Head of Production & Technology

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.
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.
This role provides strategic leadership, oversight, and direction for second line assurance across WPP's technology applications, ensuring operational controls are designed and operating effectively, supported by complete and accurate evidence.
You will lead and develop a team of Senior Analysts and Analysts who deliver structured assurance over a diverse application landscape, detecting noncompliance early, driving remediation, and strengthening first line ownership of controls.
The role ensures alignment with the wider Technology Risk & Controls strategy, provides risk based insights to leadership, and supports readiness for broader third line reviews, even where applications sit outside SOX scope.
Own the second line assurance strategy for Technology applications and Infrastructure, setting clear expectations for testing, evidence standards, and issue escalation.
Prioritise assurance activity based on risk, impact, and known areas of weakness.
Lead, coach, and develop 2nd line assurance teams to deliver control testing and evidence evaluation.
Build capability in judgement led assurance, risk assessment, evidence review, and issue analysis.
Promote a high-performance culture anchored in clarity, consistency, and early risk detection.
Oversee assurance across key technology controls, including user access, configuration management, data integrity, change management, interface controls, and operational procedures.
Early Risk Identification & Remediation Leadership
Ensure non-compliance, gaps, and emerging risks are detected early and escalated proportionately.
Maintain transparent oversight of risk trends, open issues, and remediation progress.
Reinforce the expectation that first line teams own control operation, documentation, and narrative.
Assurance Reporting & Risk Insight
Deliver succinct, insight driven reporting to Technology Leadership and senior stakeholders.
Support risk governance forums, providing an accurate view of application control health.
Align with Internal Audit on known risk areas, recurring themes, and documentation expectations.
Present a consistent assurance narrative aligned with WPP's overall risk and controls strategy.
Experience in audit coordination, IT audit, technology risk, or program management.
Understanding of SOX IT controls, audit processes, or technology governance.
Certifications such as CISA, CRISC, ITIL, or equivalent are beneficial.
Skills / Experience Requirements:
Ability to lead multilevel assurance teams and ensure consistent high-quality execution.
Strong judgement and scepticism in assessing evidence, control strength, and rationale quality.
Excellent communication skills—able to translate technology risks into clear business impact.
Experience managing assurance across diverse application environments.
Ability to influence, challenge constructively, and collaborate across global technology teams.
We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.
Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. 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.
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.