network ET teams, as well as procurement, tax, treasury, and operational teams.
- Lead critical communications: Own the communications plan for the FY2027 Budget process rollout across WPP.
Change Catalyst & Adoption Champion:
- Craft the change journey: Develop and own a comprehensive change management strategy covering stakeholder engagement, communications, training, and adoption measurement to ensure successful Group‑wide uptake.
- Communicate with impact: Lead stakeholder communications throughout the system transition, providing regular updates, impact assessments, and readiness briefings tailored for diverse audiences.
- Navigate resistance: Proactively identify and manage resistance to change, demonstrating value and building advocacy for the new platform and processes.
- Empower through training: Design and deliver robust training programmes and support materials to upskill finance and technology teams on new ways of working.
- Build a lasting legacy: Establish a clearly defined operating model, ensuring named owners are in place for ongoing budget cycles, forecasting, allocations, and platform maintenance.
- Build & Inspire a High‑Performing Team: Recruit, lead, and develop a project team of permanent staff and external contractors.
- Mentor & Develop: Provide coaching and mentoring, fostering professional development and a collaborative, results‑oriented environment.
- Drive performance: Set clear objectives, manage performance, and ensure your team consistently delivers against programme milestones.
Qualifications
What you'll need:
- Financial Acumen: A professional finance or accounting qualification (e.g., ACA, ACCA, CA, CIMA, CPA) is highly preferred. Candidates without a formal qualification who demonstrate equivalent senior‑level financial expertise in IT financial management, TBM, or finance transformation will also be considered.
- Proven Implementation Leadership: Significant experience leading enterprise‑scale system implementations in complex, global environments, with a strong focus on IT finance, TBM, or ITFM domains. Crucially, you'll have a track record of hands‑on involvement in platform configuration and data modelling, not just program oversight.
- ITFM & TBM Mastery: Deep understanding of IT Financial Management principles, including service costing, cost allocation, technology benchmarking, and TBM frameworks (e.g., TBM Council taxonomy).
- Strategic FP&A & Budgeting: Demonstrable ability to redesign and implement large‑scale budgeting and FP&A processes, leveraging technology for automation and insight.
- Vendor & Partner Management: Proven success in managing third‑party vendors and implementation partners throughout full program lifecycles.
- Complex Financial Environments: Experience operating in intricate recharge and cost‑allocation landscapes, ideally within a multi‑national group structure.
- Data & Analytics Rigor: Exceptional analytical skills, comfortable handling and interpreting large, complex data sets.
- Project & Program Management: A robust track record of successful project and program delivery, consistently meeting multiple deadlines under pressure.
- Change Agent: Proven experience driving change management and platform adoption across diverse business units and geographies.
- Technology Fluent: Highly comfortable engaging with solution architects, data engineers, and platform vendors on technical design decisions (without needing to be a developer).
- Communication & Influence: Excellent communication, presentation, and influencing skills, capable of engaging and inspiring senior stakeholders.
- Tool Proficiency: Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, experience with ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle), and data visualisation tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
- Accounting Knowledge (Preferred): Familiarity with accounting standards (IFRS) and financial reporting in large, multi‑currency group environments is a plus.
About You:
- Proactive & Accountable: You take full ownership, are results‑oriented, and drive initiatives forward with a strong sense of responsibility.
- Detail‑Oriented & Strategic: Equally comfortable diving into the specifics – interrogating data, testing configurations, and validating outputs – as you are presenting strategic insights to a steering committee.
- Empathetic Leader: Proven experience building, leading, and mentoring teams (10+ people) through complex, fast‑paced programs.
- Critical Thinker: Exceptional problem‑solving abilities, coupled with critical, strategic, and commercial thinking.
- Collaborative & Influential: Strong interpersonal skills, adept at building credibility and influencing senior leadership across a matrix organisation and comfortable working effectively across organisational boundaries (tech, transformation, finance).
- Adaptable & Resilient: Thrives in dynamic environments, comfortable with ambiguity, and skilled at managing competing priorities.
- Passionate about Impact: Genuinely energised by the intersection of technology and finance, driven to build platforms that fundamentally change how an organisation operates, not just how it reports.
Benefits
Passionate, inspired people – We aim to create a culture in which people can do extraordinary work.
Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.
Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you up for the challenge?
We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. 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.
WPP is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
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