Manager, Pitch

About the Role: As a Manager, Growth within the Pitch Engine, you will work collaboratively with growth leadership and pitch teams (as well as WPP partner agencies) to manage, assist, and coordinate WPP Media's new business pitches and initiatives, aiming for a higher degree of autonomy from the Senior Associate role. This role involves significant contributions to the development and execution of questionnaire responses and pitch presentations. You will own logistics for pitch meetings, coordinate internal and external resources, and build comprehensive Company Backgrounders. You will lead internal pitch prep meetings, manage multiple workstreams, and mentor junior team members. You will also actively contribute to the Pitch Engine's continuous feedback, coaching, and career development planning.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Coordinate End-to-End Pitch Process:

• Lead some internal pitch prep meetings, setting agendas and guiding the team through check-ins.
• Support deck development by developing, coordinating, and executing new business material (credentials decks, team bios, videos).
• Research, write, update/edit, and proofread case studies and employee/client bios.
• Serve as liaison with pitch teams and designers.
• Own the pitch deck during final preparations, including tracking changes, tagging owners, and ensuring edits are completed prior to next round meetings.
• Communicate to pitch teams with end-of-day or end-of-week recaps that track status of all pitch deliverables.
• Pull first-round answers for RFI/RFP written responses.
• Set teams up for success with thorough, accurate, and well-organized Company Backgrounders (covering 5Cs: Company, Culture, Category, Consumer, Communications, plus Client Bios).
• Request, gather, research, and analyze client intelligence data. Leverage AI tools for compelling insights and proactively find new reliable sources.
• Provide timely and accurate recaps of pitch team members with clear owners and timing for next steps, and follow up to ensure timely completion.
• Coordinate and manage pitch rooms, including internal work sessions for IT, AV, catering, and pitch theater setup.

2. Execute on Leadership's Vision for a Tailored, Compelling Pitch Narrative:

• Read and understand content and case studies that contribute to the overall pitch narrative.
• Set Google News notifications for ongoing client news and post weekly recaps to Teams Channel.
• Proactively support teams with ongoing company news and intelligence.
• Assist with concept development and execution of pitch theater to deliver compelling pitch experiences that support the strategic narrative.

3. Integrate Teams Across the Organization:

• Establish points of alignment between disciplines across workstreams.
• Drive the process with cross-functional teams, pitch leads, and SMEs.
• Serve as point of contact for troubleshooting and facilitating information.
• Provide ongoing, proactive communication to all pitch team members and review Growth support's draft recaps.
• Build relationships with leadership Executive Assistants, facilities, and WPP IAT growth managers and associates for integrated meetings.

4. Collaborate with and Serve as Role Model to Junior Level Team Members:

• Serve as a role model for Senior Associates and Associates, demonstrating best practices and a high-performance mindset.
• Actively contribute to the culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

5. Contribute Feedback and Observations to Optimize Processes:

• Share learnings, recommendations, and observations from the pitch process to inform future pitches and drive efficiencies.
• Ensure final pitch files are saved into the Growth Hub, and key sections are extracted for future responses.
• Be a content champion and direct other Growth Team members to "best of" pieces of work.

6. Create Flawless, High-Impact Client Outputs:

• Support team development of all deliverables.
• Understand "What Great Work Looks Like" standards leveraging WPP Open OMS, OI, AI, and DPAM.
• Support clear, quantified growth approaches and sophisticated audience strategies.
• Assist with impactful strategies, rigorous media plans, and flawless activation.
• Contribute to connected measurement plans and breakthrough content ideas.
• Leverage AI tools for compelling insights and improved written responses.

7. Manage Multiple Projects:

• Manage involvement in multiple pitch efforts at different stages.
• Communicate with oversight managers on workload and bandwidth issues.
• Seek additional educational resources and thought leadership to expand understanding of best practices.

8. Champion Our Growth Culture:

• Model WPP Media's pitch principles (growth obsession, respectful challenge, trailblazing thinking, collaboration, and accountability).
• Support efforts to create a positive pitch experience for all pitch participants.
• Maintain a "glass half-full" high-performance mindset.

How This Role Connects to the Growth Team Mission & Purpose: In this role, you will contribute to the Growth Team's mission by cultivating winning and audacious teams through effective coordination, leadership of internal meetings, and mentoring of junior talent. You will architect bold and breakthrough solutions by supporting the development of compelling pitch narratives and ensuring every deliverable meets the highest standards of quality. You will engineer a repeatable pitch-winning system by maintaining rigorous processes, capturing best practices, and leveraging AI tools to enhance efficiency and insight. You will build early and enduring client relationships by ensuring every pitch interaction is flawlessly executed, on-brand, and strategically aligned to client needs.