Search Account Director

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.

WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation nected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

Essence Mediacom is a new breed of media agency. Grounded in analytics & insights and powered by data & technology, we believe in the power of media and creative to drive breakthroughs for the world’s best brands. We help clients understand the modern marketing paradox and discover the breakthroughs brands need to win with their consumers. We are designed for the new communications economy — built on data & technology, built for people & algorithms, built around diverse schools of thought, built to test & learn at scale, and, crucially, built to evolve.

We are looking for a Search Senior Associate Director who will lead an eight‑person strong team working on the UK’s most recognised Health & Beauty retailer:
Boots. This is an exciting opportunity to join a large team working across business areas for Walgreens Boots Alliance, including the core categories of their stores.

With Boots being at the forefront of trends and developments within the health and beauty vertical and subject to the usual peaks within retail (Black Friday for example), the work is fast paced for this large‑scale e‑commerce retailer.

This role is suitable for a proactive, motivated, and diligent individual who is able to work independently as well as understands the principles behind effective teamwork to deliver on the client’s performance targets. It is a unique opportunity to work on one of the UK’s largest e‑commerce brands with huge scope for learning and development – and to become a Shopping expert within Paid Search - with the support of a large client team spanning WPP entities.

The Senior Search Associate Director will be responsible for leading the PPC planning and strategy, team management, and optimisation process towards KPIs to deliver growth, and meeting efficiency targets.

They will be self‑motivated, and able to manage their and their seven direct reports’ time effectively. They will be operationally proficient and have in‑depth specialist knowledge of PPC principles and how the market operates. They will also have solid knowledge of other media channels, how they fit within the overall media/marketing mix and how they influence Search.

• WBA’s vision around Mass Personalisation at Scale means we are redefining what communications look like for Boots – increasingly moving into addressable media (at scale) and digital platforms that are going to engage their audience and drive sales. The Senior Search AD role will form a vital part of this.
• Oversee the workflow management and training for seven direct reports.
• Share learnings and best practice with the team and wider Search/client group.
• Show initiative and proactivity to achieve our goals, working together with Google and Microsoft to improve the following work streams: product adoption (such as automated bidding and DDA), investment, ad creative, data integration and measurement.

• Communication lead (such as weekly calls and meetings) with the client contacts, media partners and internal teams (such as the client planning teams) with the support of the Digital Director when required.

• Strong direct response experience i.e. working towards strict cost per sale/ROI targets
• Up to date with Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising and SA360 developments
• Knows how to create, work to, and forecast accurate media plans, even when targets and market conditions may change
• A strong understanding of other media lines and how…