Project Lead - Data Science

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 

About Choreograph: A Leading WPP Media Brand 

Choreograph is WPP’s global data products and technology company. We’re on a mission to transform marketing by building the fastest, most connected data platform that bridges marketing strategy to scaled activation. 

We work with agencies and clients to transform the value of data by bringing together technology, data and analytics capabilities. We deliver this through the Open Media Studio, an AI-enabled media and data platform for the next era of advertising. 

We’re endlessly curious. Our team of thinkers, builders, creators and problem solvers are over 1,000 strong, across 20 markets around the world. 

Role Summary and Impact 

As a Data Science Project Lead in the Data Science and Solutions team, a part of the Analytics and Insight function, you will be leading projects that require the development of models, applications and processes we build for our clients and the agency, with support from your line manager. Initially you will be responsible for maintaining our existing set of projects. Once familiar with them you will move on to improving them where appropriate and developing new ones. You will be leading projects under the supervision of your line manager.    

The Analytics and Insight unit helps our clients to succeed by delivering a data-driven approach to media strategy, planning and activation with an emphasis on accountability and innovation. Our team is a collection of Data Scientists, Engineers, Dashboard Engineers and application developers who provide expertise on data science, media effectiveness, applications, dashboards, APIs, and working in the cloud.    

The primary focus of the team is to create, deploy and maintain a suite of internal and external tools to aid our clients in making better media investment decisions, you will see the impact of your work in your local office, across the UK and globally.  

 Reporting of the role  

This role reports to a Data Science Lead or Data Science Director 

 3 best things about the job   

1. You will be at the cutting edge of creating the most advanced analytics in the media industry.  

      2. You will be working in a close knit, friendly team who are there to support you at every stage of your career. 

      3. Continuous learning, autonomy and room for development with the best in the industry.  

 In three months, you would have:   

• An understanding of the work we do in the Data Science and Solutions team and be able to manage one of our existing projects with minimal supervision  

In six months, you would have:  

• Started to build your own network and can work with your line manager and the wider team to respond to new briefs that come to our team  

In 12 months, you would have:  

• The ability to run our larger projects at the design, development, delivery and review stages and run smaller tasks with minimal direct oversight  

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. 

What you will need  

 Essential   

• Leading on projects
• Project management experience  
• Comfortable querying SQL  
• Confidence in several of the following; linear modelling, tree-based modelling, clustering, Bayesian statistics, Elastic net, GAM  
• Experience with model performance diagnostics such as cross validation  
• Comfortable with writing code (R and/or Python) for data manipulation, cleansing and modelling  
• Experience of version control tools, particularly Git  
• A keenness and ability to work with a cross-section of the functions within the agency 

Desirable  

• Experience working in an analytics or data science role in a client-facing capacity  
• Experience with any of the following would be considered a plus  
• Docker  
• Google Cloud Platform  
• Marketing Mix Modelling  
• General optimisation algorithms, e.g gradient descent  
• Imputation techniques in particular with spatial data  
• Working with geo-spatial data/models  
• Application or API frameworks, shiny, plumber, flask, Django  
• Experience with GitHub actions  
• Line Management experience

 Responsibilities of the role  

• Maintaining existing R models and tools  
• Building models and running statistical analyses  
• Visualising datasets and model outputs for understanding by a non-technical audience  
• Statistical model design and creating interactive applications  
• Work with other functions in A&I to improve internal processes, e.g. for MMM and/or R&I  
• Coach and develop junior team member(s), where applicable, so they maximise their potential 
• Taking ownership of our existing projects  
• Mentoring and line managing junior data scientists  

 If you don’t quite fit our description, but you can code (R or Python), you can build models and you’re keen to learn to apply those skills on some of the world’s biggest brands, please do get in touch.   

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. Our benefits include competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.   

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. 
 
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. 

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location 

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