Data Planning Director

Who We AreVML is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brands to drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and award-winning human-first work for clients including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. In 2026, VML was named Campaign’s Global Network of the Year and ranked #2 Creative Network of the Year at Cannes Lions.

VML’s global network spans 55+ markets with principal offices in Buenos Aires, Kansas City, London, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore. VML is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel.

For more information, please visit and follow along on Linked In #WeAreVML.Who we’re looking for:

VML is seeking a Data Planning Director to be a trusted partner to our clients, navigating their business, understanding their challenges and connecting across VML, as well as WPP at large, to ensure we are setup to deliver success with world-class services and solutions.

This role is part of an integrated Data & Analytics team across measurement & reporting, predictive modelling, data strategy solutions, covering media, CX, CRM and more. The focus is to act as the glue between clients, WPP teams on all things data. As such, you will need to organise, motivate and inspire to connect all (data and non-data) disciplines in delivering success for our clients.

Gravitas and strong collaboration are essential.

What you’ll be doing :

Team direction and oversight

Direct a team of data, technology and business consultants, analysts and engineers, overseeing client briefs and managing team workload.

Direct and motivate the team to help them achieve their goals and deliver brilliant work for VML’s clients.

Data & Analytics leadership

Act as strategic partner and advisor, helping clients to leverage the power of data, martech, analytics and AI to achieve their goals and drive effectiveness and efficiency.

Develop proposals and methodologies forData Planning; encompassing data-driven journey design, targeting personalisation, test and learn

Analytics & Data Science solutions; encompassing customer analytics (e.g. customer segmentation, predictive modelling), digital analytics (e.g. journey analysis, web/app, media analysis), business intelligence (e.g. dashboard reporting) and AI (e.g. conversational BI)
Data & Analytics consulting; encompassing data, marketing technology, AI and operations (process, skills, culture, business change etc.). Includes data, AI, martech and adtech transformation roadmaps, measurement frameworks and associated operating model development.

Inspire our clients and all of VML with thought-leadership and best practice.

Work closely with our clients to help diagnose and solve their challenges, support their data & AI vision, and make it happen.

Drive client success and satisfaction in all you do.

Business Development New business – be a data and analytics lead for pitches to deliver winning proposals and presentations.

New & Organic business – be relentless at bringing new ideas and opportunities to grow our existing clients and bring our data offer to clients who work with us in other disciplines.

What you’ll need:

Exceptional experience leading across data and analytics in a consulting/agency environment, setting up teams and operating models with clientsA belief in the value of data-driven marketing & AI to deliver exceptional results.

Experience of building relationships with clients from junior to C-suite and dealing with the different and complex personalities involved.

Someone who can unify groups from across a wide skill set and unify them behind a clear brief or goal and deliver excellent work for clients.

A candidate with the ability to engage people with their presentation skills but show excellent active listening to create clear actions which meet client needs.

A person with a love for data-driven…