General Manager, Strategic Planning

Job Title: General Manager, Client Account Lead (Leading Sports Category)

Location: Shanghai, China

Reporting to: President, Client Solutions, WPP Media China

About WPP Media

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com.

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. For more information, visit wppmedia.com

The Opportunity: We are seeking an exceptional and visionary General Manager, Media Strategic Planning, Client Account Lead to spearhead the media strategy for one of our most iconic and dynamic sports categories. This pivotal role sits within our Client Account Lead structure, where you will act as the primary strategic partner, driving innovative and impactful media planning and execution that elevates our brand, engages our audience, and fuels business growth.

You will be responsible for defining the future of media engagement for a key sports category, leading a high-performing team, and ensuring our media investments deliver maximum impact and return. This is an opportunity for an ambitious leader who thrives on winning, possesses an insatiable passion for sports, and is eager to shape the narrative of a global powerhouse.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Media Leadership: Develop, champion, and execute comprehensive media strategies and plans for a leading sports category, aligning with global brand objectives, marketing priorities, and business goals.
• Client Account Management: Serve as the senior strategic media partner for the assigned sports category, understanding their unique challenges and opportunities, and translating them into innovative media solutions.
• Innovation & Creative Execution: Drive a culture of innovation in media planning and buying. Oversee the creative execution of media campaigns, ensuring they are cutting-edge, culturally relevant, and resonate deeply with target audiences across all channels (digital, traditional, emerging platforms).

Act as Inspiration: You have your ear to the ground, and you know the pulse of culture. You can take that knowledge, articulate and inject it into the work and inspire your team with the same approach.

 

• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of media strategists and planners. Foster an environment of continuous learning, professional growth, and high performance, ensuring the team is equipped to meet future challenges.
• Market & Consumer Insights: Leverage a deep passion for sports as a lifestyle to uncover profound consumer insights. Translate these insights into actionable media strategies that authentically connect with athletes and fans.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate seamlessly with internal marketing teams, creative agencies, data analytics, product, and sales teams to ensure integrated and cohesive campaign delivery.
• Industry Expertise: Stay abreast of the latest media trends, technologies, and competitive landscape, continuously identifying new opportunities for brand engagement and market leadership.

 

Measures of success –

In three months:

• Developed a strong understanding of client’s business and structures – both locally and regionally/globally, to be the key point of contact for all China related topics.
• Begun to clearly influence and adapt the plans and approaches and setting the direction for the coming year.
• Developed a strong working relationship with your team, setting the culture & expectations on what great looks like.
• Quickly familiarize with assigned clients and products and their marketing opportunities and challenges.

 

• Establish trusted relationship key stakeholders internally and externally.

In six months:

• Implemented areas of enhancement/optimization to deliver better service and work standards to the client from across the agency, and effective, efficient and compliant internal processes.
• Ensure agency is regarded as a communication planning expert, with creativity to develop big ideas, in a digitally centric world.
• Be a true leader of your team and wider agency functional/specialist teams and fully gained their trust and respect.

In 12 months:

• Effectively managing the team and client partnership, from building the business growth plan for the coming year, to resourcing and development needs.
• Set the benchmark for these clients in agency China and globally, therefore ensure that they are seeing as leading the world in their own rights.
• Be resourceful and independent in identifying the right solutions for issue resolutions.
• Proactively develop and implement new working models and customized product solutions for clients.

Skills and Experience

At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.

 

Role Requirements:

Experience:

• 15+ years of relevant experience in media strategy and planning with a significant portion in a leadership capacity within a leading industry (e.g., global brands, top-tier media agencies).
• Proven track record of developing and executing highly creative, impactful, and measurable media campaigns.
• Demonstrated experience in client account leadership or senior strategic roles, managing complex stakeholder relationships.
• While direct sports category experience is not a mandatory prerequisite, a strong understanding of consumer behavior within the sports and lifestyle ecosystem is essential.

Skills:

• Exceptional leadership capabilities with a proven ability to build, motivate, and develop high-performing teams.
• Strong innovation mindset, with a history of challenging the status quo and driving forward-thinking media solutions.
• Outstanding communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, capable of influencing at all levels of an organization.
• A commitment to continuous development, both personally and for your team.
• High degree of performance orientation and accountability, with a relentless focus on results.
• Strategic thinking, analytical prowess, and the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights.

Personality/Passions:

• Highly ambitious, driven, and possesses a "love to win" mentality.
• A genuine and profound passion for sports as a lifestyle, which provides deep insights into consumer behavior and truly fuels enjoyment of the work.
• A strong affinity for the Nike brand (or similar leading sports brands), its mission, and its cultural impact.
• A collaborative spirit and a natural team player who thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Language:

• Proficiency in English is required. Chinese Mandarin is not compulsory.

 

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events.

WPP Media 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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