Product Owner - WPP Owner (Contract role 6 months)

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. 

Why we're hiring:

WPP Open is at the forefront of transforming how WPP delivers value to its clients. We are building a unified product ecosystem that empowers our agencies and clients with cutting-edge tools and data-driven insights. Our product organisation is driven by a clear vision, strategic execution, and a commitment to continuous innovation. 

The Opportunity:  

We are seeking a highly autonomous and results-driven Senior Product Owner to join our WPP Open product team. In this pivotal role, you will be instrumental in driving the execution and optimisation of a critical, often specialised, product capability.  

You will translate defined product strategies into meticulously prioritised and actionable backlogs, proactively guide complex feature sets through the development lifecycle, and ensure the delivery of measurable, high-impact product outcomes.  

You will work closely with Product Managers, engineering teams, and various stakeholders to deliver value that directly contributes to WPP Open's success. This role requires deep domain expertise, a strong understanding of agile methodologies, exceptional communication skills, and a relentless focus on delivering value to users and the business. 

 

What you'll be doing:

Complex Product Backlog Ownership & Execution Leadership: 

• Own and manage complex or high-impact product backlogs for your designated, often specialised, product capability. Ensure these backlogs are meticulously prioritised, well-defined, and directly support the overarching product strategy and roadmap defined by the Product Manager. 

• Drive the execution of the product roadmap for your capability, translating strategic objectives into actionable epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria, and ensuring timely delivery of high-quality solutions. 

• Focus on defining clear, measurable outcomes for each initiative and feature, and track progress against these metrics, providing regular updates to the Product Manager. 

 Proactive Requirement Definition & Refinement: 

• Translate defined product strategy and user needs into clear, concise, and actionable epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria that lead to clear, testable outcomes. 

• Proactively engage with engineering and design to refine requirements, identify technical dependencies, and ensure feasibility and optimal implementation for complex features. 

• Act as the primary source of truth for the development team regarding product requirements and user needs for your specialised capability. 

 Cross-functional Orchestration & Collaboration: 

• Act as the central orchestrator within your agile development team, working closely with engineering teams, UX/UI designers, and other product stakeholders throughout the entire product development lifecycle, from concept to release. 

• Drive alignment and resolve impediments within the development team to ensure smooth and efficient delivery of complex features. 

• Facilitate agile ceremonies (e.g., sprint planning, backlog refinement, sprint reviews) to ensure effective team collaboration and progress. 

 Strategic Stakeholder Engagement & Communication: 

• Proactively engage with relevant stakeholders, including Product Managers, engineering leads, and end-users, to gather feedback, clarify requirements, and ensure strong alignment for your product capability. 

• Communicate product progress, plans, and insights to your Product Manager and relevant stakeholders, ensuring clarity in complex discussions with both technical and non-technical audiences. 

• Articulate the "why" behind product decisions at the feature level and the measurable impact of delivered features. 

 Continuous Improvement & Optimisation: 

• Establish and manage robust mechanisms for gathering user feedback, analysing product performance data, and identifying areas for continuous improvement within your product capability. 

• Translate insights from market performance, user feedback, and data analytics directly back into the product backlog and inform the Product Manager of potential strategic adjustments. 

• Champion continuous optimisation of features post-launch, ensuring they meet user needs and business objectives. 

 Mentorship & Guidance (Informal): 

• Act as a subject matter expert and informal mentor to less experienced Product Owners or Product Analysts, sharing best practices and contributing to their professional development and the overall product team's capabilities. 

Complex Problem Solving & Decision Making: 

• Analyse and resolve complex product-related problems within your capability, collaborating with the Product Manager and engineering to find efficient and effective solutions. 

• Demonstrate strong prioritisation and decision-making skills for your product backlog, especially under ambiguity, to ensure the most valuable features are delivered and the product area's strategic goals are met. 

 Contribution to Product Strategy (Informative): 

• Actively contribute insights and data from your product capability to inform the Product Manager's strategic direction and the overall WPP Open product vision and roadmap. 

• Ensure your product area's backlog consistently aligns with the defined product strategy and broader strategic themes and business objectives. 

 

What you'll need:

 

• Strong progressive experience in product ownership or a similar role, with a demonstrable track record of successfully driving complex product features and capabilities from definition to launch and beyond. 

• Proven ability to own, manage, and prioritise complex or high-impact product backlogs, ensuring alignment with defined product strategies and measurable business outcomes. 

• Deep domain expertise in a critical product capability, demonstrating the ability to handle significant technical or business complexity. 

• Strong understanding and practical experience with Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban). Agile certification (e.g., CSPO, SAFe PO/PM) is highly desirable. 

• Exceptional ability to translate high-level product strategy into clear, concise, and actionable epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria, demonstrating a deep understanding of technical considerations, constraints, and opportunities. 

• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional development teams to achieve shared goals, acting as a leader within the team. 

• A strong analytical mindset with the ability to leverage data and user feedback to inform product decisions, measure success, and drive continuous improvement. 

• Ability to analyse and resolve complex problems within the scope of your product capability, collaborating effectively with Product Managers and engineering. 

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to adapt communication style to suit different audiences (technical and non-technical) and effectively articulate complex product concepts and execution rationale. 

• Proven ability to proactively engage with Product Managers, engineering leads, and other stakeholders, resolve conflicts, and contribute to the efficient delivery of the product roadmap. 

• A strong track record of successfully delivering features from concept to release in multiple sprints, with a focus on achieving clear, testable outcomes and demonstrating accountability for post-launch performance. 

Who you are:

You're open: We are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are open-minded: to new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working.

You're optimistic: We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We approach all that we do with conviction: to try the new and to seek the unexpected.

You're extraordinary: we are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.

 

What we'll give you:

Passionate, inspired people – We aim to create a culture in which people can do extraordinary work.

Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.

Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you up for the challenge?

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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 is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular 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.

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