Location: Sydney, Australia

Reporting to: Regional Chief People Officer, WPP Media and APAC Chief People Officer, WPP Creative

ABOUT WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands.

We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth.

We have been building the world's most valuable brands for 50 years and have global reach across 100+ markets, with deep local expertise.

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.

For more information, visit WPP.com.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The role is a key member of the WPP ANZ Leadership Team and Executive Committee, accountable for shaping and delivering a high‑impact People & Culture strategy across WPP’s Creative, Media, Production, and Enterprise Solutions businesses. Acting as a senior, hands‑on partner to the Market CEO and operating unit leaders, the CPO drives people transformation to enable evolving operating models, unified ways of working, and the integration of AI across the WPP ANZ ecosystem. Operating within a global people model, the role delivers impact through leading and enabling a team of HRBPs and optimising the use of shared services and global centres of excellence, translating global and regional strategies into tangible market‑level outcomes across talent, culture, and organisational health.

The Job in a Nutshell

• Partner closely with the ANZ CEO to build a high‑performance, world‑class WPP ANZ culture.
• Embed clear accountability so every employee understands their KPIs and contribution to growth and excellence.
• Foster a winning culture where ownership is shared, performance is measured, and failure is used as a learning lever.
• Help senior employees become comfortable with the idea of a base salary supplemented by a clear incentive model that encourages collaboration in order to win together.

Your Impact

• Lift client outcomes by ensuring the right talent and leadership are deployed where they matter most.
• Accelerate readiness for priority accounts and growth initiatives through rapid, high‑quality team mobilisation.
• Strengthen succession and leadership depth for critical roles across the market.
• Embed inclusive, high‑performance ways of working that improve engagement, retention, and effectiveness.
• Provide a clear talent story and insight at the market leadership table, turning complex signals into confident, commercially astute, data-informed decisions for the entire WPP market.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic People Leadership

• Lead the People & Culture agenda for WPP ANZ, aligned to global and regional priorities, with clear execution and measurable outcomes
• Act as the principal People advisor to the ANZ CEO and business leaders, shaping decisions on organisation design, capability and transformation
• Translate global strategy into market action, adapting to local business needs while maintaining alignment
• Represent the People function at the leadership table and provide regular ExCo updates on priorities, progress and risk

Talent Strategy and Workforce Planning

• Lead a client-focused talent strategy that supports business performance, growth and scalable talent deployment
• Own workforce planning across the market, aligning talent supply with demand for priority clients, new business and transformation
• Partner with Finance and leadership to manage people investment and workforce cost effectiveness

Talent Architecture and Succession

• Define talent architecture for critical roles and capabilities across the market
• Drive succession planning, leadership pipeline development, mobility and retention to strengthen long-term organisational resilience

Culture, Performance and Transformation

• Lead the people agenda for the evolving operating model, including AI integration, digital upskilling and new ways of working
• Drive organisational and cultural transformation, embedding agile, collaborative and high-performance behaviours
• Use engagement, performance and talent data to inform decisions and continuous improvement

Collaboration and HR Capability

• Build strong partnerships across business leadership, HR Business Partners, regional teams and centres of excellence to align priorities and deliver outcomes
• Lead and develop HR Business Partners, coaching leaders and teams to deliver commercially focused, high-impact people solutions
• Present a clear talent narrative and actionable insights to senior stakeholders

LEADERSHIP, STRUCTURE AND REPORTING

• Member of the WPP ANZ Leadership Team and Executive Committee
• Leads HR Business Partners aligned to WPP operating units and brands in ANZ
• Operates within a matrixed global People function in partnership with shared services and centres of excellence
• Dual reporting line to the Regional CPO, WPP Media and APAC CPO, WPP Creative

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES

• Significant senior HR leadership experience in a complex, matrixed, multi-business environment
• Track record of leading organisational transformation through a federated HR model using shared services and centres of excellence
• Strong expertise in talent strategy, workforce planning and organisational design
• Experience partnering with senior executives, including a market CEO, to shape business strategy through people
• Strong understanding of creative, media, production and professional services environments
• Strong analytical judgement, with the ability to turn data into clear business action
• Highly credible and effective in influencing across multiple stakeholders, priorities and businesses

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Strategic, hands-on and outcome-focused
• Credible and impactful with senior leaders
• Collaborative and effective in complex, matrixed environments
• Resilient, adaptable and energised by transformation
• Passionate about building high-performing, inclusive organisations
• Comfortable leading workforce transformation and building an adaptive, future-ready talent base