VP Development

About the role

We’re looking for a VP, Development, Prototyping & Innovation to lead the technical capability that turns ideas, research and emerging technologies into validated prototypes, reusable technical assets and scalable solutions across Open Intelligence Solutions (OIS).

This is a newly defined leadership role sitting at the intersection of R&D, product, engineering and emerging technology. You’ll help determine which ideas are worth pursuing, prove their technical and commercial viability, and establish the engineering foundations needed to take successful concepts towards production.

You’ll be the bridge between research and delivery — ensuring that innovation moves quickly without compromising on technical quality, security, governance, architecture or scalability.

A significant part of the role will involve emerging AI technologies, including AI applications, agentic systems, AI orchestration and MCP tooling, alongside cloud-native development, MLOps and platform integration.

What you’ll do

Lead development, prototyping and innovation

• Own the development and prototyping capability for Open Intelligence Solutions.
• Turn strategic concepts, client opportunities, research outputs and emerging technologies into demonstrable prototypes and reusable technical assets.
• Work closely with R&D, Product and Engineering to assess technical feasibility and identify the fastest viable route from idea to validated solution.
• Establish frameworks for prioritising, building and evaluating experiments, proofs of concept and technical spikes.
• Create clear governance around the transition from prototype → pilot → production.
• Ensure prototypes demonstrate genuine business value before being positioned as scalable solutions.

Shape engineering standards and architecture

• Define engineering standards, reference architectures, code governance and reusable development patterns across OIS.
• Raise standards around quality, maintainability, security and consistency across prototypes and technical accelerators.
• Lead the architecture of solutions integrating with WPP Open, data platforms, APIs and enterprise technology environments.
• Work with Product, Enterprise Technology and Data Product teams to determine what should remain standalone, what should integrate into existing platforms and what should transition into formal product roadmaps.
• Ensure technical assets can ultimately be governed, supported and scaled across the WPP network.

Drive AI and technical innovation

• Provide technical leadership for AI application development and agentic systems.
• Establish practical implementation patterns for AI orchestration frameworks and MCP tooling.
• Help teams experiment rapidly with AI-enabled capabilities while maintaining appropriate standards around architecture, security, data governance and operational readiness.
• Develop reusable approaches to MLOps, deployment automation and cloud-native development.
• Reduce the friction between prototype and production by creating repeatable technical patterns, tools and processes.

Build and lead technical capability

• Lead and develop a team of senior engineers, applied AI engineers and innovation specialists.
• Build a culture that combines high-quality engineering with fast learning, responsible experimentation and pragmatic delivery.
• Develop reusable templates, toolkits, standards and guidance that allow teams across OIS to build on successful prototypes without relying on a single technical owner.
• Enable domain, product and delivery teams to adopt engineering standards while maintaining appropriate governance over architecture and production readiness.
• Collaborate with engineers and specialists across software architecture, AI application development, rapid prototyping, API and platform integration, MLOps and product engineering.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for an experienced technology leader who is comfortable operating where innovation meets engineering — someone who can move quickly from an emerging idea to a working prototype, while understanding what is required to make it production-ready.

You’ll bring:

• Significant experience leading software engineering, technical innovation, R&D or applied technology teams.
• A strong track record of taking concepts, prototypes or emerging technologies through to production or scalable implementation.
• Strong software architecture and engineering expertise, with experience establishing standards and reusable technical patterns.
• Experience working across prototyping, platform integration, cloud-native development and technical delivery.
• Strong understanding of modern AI application development, ideally including agentic systems, AI orchestration, MCP or similar emerging technologies.
• Experience with MLOps, deployment automation and modern engineering practices.
• The ability to assess technical feasibility quickly and make pragmatic decisions about where to invest engineering effort.
• Experience partnering with Product, R&D, Enterprise Technology and senior engineering stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of security, data governance and enterprise architecture considerations when taking experimental technology towards production.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• A passion for emerging technology and a pragmatic mindset — knowing when to experiment, when to iterate and when to stop.

Who you are:

You're open: We are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are open-minded: to new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working.

You're optimistic: We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We approach all that we do with conviction: to try the new and to seek the unexpected.

You're extraordinary: we are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.

What we'll give you:

Passionate, inspired people – We aim to create a culture in which people can do extraordinary work.

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. Are you up for the challenge?

#LI-Hybrid