Group Director, Marketing Effectiveness & Intelligence
VML South Africa, Costa Mesa, CA, United States
# Group Director, Marketing Effectiveness & IntelligenceWhen you click "Submit Application", this will send any information you add below to VML. Before you do this, we think it's a good idea to read through our . California residents should read our . This explains what we do with your personal data when you apply for a role with us, and, how you can update the information you have provided us with or how to remove it.# Group Director, Marketing Effectiveness & Intelligence#### **Brand:** VML#### **Capability:** Marketing Effectiveness & Intelligence#### **Location:** Costa Mesa, CA, United States#### **Last Updated:** 3/17/2026#### **Requisition ID:** 14503### **Who We Are**VML, part of WPP, is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brands to drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and human first, award-winning work for blue chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. The agency is recognized by the Forrester Wave(TM) Reports, as a Leader among Marketing Creative and Content Service Providers, Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization. In addition, VML’s specialist health network, VML Health, is one of the world’s largest and most awarded health agencies. VML’s global network is powered by 26,000 talented people across 55+ markets, with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.**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. For more information, visit .**Who we are looking for:**We are seeking an exceptional and highly strategic **Group Director, Marketing Effectiveness & Intelligence** to lead our efforts in optimizing marketing performance and driving data-driven decision-making. This pivotal role will be deeply embedded within our client teams, acting as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to unlock the full potential of our marketing investments. The ideal candidate is a proactive self-starter with insatiable curiosity, comfortable navigating complex cross-functional environments, and possesses an extraordinary talent for transforming intricate data and insights into compelling narratives for C-Suite executives. You will be instrumental in shaping our marketing strategy by ensuring all efforts are measurable, optimized, and aligned with overarching business goals.**What You’ll Do:*** + **Strategic Partnership & Client Embedding:**
- Serve as the primary strategic partner for assigned client teams, **fully embedded within their operations** to intimately understand their business objectives, challenges, and marketing strategies from the ground up.
- Proactively identify opportunities for marketing optimization, efficiency gains, and incremental growth through rigorous data analysis and strategic insights.
- Foster strong relationships with marketing leaders and other key stakeholders within the client team, building trust and influencing strategic direction.+ **Marketing Performance Analysis & Measurement:**
- Evangelize and implement measurement hierarchy frameworks, KPIs, and attribution models to assess the effectiveness and ROI of all marketing activities across various channels (e.g., digital, traditional, content, brand).
- Utilize advanced analytical techniques and tools to deeply analyze marketing performance data, identifying trends, correlations, causal relationships, and future opportunities.
- Oversee the generation of regular performance reports, dashboards, and ad-hoc analyses, ensuring accuracy, relevance, and actionability for all levels of stakeholders.+ **Insights Generation & Narrative Development:**
- Translate complex data sets and analytical findings into clear, concise, and compelling strategic insights that drive actionable recommendations.
- **Expertly craft and deliver data and insights narratives to C-Suite executives and senior leadership**, simplifying complexity and demonstrating tangible business impact to influence critical strategic decisions, budget allocations, and long-term strategy.
- Develop visually impactful presentations and storytelling techniques that resonate with diverse audiences, from technical teams to executive boards.+ **Cross-Functional Collaboration & Leadership:**
- **Confidently collaborate and influence across diverse cross-functional teams**, including Marketing, Sales, Product, Finance, and Data Science, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making and shared accountability.
- Champion the use of marketing effectiveness insights to inform budget allocation, campaign optimization, audience targeting, and overall marketing strategy.
- Potentially mentor and guide junior team members within the ME&I department, fostering a culture of continuous learning, analytical excellence, and professional growth.+ **Innovation & Continuous Improvement:**
- Stay abreast of industry best practices, emerging technologies, and advancements in marketing analytics, measurement, and effectiveness methodologies (e.g., AI/ML applications in marketing).
- Lead initiatives to improve data quality, infrastructure, and analytical processes, ensuring scalability and reliability.
**What you'll need:**
+ Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Statistics, Economics, Data Science, or a related quantitative field. Master's degree (MBA, MS) preferred.
+ 10+ years of progressive experience in marketing analytics, marketing effectiveness, business intelligence, or a similar data-intensive role, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership or group director capacity.
+ Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing comprehensive marketing measurement frameworks, including multi-touch attribution modeling, ROI analysis, MMM (Marketing Mix Modeling), and LTV (Customer Lifetime Value) calculations.
+ **Proven ability to operate as a highly effective self-starter, taking initiative, proactively identifying problems, and driving projects independently from conception to completion with minimal oversight.**
+ Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with a strong ability to interpret complex data, identify key insights, and formulate actionable, strategic recommendations.
