Senior eCommerce Consultant (FTC) in London

VML, part of WPP, is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brands to drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and human-first, award-winning work for blue-chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's.

We are on the hunt for a visionary and accomplished Senior Business Consultant to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our Consultancy solutions. This is not merely a high-profile role; it's an opportunity to act as a trusted leader and mentor, guiding both our clients and our internal team towards unprecedented success.

Your deep industry expertise and collaborative leadership style will be instrumental in driving impactful business outcomes, while your commitment to our people-first approach will be essential in fostering a culture of empowerment, growth, and continuous improvement within the Consultancy team and across the entire Business Services department.

Please note this is a 12-month FTC London - Hybrid.

Other core elements of this role will be:

• Leading teams of cross-functional skill sets to work together to create coherent answers to client questions, through high-quality outputs.
• Passionate about understanding and solving complex problems for our clients within an ever-changing digital landscape.
• Listening to client challenges and using client knowledge to spot opportunities for other ways we can help the client outside of the core engagement.
• Using advanced communication skills to unpick client problems rapidly, getting to the core of how we can support, often in situations that lack clarity.

What you’ll be doing:

You will have a strong consultancy background or acted as a Senior Business Leader with in-depth specialist sector knowledge across a minimum of 1-2 areas (ideal sectors include retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, automotive).

Key responsibilities:

• Client Engagement & Relationship Management: Lead cross-functional engagements, serving as the primary point of contact for senior client stakeholders in some of our largest clients. Build and nurture strong, trusted relationships with clients, understanding their business challenges and objectives. Proactively identify and pursue opportunities to expand existing client relationships and generate new business.
• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and coach the more junior consultants, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment. Inspire and empower team members to take ownership, develop their skills, and reach their full potential. Promote knowledge sharing and best practices across the team and wider organization.
• Strategic Consulting & Solution Delivery: Leverage your expertise in e-Commerce and specialist sector knowledge (e.g., retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, automotive) to provide strategic guidance and solutions to clients. Confident communicator who can articulately ask questions and actively listen in order to get to the core of the client problem. Being comfortable with ‘grey’, bringing clarity to ambiguous situations and utilising your advanced problem-solving capability to quickly analyse complex business problems and independently overcome obstacles. Conduct thorough business analysis, identifying pain points, opportunities, and areas for improvement. A deep understanding of technologies that form a part of digital ecosystems, such as ecommerce platforms like Salesforce Commerce Cloud, CMS, PIM etc. as well as software delivery methodology including agile. Develop and present compelling proposals, roadmaps, and presentations that clearly articulate value propositions and solutions. Support the delivery function with business insights to help keep the business & team focused on outcomes.
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation: Proactively identify and implement process improvements to enhance team efficiency, output quality, and client satisfaction. Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices, incorporating relevant learnings into your work. Contribute to the development and refinement of internal methodologies, frameworks, and tools.

What we want from you:

• Extensive experience in management or consultancy roles within the e-Commerce domain.
• In-depth specialist sector knowledge in at least 1-2 areas, ideally including retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, or automotive.
• Strong understanding of digital ecosystems and technologies, including e-commerce platforms, CMS, PIM, and agile software delivery methodologies.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to effectively lead and motivate cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional relationship-building and networking skills, with a knack for building rapport with senior stakeholders.
• Advanced problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse complex business problems, think laterally, and develop creative solutions.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and concisely to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Passion for client success and a commitment to exceeding expectations.
• Willingness to travel to client sites within the UK and potentially within the EU.

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.

VML 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.