Business Director - Affiliates in London

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 at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

We are seeking an experienced Affiliate Business Director to join the Mindshare Worldwide Media Management & Delivery (MM&D) team. This senior role will lead affiliate and partnership strategy for a portfolio of global clients, overseeing delivery of best-in-class performance marketing solutions. As an Affiliate Business Director, you will act as the senior client lead for affiliate marketing and prospect generation, managing strategy, planning, activation, and measurement across multiple markets. You will work closely with colleagues across Mindshare, WPP Media, and agency partners to deliver innovative solutions that drive meaningful growth for clients. This is both a leadership and client-facing role, requiring a mix of strategic vision, commercial acumen, and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Act as the senior client contact for affiliate marketing and partnership activity, delivering strategy, planning, activation, and reporting.
• Drive best practice in affiliate planning, publisher recruitment, partnership management, and performance optimisation.
• Lead the development of client roadmaps, ensuring innovation, testing, and growth opportunities are consistently identified.
• Deliver post-campaign analysis, reporting actionable insights and driving incremental value.
• Surface and promote the best work internally and externally, ensuring regular creation of case studies and award entries.

People

• Lead, inspire, and develop a team of affiliate and partnership specialists, setting SMART objectives and career development plans.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and accountability within the team.
• Play an active role in recruitment and onboarding of new talent as required.
• Act as a mentor and role model, promoting Mindshare’s values of Energy, Empathy, and Impact.

Process

• Define and improve ways of working across planning, activation, reporting, and financial management.
• Support the design, delivery, and scaling of processes, automation, and best practices across the affiliate team.
• Ensure finance processes (forecasting, reporting, reconciliations) are strictly adhered to.
• Partner closely with WPP Media colleagues to align on shared processes and integration opportunities.

Product

• Lead the affiliate product and innovation agenda, surfacing new publisher opportunities, tech solutions, and industry trends.
• Ensure an integrated approach across affiliate, lead generation, and wider digital and offline channels.
• Drive thought leadership on incrementality, attribution, and partner value.
• Build strong partnerships with affiliate networks, technology providers, and emerging publishers.

Profitability

• Take ownership of soft P&L for your client portfolio, delivering against revenue targets and profitability goals.
• Identify and grow incremental opportunities through upselling, cross-selling, and new service development.
• Contribute to new business efforts, including pitches, creds, and prospecting.
• Build commercially focused annual business plans, supported by accurate pipeline management.

The Ideal Candidate

You are a proven digital leader with deep expertise in affiliate and partnership marketing, combined with a strong understanding of the broader performance media landscape. You will have a track record of building client trust, driving commercial growth, and leading high-performing teams. You bring an entrepreneurial mindset, a collaborative approach, and the ability to operate comfortably at both strategic and tactical levels. You will be confident working with senior stakeholders, managing complex multi-market accounts, and inspiring your team to deliver excellence.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• 8+ years’ experience in digital marketing with significant expertise in Affiliate & Prospect Generation.
• Strong reputation within the affiliate industry, with established network and publisher relationships.
• Experience leading strategy and activation for global premium brands.
• Proven track record in managing and inspiring teams of 10–20+ members.
• Expertise in affiliate tech platforms (e.g. Awin, Rakuten, Partnerize, Impact) and understanding of the wider affiliate tech ecosystem.
• Strong commercial skills with experience managing P&L, driving incremental growth, and delivering new revenue streams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and presentation skills, with the gravitas to present confidently at senior client level.
• Experience in measurement, attribution, and proving incrementality of affiliate channels.
• Deep knowledge of publisher models including loyalty, content commerce, CSS, CLO, retail media, influencer, and brand-to-brand partnerships.
• High level of numeracy and analytical ability, with experience using Google Analytics, and data visualisation tools (e.g.: PowerBi, SimilarWeb Pro, Wrike, Ayima redirect, HTTP headers etc.)

Desirable

• Experience integrating affiliate with wider digital and offline channels.
• Familiarity with tools such as Brand Verity, TrafficGuard, Uniqodo, and SimilarWeb Pro.
• Experience designing cross-channel frameworks, particularly for ecommerce and performance-driven brands.
• Strong understanding of cookies, tracking, and evolving measurement solutions.

Personal performance measures

The Business Director will predominantly be measured on the quality of work, innovation and their ability to adapt and adopt to the growing capabilities required for their client and agency. Specific measures include:

• Feedback from clients, client leadership teams and digital team.
• Strong relationships with other departments.
• Regular involvement in New Business, internal projects, and new revenue streams such as added-value services and growth solutions.
• Year on Year revenue growth & Increase client profitability through commercially focused plans, automation, and innovations.
• Increase in revenue contribution from out-of-scope services and cross-selling.
• Quality of work delivered by you and your team and Performance against client objectives.
• Active contribution to the wider Mindshare Media Management & Delivery departments initiatives in London and in the EMEA region, as well and contribution and involvement within WPP Media and wider global team members.

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. At Mindshare Worldwide, we offer a competitive salary package, 25 days holiday (rising to 30 with service), enhanced pension scheme, Bupa healthcare, a monthly wellbeing fund, and early finishes on Fridays. Based in our London office, just minutes from London Bridge, employees enjoy a rooftop with 360° views of the city. We also offer an extensive training programme, supporting career growth at all levels, as well as regular in-office events and global networking opportunities through WPP Media. 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. WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination. 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.