Senior Lead, GOC Talent Acquisition Operations 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.

The Senior Lead, GOC Talent Acquisition Operations for our Global Operations Centres (GOC) is a pivotal leadership role responsible for driving operational excellence, standardization, and efficiency across our regional GOC Talent Acquisition (TA) teams. This role will centralize and elevate our TA processes, technology, data, and vendor management across India, Malaysia, LATAM (Colombia & Mexico), and Poland, operating within a high-growth, client-focused environment. Critically, this role does not hold direct line management responsibilities for regional TA teams. Instead, it drives accountability through strategic influence, expert guidance, strong collaboration, and change management principles to empower regional TA leaders and teams to achieve best-in-class results.

The successful candidate will act as a strategic partner, enabler, and thought leader, ensuring our GOC TA operations are scalable, compliant, cost-effective, and consistently deliver exceptional candidate and hiring manager experiences, while building diverse and inclusive teams.

• Global TA Operations Strategy & Standardization: Develop and execute a global TA Operations strategy for the GOC, aligning with overall Global TA and GOC business objectives. Lead the standardization and optimization of TA processes, policies, and workflows across all GOC regions (India, Malaysia, LATAM, Poland). Establish and champion global best practices in sourcing, interviewing, assessment, offer management, and onboarding hand-off, with a strong focus on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout the talent acquisition lifecycle.
• Technology & Systems Optimization: Act as the product advocate for the TA technology stack within the GOC, including the primary Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Greenhouse, Candidate Relationship Management (CRM), licences, assessment tools, and scheduling platforms. Identify, evaluate, recommend, and lead the implementation of new TA technologies or enhancements to existing ones to improve efficiency and experience. Optimize the user experience (UX) and return on investment (ROI) of TA technologies, ensuring seamless connectivity within the broader company tech ecosystem. Foster an enthusiasm for automating systems and guiding teams to streamline workflows. Ensure optimal utilization of TA systems and continuous improvement through training, user support, and regular process audits.
• Data Analytics & Reporting: Design, implement, and maintain robust global TA metrics, KPIs, and dashboards for GOC operations. Provide data-driven insights and recommendations for Talent Acquisition Experts, regional TA leaders, GOC leadership, Hiring Managers (HMs), and Client Leads to optimize performance, identify trends, and address strategic areas of opportunity. Oversee the integrity and accuracy of TA data across GOC regions.
• Vendor Management: Manage global relationships with TA vendors (e.g., job boards, assessment providers, background check services) for GOC regions and working closely with the Global Central Talent Operations team. Monitor & analyse vendor performance and ensure cost-effective utilization of services.
• Capability Building & Enablement: Engage, inspire, and develop a community of Operations, Program, and Project Management specialists and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) across the GOC TA function to improve global capability, nurture a culture of continuous learning, and facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration. Develop and deliver training programs, workshops, and resources to upskill regional TA teams in operational excellence, system proficiency, and process adherence. Act as a subject matter expert and trusted advisor to regional TA leads on operational challenges and opportunities. Guide and enable regional TA teams in leveraging global Employer Branding best practices, strategically guiding the translation of our global talent brand narrative into culturally resonant and impactful market-specific content.
• Compliance & Governance: Ensure all GOC TA operations adhere to global and local legal requirements, data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, local equivalents), and internal corporate policies. Maintain data integrity in systems through regular audits and ensure SOX compliance where applicable. Develop and maintain global operational guidelines and playbooks. Develop and stand up appropriate service models for change management initiatives related to TA operations.
• Project Management & Change Leadership: Lead cross-regional projects aimed at improving TA operational efficiency and effectiveness within the GOC. Champion change management efforts to ensure successful adoption of new processes, tools, and strategies, including launching and driving multiple system implementations requiring robust change management communication.

Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities. Strong detailed and conceptual thinking skills to analyze sophisticated problems and propose solutions despite technical and operational constraints. Superior influencing, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills across diverse cultures. Strong change management and project management capabilities. Highly analytical, with a data-driven approach to decision-making. Organized execution, a keen eye for detail, and creativity. Plans and prioritizes work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals. Strategic, enterprise-wide and systems thinking with an enthusiasm for automating systems & guiding teams to streamline workflows. Ability to navigate ambiguity and operate effectively in a fast-paced, matrixed organization.

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection in this open and supportive environment. 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.