---
title: 'Influencer Lead at WPP Media'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/influencer-lead-wpp-media-johannesburg-rsps11z0ntz8'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-05'
---

# Influencer Lead at WPP Media

- **Company:** WPP Media
- **Location:** Johannesburg, South Africa
- **Posted:** 2026-11-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-05
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/wppmedia/jobs/5474016008

## Job description

## 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.

Job Title: AOU Influencer Lead Company: WPP Media South Africa Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Reports To: African Digital Director

## Role Overview

The AOU Influencer Lead is responsible for leading the growth, execution, governance, and operational excellence of influencer marketing across the Africa Operating Unit. This role drives the development and implementation of scalable influencer strategies, ensures alignment with global and regional best practices, and oversees campaign execution across multiple markets, brands, and agency partners. As the central influencer capability lead for the AOU, the role is accountable for influencer governance, creator platform adoption, compliance, reporting, financial oversight, and the continuous evolution of influencer marketing as a key media and consumer engagement channel.

## Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

- Lead the influencer marketing agenda across the Africa Operating Unit.
- Develop and evolve influencer marketing frameworks, governance, and best practices.
- Ensure influencer strategies are aligned with brand objectives, consumer insights, and media planning approaches.
- Drive transformation initiatives that improve influencer effectiveness, measurement, and scalability across markets.
- Act as the regional subject matter expert for influencer marketing and creator economy trends.

Campaign & Operational Excellence

- Oversee end-to-end influencer campaign delivery across multiple African markets.
- Ensure campaigns are executed in accordance with approved ways of working, global standards, and legal requirements.
- Monitor campaign performance and drive optimization opportunities.
- Establish consistent processes for influencer recruitment, onboarding, briefing, content approvals, and reporting.
- Serve as the escalation point for influencer-related operational challenges.

Influencer Governance & Compliance

- Own CreatorIQ (CIQ) adoption, utilization, and compliance across the AOU.
- Ensure influencer activity is accurately tracked, measured, and reported within approved platforms.
- Drive influencer screening, vetting, brand safety, and governance requirements.
- Maintain compliance with global influencer marketing policies and legal guidelines.
- Partner with PACS, Legal, Media, Social, and agency stakeholders to mitigate risk and uphold brand integrity.

Financial Management

- Oversee influencer budgets, forecasting, and financial reporting.
- Monitor campaign spends and financial performance across markets.
- Ensure accurate budget tracking, supplier management, and commercial accountability.
- Support annual planning and investment recommendations for influencer activity.

Reporting & Measurement

- Establish measurement frameworks and KPI standards across the AOU.
- Drive campaign reporting, performance analysis, benchmarking, and learning agendas.
- Deliver regional reporting and actionable insights to senior stakeholders.
- Promote data-driven decision-making and performance optimization.

Stakeholder & Team Leadership

- Collaborate with regional and global marketing, media, social, and strategy teams.
- Support and develop influencer managers across multiple markets.
- Align agency partners and in-market teams on influencer processes and expectations.
- Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.

## Key Success Measures

- Successful delivery of influencer campaigns across all AOU markets.
- CreatorIQ compliance and platform adoption rates.
- Campaign performance against business and media KPIs.
- Budget management accuracy and financial accountability.
- Consistent implementation of global influencer governance standards.
- Stakeholder satisfaction and operational excellence.
- Continuous growth and evolution of influencer capabilities across the AOU.

People Leadership & Collaboration

- People Leadership & Market Management.
- Lead and manage a network of in-market Influencer Managers and influencer teams across multiple African markets, providing strategic direction, coaching, capability development, and operational oversight.
- Drive consistency in influencer best practices, governance, campaign execution, reporting standards, and platform compliance across all markets.
- Foster a high-performance, collaborative culture that enables teams to deliver best-in-class influencer campaigns while adapting to local market nuances.
- Act as the primary escalation point for influencer-related challenges, ensuring timely resolution and alignment across stakeholders.
- Collaboration & Stakeholder Management.
- Partner closely with Media, Social, Creative, Analytics, Commerce, EPICS, PACS, Legal, Procurement, and Marketing teams to deliver integrated consumer experiences.
- Collaborate with global, regional, and local stakeholders to align influencer strategies with business objectives and brand priorities.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with agency partners, media teams, talent partners, platform providers, and senior client stakeholders.
- Lead cross-functional forums, governance meetings, and capability-building initiatives to drive alignment, innovation, and operational excellence across the Africa Operating Unit.

