Programme Manager - Commerce (Contract)

Posted Yesterday
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London, Greater London, England, GBR
In-Office
Senior level
Agency • eCommerce • Information Technology • Consulting
The Role
Lead and deliver complex eCommerce programmes: define governance, manage multiple teams and vendors, track dependencies and risks, control budgets and resources, implement ways of working, support project managers, and maintain stakeholder relationships to achieve programme goals.
Summary Generated by Built In
Who We Are

WPP Enterprise Solutions designs, builds, and operates the growth systems that competitive businesses rely on. In a world where Al is reshaping how companies drive growth, we lead clients in business transformation and marketing modernization, connecting strategy directly to execution. Our 12,000 experts in engineering and platforms, commerce, consulting, content transformation, CRM, and CX work within a unified global operating unit across 40+ markets. WPP Enterprise Solutions works alongside best-in-class partners including Adobe, AWS, Braze, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Shopify, as well as innovators in AI, to deliver growth solutions tailored to the needs of our clients’ businesses. VML, part of WPP, supports WPP Enterprise Solutions by helping brands activate transformation through creativity and experience.

Programme Manager with extensive experience including experience managing small programmes of work needed to join our team

This is a London based Contract role 

The opportunity:

You lead teams to deliver high quality, complex project(s) on budget and within a specified timeframe to achieve the potential benefits defined in the business case. You work closely with the Account Director to achieve productivity goals and contribute to the organisation’s overall success.

What you’ll be doing:
  • Accountable for all delivery across the programme
  • Analyse, evaluate, and overcome programme risks, and produce accurate programme reports for management and stakeholders
  • Maintain organisational standards of satisfaction, quality, and performance, including the creation and implementation of ways of working at the start of a programme
  • Create and implement effective ways of working at the start of the programme and ensure these are adhered to throughout the project lifecycle
  • Track and manage dependencies between projects and workstreams, creating programme level plans to ensure these are addressed
  • Ensure programme goals are reached by keeping the workstreams updated on progress and any changes that need to be made.
  • Provide support and guidance to project managers within your account and line management for several project managers outside of your account.
  • Maintain a resource plan showing resource commitment across the projects and keep track of potential end dates in association with functional lead personnel
  • Track resource requests and manage fulfilment of these requests internally or externally as appropriate
  • Develop strong relationships with WTC team members and client stakeholders at all levels
  • Work with the client to understand their vision and plan the programme of work to successfully achieve that vision to the greatest effect
  • Define and implement programme level governance in conjunction with the client
  • Manage third party vendors on behalf of the client
What we want from you:
  • Experience in managing multiple teams across different workstreams. As a minimum, if in a team management role, this should be at least 20 people
  • A good understanding of the software development lifecycle & release management
  • Proven track record in the successful delivery of an ecommerce migration/Re-platform
  • Strong stakeholder management skills
  • Excellent negotiation skills & an ability to handle sensitive issues with tact & diplomacy
  • Exposure to medium to large scale fixed price project delivery
  • Experience in multi-vendor management
  • Experience of managing people and financial budgets (including programme budgeting, monitoring financials etc.) ideally in an eCommerce environment
  • Experience of overseeing 3rd parties
  • Excellent risk management skills
  • Minimum of three years’ experience working in an Agile environment
  • Proven track record of working with organisations moving from Waterfall to Agile delivery approaches
  • Working knowledge of Agile frameworks, Scrum and Kanban
  • Effective leadership skills with experience of managing other project managers.
  • Strong time management & organisational skills.
  • Excellent communication and relationship management skills
  • Good commercial knowledge, experience of contract negotiations would be advantageous.
  • Software Application Development related Project management experience (min 6 years) .
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office Packages, especially MS Excel and MS PowerPoint
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
  • Minimum BA/BS degree with a major in information management, marketing, communications, business or other closely-related areas is an advantage

What we can offer you:

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we’ll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We’ll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.

Our culture thrives on our core values, designed for impact-driven individuals: Heart, Brains and Courage.

We lead with Heart, fostering empathy and trust where genuine connections and human-centric work flourish.
We empower your Brains for innovation, valuing relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence to solve complex challenges.
And we champion Courage, inspiring you to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions that push our thinking to be better than yesterday.


AT VML Enterprise Solutions

Our Enterprise Solutions division houses strategic consultants, creative and technical architects and skilled developers and operators that together help some of the world’s leading organisations to deliver outstanding digital experiences across all major routes to market worldwide: marketplaces, online retailers, D2C, B2B and social platforms. With over 4,200 experts in 55 operational centres across 34 countries, our capabilities span the entire buying journey from customer acquisition, through engagement, to conversion and loyalty, driving multi-channel growth for world-leading brands.

We work with some of the most exciting brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, EY, Bosch, Unilever, Ford, DFS, Mercedes-Benz, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Sainsbury’s, Selfridges, Shell and Tiffany & Co. We’ve built over 500 platforms for brands and retailers and generate in excess of $29bn annually for our clients and work with over 50 strategic partners including Adobe, SAP, Salesforce, HCL, Shopify, Sitecore, BigCommerce, commerce tools and Acquia. Our reputation is based on our people, and we believe we have some of the best in the business.

As our business grows internationally, we’re looking for new people to join us on our journey to inspire and take a key role in shaping some of the best commerce solutions, services, and websites in the world. Working as a team, no problem is insurmountable; we share in our client’s successes and believe that anyone can show creative bravery no matter what their role is in the team.

#LI-EMEA

About WPP

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 agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.

WPP (VML/WPP Enterprise Solutions) 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. 

When you click "Submit Application", this will send any information you add below to WPP (VML/WPP Enterprise Solutions). Before you do this, we think it's a good idea to read through our Recruitment Privacy Policy. California residents should read our California Recruitment Privacy Notice. This explains what we do with your personal data when you apply for a role with us, and, how you can update the information you have provided us with or how to remove it.

Skills Required

  • Experience managing multiple teams across different workstreams (minimum team size of 20 people if in a team management role)
  • Proven track record in successful ecommerce migration/re-platform projects
  • Good understanding of the software development lifecycle and release management
  • Experience in multi-vendor management and overseeing third parties
  • Experience managing people and financial budgets, including programme budgeting and monitoring financials
  • Excellent stakeholder management, negotiation, communication and relationship management skills
  • Exposure to medium to large scale fixed price project delivery
  • Excellent risk management skills
  • Minimum of three years' experience working in an Agile environment
  • Proven track record of helping organisations move from Waterfall to Agile delivery approaches
  • Working knowledge of Agile frameworks, Scrum and Kanban
  • Effective leadership skills with experience managing other project managers
  • Software application development related project management experience (minimum 6 years)
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office packages, especially MS Excel and MS PowerPoint
  • Good commercial knowledge; experience of contract negotiations
  • Minimum BA/BS degree (information management, marketing, communications, business or related) is an advantage
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The Company
10,000 Employees

What We Do

VML Enterprise Solutions is VML's technology and transformation unit that unites the agency's technology and data groups to deliver consulting, engineering, data, automation and platform services. It supports global brands with AI-enabled solutions, commerce and customer experience transformation, and scalable platform delivery through integrated consulting and technology capabilities.

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