Senior Influencer & Creative Partnerships Manager

About WPP Media

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. With exceptional talent, trusted data and intelligence, and world-class partnerships – all united by our pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity, and deliver transformational growth. 

WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

For more information, visit wppmedia.com.

Company: WPP Media South Africa
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Reports To: Client Partner
Direct Reports: Influencer Campaign Manager / Executional Support
Type: Full-Time

Role Overview

The Senior Influencer & Creative Partnerships Manager is a strategic, creative, and client-facing leader responsible for elevating brand stories through high-impact talent partnerships and creative integrations.

This role bridges high-level creative conception, executive-level talent management, and end-to-end client service. A core focus of this position is managing top-tier Mega & Key Macro Influencers/Ambassadors (e.g., culturally iconic figures such as Somizi, Siya Kolisi, etc.), building long-term brand equity, leading high-stakes rate negotiations, and managing annual partnership renewals.

Additionally, this role serves as an active creative voice embedded alongside the creative agency team—co-creating overall campaign concepts from scratch, driving creator-led ideas, and ensuring talent and creative strategy are seamlessly integrated into the broader media mix.

Key Responsibilities

1. High-Tier Talent Strategy & Relationship Management

• Mega-Influencer Ownership: Act as the primary manager and guardian for top-tier Mega influencers and brand ambassadors, ensuring their creative output, personal brand, and engagement seamlessly align with client objectives.
• Talent Identification & Scouting: Continuously monitor cultural trends, social listening data, and creator landscapes to identify high-potential talent and strategic brand-fit partnerships before competitors do.
• Long-Term Partnerships & Renewals: Drive contract negotiations for long-term (e.g., multi-month or annual) brand ambassador deals. Manage contract renewals, usage rights, exclusivity clauses, and financial terms to secure optimal ROI.
• Talent Briefing & Creative Direction: Deliver high-level, inspiring briefs to Mega talent, guiding content direction while honouring the influencer’s authentic voice to drive maximum resonance.

1. Strategic Client Service & Partnership Account Management

• Primary Client Liaison: Function as the key point of contact for clients on influencer strategy, strategic partnerships, campaign progress, and post-campaign analysis.
• Client Brief Intake & Consultation: Receive client briefs directly, translate business problems into creative influencer solutions, and present ambitious talent strategy proposals.
• Status & Performance Feedback: Lead strategic client feedback calls, presenting narrative-driven post-campaign reports, campaign ROI, content performance, and actionable learnings.

1. Conceptual Creative Brainstorming & Agency Team Collaboration

• Co-Creating Campaign Concepts: Actively participate as a key member of the creative agency team during strategy and ideation phases, helping generate core creative concepts and overarching campaign narratives (beyond just the creator element).
• Creator-Led Creative Ideation: Translate overarching campaign themes into innovative, talent-led creative mechanics, cultural activations, and original content formats.
• Integrated Creative Alignment: Ensure overall campaign creative concepts seamlessly blend creator authenticity with brand messaging, media strategy, and agency deliverables.
• Proactive Pitching: Develop and pitch proactive big-idea concepts, cultural moment responses, and strategic partnership proposals directly to creative leads and client decision-makers.

1. Commercial & Financial Accountability

• Costing & SOW Management: Oversee campaign budgeting, detailed executional costing plans, Statements of Work (SOWs), Cost Estimates (CEs), and Insertion Orders (IOs).
• High-Stakes Rate Negotiation: Lead commercial negotiations with talent management/agents, optimizing budget efficiency while maintaining positive, high-trust talent relationships.
• Commercial Performance: Ensure assigned campaign budgets and talent contracts are executed flawlessly within financial guidelines and target profit margins.

1. Leadership & Operational Guidance

• Direct Report Oversight: Provide direction and management to the Influencer Campaign Manager, delegating operational tasks (logistics, tracking, standard briefings, reporting) while maintaining overall responsibility for account quality.
• Process Excellence: Enforce standard operating procedures for talent vetting, compliance, legal usage rights, contracting, and campaign workflows.
  

  Required Qualifications & Capabilities

  Experience
  •    5+ years of dedicated experience in Influencer Marketing, Talent Management, or Creative Account Management within an agency or brand environment.
  •    Proven track record of personally managing high-profile Mega Influencers / Celebrities / Brand Ambassadors and executing high-budget, integrated campaigns.
  •    Direct experience participating in agency creative brainstorms, pitching overarching creative campaign concepts, and negotiating multi-figure long-term talent contracts.

  Skills & Competencies
  •    Creative Conceptualization: Strong ability to brainstorm big-picture creative ideas for multi-channel campaigns alongside agency art directors, copywriters, and strategists.
  •    High-Level Negotiation & Commercial Acumen: Skilled in navigating complex contract discussions, exclusivity terms, usage rights, and multi-year renewals.
  •    Client Relationship Excellence: Strong presentation, articulation, and consultative sales skills with senior client stakeholders.
  •    Technical Proficiency: Proficiency with influencer discovery tools (e.g., CreatorIQ), social listening software, workflow systems, and Microsoft Office / Google Workspace.

  Attributes
  •    Culturally Connected: Deeply embedded in South African pop culture, sports, entertainment, and digital media trends.
  •    Diplomatic & Resilient: Adept at managing high-profile personalities, client expectations, and tight agency deadlines with poise.
  •    Detail-Oriented & Accountable: Rigorous oversight of commercial documents, legal contracts, and campaign delivery standards.

  Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

  •    Partnership Success & Renewal Rate: Successful acquisition, retention, and annual renewal rate of key Mega-influencer brand ambassadors.
  •    Creative Output & Campaign Innovation: Active participation in generating winning creative campaign concepts (both general creative and creator-led) in partnership with the creative agency team.
  •    Financial Oversight: Campaign profitability, adherence to budget limits, and efficiency in rate negotiations.
  •    Client Satisfaction & Growth: Positive feedback from key client stakeholders and growth in influencer campaign scopes.
  •    Team Leadership: Effective direction and development of direct reports (Influencer Campaign Manager).

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