Client Operations Director

Hogarth is the Global Content Experience Company. Part of WPP, Hogarth partners with one in every two of the world’s top 100 brands including Coca-Cola, Ford, Rolex, Nestlé, Mondelez and Dyson. With a breadth of experience across an extensive range of sectors, Hogarth offers the unrivaled ability to deliver relevant, engaging, and measurable content across all channels and media - both established and emerging. The number of channels at our fingertips; the need for speed; and the drive for mass personalisation, all mean that brands need different solutions.  Our global team of over 7,500 craft and technology experts brings together creative, production and innovation to help clients navigate this exciting and ever-changing world of today’s content experience.

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. Working at WPP means being part of a global network of more than 100,000 talented people dedicated to doing extraordinary work for our clients. We operate in over 100 countries, with corporate headquarters in New York, London and Singapore. WPP is a world leader in marketing services, with deep AI, data and technology capabilities, global presence and unrivalled creative talent. Our clients include many of the biggest companies and advertisers in the world, including approximately 300 of the Fortune Global 500. Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow.  

A Hybrid working model

The role

Reporting to the Head of Client Operations (HCO), the Client Operations Director (COD) is responsible for driving operational excellence and effecting change by defining and implementing the optimal operating models across their portfolio of clients. As well as building and implementing the right models and providing solutions to operational challenges, you will work closely with delivery teams ensuring projects are delivered efficiently to the highest quality, on-time and on-budget.

You will partner with the Global Client Managing Director (GCMD), Global Client Lead (GCL), Production and Commercial teams to deliver excellence. You lead by example and are creative in your solutions and ensure rigour in project scoping, resourcing and pricing.

You understand Hogarth’s capabilities, offerings and tools and activate them on client business challenges as needed. You leverage Hogarth’s global network to deliver great work.

You will use your problem-solving skills, judgement and strong relationship building ability to lead and mentor the team. You will support the GCMDs in ensuring profitability across their accounts.

Key areas of responsibility

Strategy and Financials

• Partner with GCMD/GCL to define and implement the optimal operating model to deliver on clients’ needs. You are the person who ensures the ‘How?’ is asked and answered
• Manage a portfolio of clients and partner with the GCMD/GCL to deliver revenue and profitability targets
• Lead the team to flawlessly deliver work that meets clients’ business needs, assigning clear responsibility for tasks, decisions and objectives
• Formulate and activate strategic solutions based on key insights and learnings
• Leverage strong commercial knowledge and financial acumen
• Review and approve scopes of work
• Proactively seek and identify new revenue opportunities across your clients
• Ensure the right team structures and roles are in play against client scopes and revenue and that the Client Delivery team are supported when required
• Control freelance budgets and contracts across Client Delivery teams
• Ensure that teams are fully utilised and encourage people mobility when and where we can to meet utilisation targets

Collaboration

• Motivate and drive the team towards full accountability, action and results
• Effectively and impartially navigate teams with conflicting priorities
• Build strong, trusting relationships with clients and key internal stakeholders
• Gain a high level of trust and respect among department heads across Client Services, Creative, Production, Technology, Finance and SMEs
• Collaborate with the GCMD/GCL and SME’s to onboard any new clients, by building a strong operational foundation based on a series of discovery workshops and outputs to define the optimal structure and ways of working

Process and Operations

• Responsible for assessing and simplifying ways of working and processes to achieve efficiency, profitability and standardised operational practices
• Leverages our on-site, onshore, offshore network to deliver engaging work in the most efficient and effective way
• Key business contact for technology team on identifying and implementing new systems/tools and tactically lead deployment of Hogarth’s Open Content production platform (OCP) and help drive adoption
• Drive reviews and analysis of internal and client facing SLAs and KPIs to ensure best practices
• Provide support to ensure stakeholders have the data, tools, direction and access to expertise, to continually optimise the client business
• Collaborate with Head of Client Operations and Client Delivery counterparts globally to share best practices and key learnings
• Continually assess project retrospectives to identify areas of improvement and develop and implement remedial plans when required

Leadership

• Create a culture of fresh-thinking, collaboration, respect, equality, diversity and inclusion, with a focus on learning, development and growth
• Ensure operational frameworks and best practices are embedded across the team and wider business
• Contribute to Hogarth’s culture by exhibiting the Hogarth values as well as ownership, professionalism, passion and leading by example
• Inspire the Client Delivery teams to deliver their best
• Empower the team to take ownership and find solutions, supporting them by removing any barriers to success
• Hire and retain the best talent
• Have an active interest in sustainability and help drive change within Hogarth to think and act more sustainably

Risk

• Directly intervene and manage the remedial plan whenever business critical risks are identified and raises to GCMD where appropriate

Requirements

• Experience within a global production environment and/or creative agency environment
• Strong senior client services, operations, project management experience
• A commitment to ensuring flawless execution and delivery across multiple projects
• Strong cross-capability and cross-functional collaboration and communication skills
• Ability to review and analyse data to formulate and activate operational solutions
• Full understanding of how data can drive change in how we approach content creation and elevate the conversations and recommendations we propose to clients
• Commercially focused with a passion for delivering and exceeding results
• A good understanding and experience of multiple pricing and scoping practices
• Focus on continuous improvement of project management methodology and workflows
• Inspiring leadership, ability to manage matrix reporting, rally teams and experience in driving change and governance through cross-functional teams
• Demonstrated experience of successfully working within a virtual team environment
• Experience with complex decision and planning processes
• Ability to conduct presentations comfortably to large groups

Demonstrated experience working with Senior and Executive management

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