## Skills & Experience

- Extensive experience in influencer marketing, digital marketing, media strategy, or integrated communications.
- Strong understanding of creator ecosystems, social platforms, and influencer measurement methodologies.
- Experience managing large-scale regional or multi-market campaigns.
- Strong financial and commercial acumen.
- Excellent stakeholder management and leadership skills.
- Experience working across diverse markets and cultures.
- Proven ability to drive transformation, process improvement, and operational excellence.

Please read our [Privacy Notice](https://www.wppmedia.com/pages/privacy-policy#:~:text=WPP%20Media%20Privacy%20Notice%20for%20Recruitment) for more information on how we process the information you provide.

## About WPP Media

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: WPP Media is WPP's global media collective that combines AI, data, and creative to deliver intelligent growth for the world's leading brands.
- **Entity Type**: Division of Public Company (WPP plc – LSE: WPP, NYSE: WPP)
- **Headquarters**: New York, United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available (parent WPP plc founded 1971; WPP Media formed as a unified media collective in recent years)
- **CEO**: Brian Lesser (CEO, WPP Media)

## Core Business
- **Industry**: Advertising Services, Media Planning & Buying, Marketing Technology
- **Target Customers**: B2B and B2C enterprise brands across all sectors; global clients include major Fortune 500 companies
- **Mission or Purpose Statement**: "Intelligent growth for the AI era" – helping brands harness data, AI, and media to drive measurable outcomes.

## Products & Services
- **Open Media Studio (OMS)**: An end-to-end media delivery platform integrated with WPP Open, enabling scaled creative, production, data, commerce, and personalized media execution. (SaaS/Platform)
- **Open Intelligence**: An AI-enabled data solution that unifies fragmented data across ecosystems into predictive marketing intelligence, supporting privacy-first activation. (Data & Analytics Platform)
- **Data and Technology Consulting**: Consulting services for data strategy, technology architecture, advanced analytics, audience insight, cloud integration, and platform adoption. (Service)
- **Media Management & Delivery**: Expert activation, smart investment, strategic partnerships, and proprietary media solutions powered by AI and advanced analytics for personalized advertising at global scale. (Service)
- **Service and Strategy**: Dedicated teams offering deep sector expertise, creative strategy, and business outcomes aligned with client goals. (Service)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed separately (parent WPP plc market cap approx. £8 billion as of July 2025)
- **Key Metric**: $65 billion in managed media annually (from wppmedia.com)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: WPP is publicly traded; works with hundreds of global brands including many Fortune 500 companies. Key technology partners include major cloud and AI providers.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - 40,000+ media experts worldwide
  - 160 offices across 80+ markets
  - 1,600+ active job postings (LinkedIn, July 2025) with +8.7% monthly job growth
  - Strong investment in AI-first capabilities and privacy-forward data unification

## Competitive Advantages
- **Scale**: One of the largest media buying organizations globally, managing $65B in media.
- **AI Integration**: End-to-end platform (OMS + Open Intelligence) deeply embedded with AI for predictive analytics, automation, and personalization.
- **Integrated Ecosystem**: Unique ability to unify media, data, creative, production, and commerce under one roof.
- **Global Reach**: 40k+ experts in 80+ markets providing local insights with global execution.
- **WPP Network**: Access to 100,000+ experts across WPP's integrated agency network.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI-Driven Growth**: Embedding AI across all capabilities to deliver smarter, faster, more measurable outcomes.
- **Privacy-First Data Unification**: Building Open Intelligence as a secure, cross-ecosystem data platform that respects consumer privacy.
- **Talent Development**: Investing in AI-enabled learning frameworks and internal mobility to future-proof skills.
- **Sustainability & Inclusion**: Part of WPP's broader commitment to building better futures for people, planet, clients, and communities.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as open, optimistic, and extraordinary – with emphasis on collaboration, innovation, and challenging the status quo.
- **Growth**: AI-enabled learning framework, cross-team mobility across WPP’s global network of 100k+ experts.
- **Work Environment**: Hybrid/office-based roles across 160 offices; global opportunities in 80+ markets.
- **Perks**: Competitive compensation, performance-based rewards, access to cutting-edge AI tools, and work with leading global brands.
- **Team**: Join a collective of 40k+ media experts, data scientists, technologists, and creatives.

## Sources
1. [wppmedia.com](https://www.wppmedia.com/)
2. [WPP Media Company Info](https://www.wppmedia.com/company-info)
3. [WPP Media Careers](https://www.wppmedia.com/careers)
4. [WPP Media – What We Do](https://www.wppmedia.com/what-we-do)
5. [WPP Media LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/wpp-media)
6. [WPP Media Greenhouse Careers](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/wppmedia)

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