Director Data Science

About WPP Media  

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com.  

WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com  

At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:  

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.  

• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.  

• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.  

About Choreograph: A Leading WPP Media Brand  

Choreograph is WPP’s global data products and technology company. We’re on a mission to transform marketing by building the fastest, most connected data platform that bridges marketing strategy to scaled activation.  

We work with agencies and clients to transform the value of data by bringing together technology, data and analytics capabilities. We deliver this through the Open Media Studio, an AI-enabled media and data platform for the next era of advertising.  

We’re endlessly curious. Our team of thinkers, builders, creators and problem solvers are over 1,000 strong, across 20 markets around the world.  

Role Summary and Impact    

The Director, Data Science leads a team to design, develop & deploy data and analytics solutions for a leading client across markets, and the portfolio of brands. You should have a strong understanding of the concepts and tools in data enrichment, media analytics and measurement, experimentation and research space. You will become familiar with internal modelling and technology products to partner with data strategy and deployment teams for implementing at scale.   

The Director, Data Science is responsible for ensuring thought leadership and analytics strategies, and for guiding the direction and development of the team, in compliance with global and regional standards. You would be responsible for managing the delivery commitments for the client for data and analytics solutions, including data business and technical requirements, data management and manipulation, insights and analytics, dashboards and visualisation.   

WHAT YOU WILL DO    

• Primary responsibilities revolve around leading a team to develop and execute industry-leading data and existing analytics solutions. 

• Translate strategic goals into business, data and analytics requirements and projects.  

• Oversee the design, management, and application of Choreograph and third-party solutions for data assimilation, enrichment and analytics for delivering data sets and insights for strategic planning, activation and measurement 

• Lead departmental projects and workflows including research & development, product roadmaps, interpersonal and coaching builds, etc.  

• Develop and deploy clients’ analytical solutions, including predictive and propensity models. Use statistical and ML methods to segment audiences, identify high-value consumers, and measure model impact. 

• Build and maintain Python-based modelling frameworks for automated training, evaluation, and scoring. 

• Translate model results into actionable insights and dashboards for marketing, product, and strategy teams. 

• Support new business pitches where need be. 

• Contribute to the evolution of our data science platform – improving automation, scalability, and interpretability. 

• Develop and maintain cross-functional teams’ relationships. 

Skills and Experience   

• Bachelors or advanced degree in Statistics, Economics, Business, Math, or Sciences is preferred. 

• Experience managing a mid-to-large size team. 

• Strong analytic and problem-solving skills.  

• Ability to scope out and resource advanced data science and engineering projects. 

• Ability to managing technical data science projects accompanied by skills like develop technical briefs, documentation, workflows and agile project plans. 

• Experience of working with structured and unstructured consumer data (behavioural, transactional, geo, etc.). 

• Ability to turn model outputs into actionable insights for media activation strategies and tactics. 

• Advanced proficiency in Python, including: 

• pandas, numpy, scikit-learn, scipy, statsmodels for modeling and analytics 

• Experience with gradient boosting methods (xgboost, lightgbm, or catboost) 

• Experience with most of the following tools required:   

• SQLAlchemy / PySpark / Dask / Polars – for handling large-scale datasets 

• Airflow / Prefect – for building data pipelines and automating workflows 

• Databricks / Snowflake / BigQuery – for production-scale data environments 
• APIs and ETL scripting – ability to connect to data sources (ad platforms, CRM, analytics tools) 

Life at WPP Media & Benefits  

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.    

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to 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.  
  
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.  

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location 

Please read our Privacy Notice (https://www.wppmedia.com/pages/privacy-policy) for more information on how we process the information you provide.  

#LI-Promoted