Associate Director, Pitch

About the Role:

As an Associate Director, Growth, you will play a pivotal role in facilitating the end-to-end pitch process for Tier 2 & 3 pitches, while providing essential support for Tier 1 engagements. You will be instrumental in driving project timelines, managing deliverables, and ensuring the development of compelling, insight-led narratives. This position requires strong leadership in coordinating cross-functional teams, mentoring junior members, and maintaining the highest standards of quality in all client outputs. You will contribute to process optimization and foster WPP Media’s growth culture, ultimately helping to build robust client relationships and secure new business.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Facilitate the End-to-End Pitch Process for Tier 2 & 3 Pitches:

• Serve as Driver or leader: keep teams on deadline, build project plans and timelines, enforce deadlines, and communicate roadblocks to leadership.
• Support in establishing and defining key workstreams and owners for all pitch phases.
• Serve as liaison with pitch teams and designers.
• Assist in managing and delivering on objectives of the overall pitch vision.
• Review or pull all first-round answers for RFI / RFP written responses (depending on pitch tier).
• Build thorough, accurate, and well-organized Backgrounders that cover the 5Cs — Company, Culture, Category, Consumer, and Communications — plus Client Bios.
• Request, gather, research, and analyze client intelligence data (from Internet, Info. Center, Ad Views, Ad database, the List, etc.).
• Leverage AI tools for compelling insights.

2. Support Tier 1 Pitches:

• Partner with pitch business leads to ensure they have what they need for workstreams.
• Provide direction to Growth support team members.
• Curate RD1 draft content responses to agency credentials, operating models, etc., from our library and from subject matter experts (SMEs), customizing for each opportunity.

3. Help Drive a Tailored, Compelling Pitch Narrative:

• Read and understand content and case studies that contribute to the overall pitch narrative.
• Tailor messaging to address client needs, market context, and competitive dynamics.
• Ensure the narrative is insight-led and reflects the best of WPP Media’s capabilities.
• Assist with concept development and execution of pitch theater to deliver compelling pitch experiences that support our strategic narrative.

4. Integrate Teams Across the Organization:

• Establish points of alignment between disciplines across workstreams.
• Provide ongoing, proactive communication to all pitch team members.
• Review Growth support's draft for end-of-day, end-of-week status recaps for pitch team to ensure accuracy and clarity of communication.
• Build relationships with WPP IAT growth managers and associates to coordinate integrated meetings, ensuring appropriate IAT team leads are included in relevant meetings.

5. Manage Junior Level Team Members:

• Reinforce day-to-day priorities and engage junior team members supporting each pitch.
• Ensure their output is executed flawlessly (e.g., review work prior to distribution to pitch teams to ensure accuracy and thoroughness, meeting notes accurately capture the discussion, next steps, and owners are clearly included).
• Confirm correct team members are invited to pitches.
• Serve as a role model for Managers, Senior Associates, and Associates, demonstrating best practices and a high-performance mindset.
• Reinforce a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

6. Contribute Feedback and Observations to Optimize Processes:

• Share learnings, recommendations, observations, and identification of new resources/vendors from pitch process to inform future pitches and drive efficiencies with other growth team members.
• Ensure that final pitch files are saved into the Growth Hub, and that copies of key sections are extracted and saved for future responses.
• Be a content champion and direct other Growth Team members to “best of” pieces of work including written responses, case studies, and credentials.

7. Create Flawless, High-Impact Client Outputs:

• Support in creating deliverables that are compelling, differentiated, and on-brand.
• Understand and maintain the expectations of high standards of quality and customization of work outputs for “What Great Work Looks Like” (as defined by agency leadership), leveraging WPP Open OMS, OI, AI, and DPAM:
• Clear source of growth with quantified growth approach.
• Sophisticated audience strategy tied to audience insights.
• Impactful strategy with fresh POV.
• Rigorous media plan with clear plan parameters, principles, and omnichannel recommendations.
• Flawless activation tightly connected to business outcomes and strategy.
• Connected measurement plan holistic plan directly linked to business outcomes and strategy.
• Breakthrough and original content idea and media innovation.
• Leverage AI tools for compelling insights, base content, and improving written responses for review.

8. Manage Multiple Priorities:

• Associate Directors may be involved in multiple pitch efforts with each potentially at different stages.
• Communicate with oversight managers on workload and bandwidth issues to help maintain all workstreams.
• Maintain composure and clarity under pressure, meeting and juggling deadlines without sacrificing quality.
• Flag any resourcing issues and roadblocks from teams to pitch oversight manager to allow leadership to triage and course-correct.
• Be comfortable and adept at joining pitches at any stage — assessing needs and proactively addressing gaps with pitch leads and oversight managers, establishing trust with pitch team as a competent partner, and adding value to outputs.

9. Champion Our Growth Culture:

• Model our pitch principles in every engagement: growth obsession, respectful challenge, trailblazing thinking, collaboration, and accountability.
• Support leadership in creating an enjoyable, energizing experience for all pitch participants for Tier 2 & 3 pitches and reinforce efforts from leadership to create the same for Tier 1.
• Maintain a “glass half-full” high-performance mindset, even in high-pressure situations.

10. Support Global Collaboration:

• Support Group Directors and Directors on global new business pitches and provide connectivity to Global Growth colleagues during active pitches with open communication and updates.
• Partner with leadership to ensure local market nuances are represented in pitch content.