+ **A high degree of curiosity, a natural inclination to ask "why," and a passion for uncovering deep insights that drive significant business growth and innovation.**
+ Proficiency with advanced analytics tools and platforms (e.g., SQL, Python/R for statistical analysis, Google Analytics 4, Adobe Analytics, marketing automation platforms, CRM data like Salesforce, CDP experience).
+ Expertise in data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Looker Studio) for creating impactful, executive-level dashboards and reports.
+ **Superior communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, with a proven track record of successfully influencing, engaging, and gaining buy-in from C-Suite and senior executive stakeholders.**
+ Strong understanding of various marketing channels (digital, social, offline, email, content), their respective strategies, and measurement challenges.
**Desired Skills & Attributes:**
+ Experience in a client-facing or internal consultancy role, demonstrating exceptional stakeholder management, negotiation, and advisory skills.
+ Deep understanding of statistical modeling, machine learning concepts, and their practical #J-18808-Ljbffr
- Serve as the primary strategic partner for assigned client teams, **fully embedded within their operations** to intimately understand their business objectives, challenges, and marketing strategies from the ground up.
- Proactively identify opportunities for marketing optimization, efficiency gains, and incremental growth through rigorous data analysis and strategic insights.
- Foster strong relationships with marketing leaders and other key stakeholders within the client team, building trust and influencing strategic direction.+ **Marketing Performance Analysis & Measurement:**
- Evangelize and implement measurement hierarchy frameworks, KPIs, and attribution models to assess the effectiveness and ROI of all marketing activities across various channels (e.g., digital, traditional, content, brand).
- Utilize advanced analytical techniques and tools to deeply analyze marketing performance data, identifying trends, correlations, causal relationships, and future opportunities.
- Oversee the generation of regular performance reports, dashboards, and ad-hoc analyses, ensuring accuracy, relevance, and actionability for all levels of stakeholders.+ **Insights Generation & Narrative Development:**
- Translate complex data sets and analytical findings into clear, concise, and compelling strategic insights that drive actionable recommendations.
- **Expertly craft and deliver data and insights narratives to C-Suite executives and senior leadership**, simplifying complexity and demonstrating tangible business impact to influence critical strategic decisions, budget allocations, and long-term strategy.
- Develop visually impactful presentations and storytelling techniques that resonate with diverse audiences, from technical teams to executive boards.+ **Cross-Functional Collaboration & Leadership:**
- **Confidently collaborate and influence across diverse cross-functional teams**, including Marketing, Sales, Product, Finance, and Data Science, fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making and shared accountability.
- Champion the use of marketing effectiveness insights to inform budget allocation, campaign optimization, audience targeting, and overall marketing strategy.
- Potentially mentor and guide junior team members within the ME&I department, fostering a culture of continuous learning, analytical excellence, and professional growth.+ **Innovation & Continuous Improvement:**
- Stay abreast of industry best practices, emerging technologies, and advancements in marketing analytics, measurement, and effectiveness methodologies (e.g., AI/ML applications in marketing).
- Lead initiatives to improve data quality, infrastructure, and analytical processes, ensuring scalability and reliability.
**What you'll need:**
+ Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Statistics, Economics, Data Science, or a related quantitative field. Master's degree (MBA, MS) preferred.
+ 10+ years of progressive experience in marketing analytics, marketing effectiveness, business intelligence, or a similar data-intensive role, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership or group director capacity.
+ Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing comprehensive marketing measurement frameworks, including multi-touch attribution modeling, ROI analysis, MMM (Marketing Mix Modeling), and LTV (Customer Lifetime Value) calculations.
+ **Proven ability to operate as a highly effective self-starter, taking initiative, proactively identifying problems, and driving projects independently from conception to completion with minimal oversight.**
+ Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with a strong ability to interpret complex data, identify key insights, and formulate actionable, strategic recommendations.
+ **A high degree of curiosity, a natural inclination to ask "why," and a passion for uncovering deep insights that drive significant business growth and innovation.**
+ Proficiency with advanced analytics tools and platforms (e.g., SQL, Python/R for statistical analysis, Google Analytics 4, Adobe Analytics, marketing automation platforms, CRM data like Salesforce, CDP experience).
+ Expertise in data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Looker Studio) for creating impactful, executive-level dashboards and reports.
+ **Superior communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, with a proven track record of successfully influencing, engaging, and gaining buy-in from C-Suite and senior executive stakeholders.**
+ Strong understanding of various marketing channels (digital, social, offline, email, content), their respective strategies, and measurement challenges.
**Desired Skills & Attributes:**
+ Experience in a client-facing or internal consultancy role, demonstrating exceptional stakeholder management, negotiation, and advisory skills.
+ Deep understanding of statistical modeling, machine learning concepts, and their practical #J-18808-Ljbffr