Affiliate Account Director New Manchester, United Kingdom

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

About EssenceMediacom: A Leading WPP Media Brand. EssenceMediacom 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.

Role Summary and Impact: As an experienced Affiliate Account Director, you will be responsible for managing a number of high-value Affiliate Accounts. This involves overseeing affiliate strategies from initial partner identification and recruitment, through to diligent management and optimization of campaigns across various affiliate models (e.g., CPA, CPL, Rev Share) for some of the UK's biggest and most forward-thinking advertisers. You will have people management responsibilities and ensure Affiliate specialism excellence in the day-to-day output of the Accounts you work on.

Responsibilities of the role:

• Promote the positive working culture of EssenceMediacom and pass on your knowledge to the more junior members of the team.
• Manage team workloads and ensure any direct reports remain motivated and challenged.
• Escalate issues to your Associate Director when necessary but try and resolve day-to-day issues where possible.
• Embrace any new ways of working with tenacity and support any direct reports on that learning journey e.g., new platform integrations, advanced reporting methodologies.
• Gain the trust and confidence of clients and Affiliate Partners/Publishers within the specialism of Affiliate Marketing through regular communications.
• Ensure best practice strategy and planning across the Accounts you work on with a performance-first approach, from holistic thinking to campaign execution and reporting.
• Confident in use of affiliate marketing platforms, tracking technologies, and implementation tools.
• Ensure all strategic responses for your team answer the brief.
• Maintain zero errors in your plans and communications to clients and partners.
• Think Performance First: ensure you are putting data at the heart of all affiliate strategies.
• Be adaptable, demonstrating the ability to change approach or tweak work based on feedback and the changing needs of clients and the market.
• Proactively identify, recruit, and onboard new high-value affiliate partners, influencers, and strategic alliances to expand program reach and impact.
• Negotiate advantageous commercial terms, commission rates, and placements with affiliates to maximize ROI and program profitability.
• Drive continuous optimization of affiliate campaigns through A/B testing, fraud prevention, and performance analysis.

Product / Output: Affiliate Program Management. Ensure best practice management approach across all your Accounts' affiliate programs. Ensure all tracking and reporting requirements are monitored and met across affiliate channels. Carry out and present best practice performance reports and analyses for your clients. Being on top of affiliate administration is imperative, i.e., ensure accuracy of numbers and reporting. Ensure commission reconciliations are agreed and up to date, partner payments are accurate, and forecasts are updated and reflective of actual spend and projected performance. Oversee the effective deployment of creative assets and promotional materials to partners, ensuring brand compliance and optimal performance.

Commercial: Commercial awareness - understand what is needed to make EssenceMediacom a successful business within the affiliate landscape. Ensure audit time trackers are up to date within your team and flag anytime replans or budget shifts need to be made to hit PRFs. Ensure all financial procedures are adhered to and your accounts are SOX compliant. Be responsible for accurate administration on all accounts you work on and ensure forecasting systems and reporting are updated regularly.

Skills and Experience: 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.

Experience in leading large multi-market affiliate accounts/campaigns/platforms. High level usage with affiliate networks and technology platforms as well as wider digital tools. Proficient in optimising for targeted audience centric performance. Understanding of how different partnership activities fit into the wider digital marketing mix, and how it impacts / is impacted by other channels. Fully confident in use of Excel, including pivot tables, Vlookup(s) & reporting and analysis. Highly analytical with excellent presentation & PowerPoint skills to match. Resourceful, with proven problem-solving skills across programme, technical and relationships. Highly motivated people person who can work with client and internal teams in a demanding fast-paced environment. Experience in long term strategic planning. Experience with large clients. Experience/track record of upselling projects & initiatives to clients. Understanding of analytics platforms including Google Analytics.

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re 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 particular 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.