Senior People Partner

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 work with the world's most valuable brands 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.

Why we’re hiring

WPP is seeking a versatile and highly capable Senior People Partner to join our Corporate People Team and based in New York. This role will serve as a trusted right hand to the VP, People, North America while providing dedicated People partnership to assigned global functions, likely including Finance and People subfunctions. We are a company and a function driving critical simplification and modernization. Agility and judgement has never been more important in our work – and that is our global team mindset.

The Senior People Partner will support the employee experience for more than 600 WPP HQ employees in the US. This includes coordinating annual People core process cycles, overseeing hiring and onboarding activities, responding to employee and leader needs, and serving as a point of escalation for our global team of HR Business Partners on US-centric matters.

This is a hands-on role for someone who can move easily between strategic, operational, and administrative work as a key member of a global HRBP team. One day may involve helping a leader navigate a sensitive employee matter; the next may include coordinating a hiring exception, validating Workday data, updating an orientation presentation, or drafting communications for the annual compensation cycle.

The right person will bring strong judgment, discretion, warmth, resourcefulness, and exceptional follow-through. They will be comfortable with ambiguity, energized by change, and motivated to find practical solutions to whatever comes their way.

What you’ll do

People partnership and US support

Serve as the People Partner for assigned global corporate functions, building trusted relationships with senior leaders and employees in New York and other locations. The portfolio may evolve as business needs change.

Develop an understanding of each HQ function’s business priorities, organizational structure, talent, and ways of working.

Advise leaders on day-to-day People matters, including organizational changes, workforce planning, performance management, employee engagement, and team effectiveness.

Serve as a trusted right hand to the VP, People, helping translate priorities into action and ensuring decisions and commitments are carried through.

Help support the broader experience of WPP’s 600+ HQ employees in the US.

Act as a point of escalation for HR Business Partners on US-centric People matters, resolving issues within the role’s scope and escalating to the VP, People when appropriate.

Partner closely with Finance, Legal, Employee Relations, and other specialist teams on sensitive or higher-risk matters.

Help oversee and support WPP’s US Executive Assistant population, including hiring, onboarding, performance, development, and employee experience needs.

Annual People cycles and communications

Coordinate annual People processes, including goal setting, performance reviews, salary and bonus planning, stock planning, and related talent activities.

Develop project plans, timelines, trackers, presentations, FAQs, manager resources, and other materials needed to execute these programs successfully.

Create and implement communication plans that help leaders and employees understand process requirements, deadlines, and available resources.

Draft clear employee communications, leader guidance, talking points, presentations, and follow-up messages.

Monitor participation and completion, follow up with leaders and employees, troubleshoot issues, and escalate risks where needed.

Coordinate with People Centers of Expertise (COEs), Global Business Services (GBS), Finance and other stakeholders to ensure decisions and employee changes are processed accurately and on time.

Hiring, onboarding, and employee support

Serve as the primary People point of contact for hiring within assigned Finance and People functions.

Act as the day-to-day liaison among Finance and/or People leaders, Talent Acquisition, GBS, and other stakeholders, maintaining momentum and resolving bottlenecks.

Manage the hiring exception approval process, including gathering information, coordinating approvals, maintaining trackers, communicating decisions, and following requests through completion.

Facilitate new-hire orientation and partner with managers to create effective onboarding plans.

Coordinate with GBS on onboarding workflows, Workday steps, documentation, and employee data, monitoring execution and resolving issues that could affect the new-hire experience.

Maintain and update orientation presentations, onboarding materials, and manager resources.

Serve as an accessible and trusted contact for employees, helping them navigate People policies, benefits, systems, and resources and connecting them with the appropriate specialist when needed.

Act as an authentic champion of WPP’s culture, helping employees feel welcomed, informed, and supported.

Operational oversight, data, and process improvement

Partner closely with the offshore Global Business Services (GBS) HR Operations team, which executes Workday transactions, onboarding workflows, employee lifecycle administration, and other recurring People activities.

Provide GBS with clear requirements, context, priorities, and deadlines; monitor progress and review work for accuracy and completeness.

Manage cross-team handoffs, address service gaps, and resolve or escalate delays and other delivery issues.

Remain accountable for the quality and timeliness of the employee and leader experience, even when administrative execution sits with GBS.

Navigate Workday to review, validate, and reconcile employee information and confirm that required transactions are completed accurately.

Respond to employee and leader data requests and use Excel to organize, reconcile, manipulate, analyze, and summarize employee data.

Create useful reports, trackers, presentations, and insights to support People processes and business decisions.

Identify inefficient or unclear processes and develop practical workflows, documentation, templates, and tools to improve them.

Bring structure and momentum to ambiguous assignments, clarify ownership, remove roadblocks, and drive work through completion.

Explore how technology, automation, and AI can improve People-team efficiency, data analysis, communications, and service delivery.

What you’ll bring

At least eight years of progressive experience in Human Resources, People Operations, HR business partnering, or a related People function.

Broad HR experience and the judgment to move confidently between employee support, leader advising, operational execution, detailed administration, and strategic problem-solving.

Experience supporting employees and leaders in a complex, fast-moving, and preferably global or matrixed organization.

Experience coordinating annual People processes such as performance reviews, goal setting, compensation planning, and talent activities.

Experience partnering with Talent Acquisition and managing hiring workflows, approvals, and stakeholder follow-up.

Experience overseeing HR operational