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Role summary

Affiliate Business Director

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. Mindshare delivers Good Growth for its clients as Growth Architects, driving growth that benefits all stakeholders — better for people, planet, and business — by using media with intention.

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 will 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.

Essential skills and experience

• 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)

Desirable skills

• 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 be measured on quality of work, innovation, and ability to adapt and adopt growing capabilities. Specific measures include:

• Feedback from clients, client leadership teams and digital team
• Strong relationships with other departments
• Involvement in New Business, internal projects, and new revenue streams
• 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 Mindshare Media Management & Delivery initiatives in London and the EMEA region

Life at WPP Media & benefits

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 London, with hybrid working three to four days in the office. We also offer extensive training and global networking opportunities through WPP Media. We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to a culture of respect and belonging. Please read our Privacy Notice for more information on how we process the information you provide.

Seniority level

• Director

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Business Development and Sales

Industries

• Advertising Services