Associate Director, Social

About the role

<div class="content-intro"><p><strong>About WPP Media</strong></p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>For more information, visit <a href="wppmedia.com">wppmedia.com</a>.</p></div><p><strong>3715 - Associate Director, Social - UK</strong></p> <p><strong>Role Overview</strong></p> <p>The Paid Social Account Director is a senior leadership role within WPP Media, responsible for the strategic, operational, and commercial success of one or more key client accounts. The role acts as the senior paid social authority for clients and internal stakeholders, leading account strategy, driving performance outcomes, and developing high‑performing teams.</p> <p>You will be accountable for translating client business objectives into best‑in‑class paid social strategies, ensuring excellence in activation across all major social platforms, and embedding WPP Media’s Social Excellence and DPAM ways of working across all activity. The Account Director is also a critical escalation point, senior client contact, and people leader.</p> <p><strong>Key Responsibilities</strong></p> <p><strong>Client Leadership &amp; Strategic Partnership</strong></p> <ul> <li>Act as the senior, day‑to‑day paid social lead for assigned accounts, building trusted, long‑term client partnerships.</li> <li>Lead senior client meetings, performance reviews, and strategic planning sessions with confidence and authority.</li> <li>Translate client business goals into clear paid social strategies, frameworks, and roadmaps aligned to key performance indicators.</li> <li>Own client satisfaction, proactively identifying growth opportunities and responding to challenges with clear, strategic solutions.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Paid Social Strategy &amp; Activation Excellence</strong></p> <ul> <li>Lead the development of integrated paid social strategies across platforms including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, X, and emerging channels.</li> <li>Oversee campaign planning, activation, optimisation, and testing frameworks to deliver against both performance and brand objectives.</li> <li>Ensure best‑in‑class quality standards, QA processes, and platform best practices are consistently applied across all activity.</li> <li>Embed WPP Media Social Excellence and DPAM (Discover, Plan, Activate, Measure) methodologies into all outputs and ways of working.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Account &amp; Commercial Management</strong></p> <ul> <li>Maintain oversight of account budgets, forecasting, and pacing to ensure financial accuracy and delivery against agreed client targets.</li> <li>Partner closely with planning, data, analytics, and creative teams to deliver integrated, cross‑channel outcomes.</li> <li>Support new business responses, organic growth opportunities, and account expansion initiatives where required.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Team Leadership &amp; Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Lead, mentor, and develop Account Managers, Senior Executives, and Executives, fostering a high‑performance and inclusive team culture.</li> <li>Act as a coaching‑led manager, providing clear direction, regular feedback, and structured development plans for direct reports.</li> <li>Set and uphold clear standards for output quality, behaviours, and ways of working across the account team.</li> <li>Support talent progression, training, and capability building across paid social skillsets.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Operational Leadership &amp;

Skills