VML 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 award-winning human-first work for clients including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. In 2026, VML was named Campaign's Global Network of the Year and ranked #2 Creative Network of the Year at Cannes Lions. VML's global network spans 55+ markets with principal offices in Buenos Aires, Kansas City, London, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore.
VML is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel.
For more information, please visit www.vml.com and follow along on LinkedIn #WeAreVML.
We are on the hunt for a visionary and accomplished Senior Business Consultant to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our Consultancy solutions . This is not merely a high profile role; it's an opportunity to act as a trusted leader and mentor, guiding both our clients and our internal team towards unprecedented success. Your deep industry expertise and collaborative leadership style will be instrumental in driving impactful business outcomes, while your commitment to our people-first approach will be essential in fostering a culture of empowerment, growth, and continuous improvement within the Consultancy team and across the entire Business Services department.
Please note this is a 12 month FTC
London/Manchester - Hybrid
Other core elements of this role will be:
- Leading teams of cross functional skill sets to work together to create coherent answers to client questions, through high-quality outputs
- Passionate about understanding and solving complex problems for our clients within an ever-changing digital landscape
- Listening to client challenges and using client knowledge to spot opportunities for other ways we can help the client outside of the core engagement
Using advance communication skills to unpick client problems rapidly, getting to the core of how we can support, often in situations that lack clarity
You will have a strong consultancy background or acted as a Senior Business Leader with in-depth specialist sector knowledge across a minimum of 1-2 areas (ideal sectors include retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, automotive)
Key responsibilities:
- Client Engagement & Relationship Management:
- Lead cross-functional engagements, serving as the primary point of contact for senior client stakeholders in some of our largest clients.
- Build and nurture strong, trusted relationships with clients, understanding their business challenges and objectives.
- Proactively identify and pursue opportunities to expand existing client relationships and generate new business.
- Team Leadership & Development:
- Lead, mentor, and coach the more junior consultants, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment.
- Inspire and empower team members to take ownership, develop their skills, and reach their full potential.
- Promote knowledge sharing and best practices across the team and wider organization.
- Strategic Consulting & Solution Delivery:
- Leverage your expertise in e-Commerce and specialist sector knowledge (e.g., retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, automotive) to provide strategic guidance and solutions to clients.
- Confident communicator who can articulately ask questions and actively listen in order to get to the core of the client problem
- Being comfortable with 'grey', bringing clarity to ambiguous situations and utilising your advanced problem-solving capability to quickly analyse complex business problems and independently overcome obstacles. A lateral thinking who is able to step back to assess the client ask from a broader perspective
- Conduct thorough business analysis, identifying pain points, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
- A deep understanding of technologies that form a part of digital ecosystems, such as ecommerce platforms like Salesforce Commerce Cloud, CMS, PIM etc. as well as software delivery methodology including agile
- Develop and present compelling proposals, roadmaps, and presentations that clearly articulate value propositions and solutions.
- Support the delivery function with business insights to help keep the business & team focussed on outcomes
- Continuous Improvement & Innovation:
- Proactively identify and implement process improvements to enhance team efficiency, output quality, and client satisfaction.
- Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices, incorporating relevant learnings into your work.
- Contribute to the development and refinement of internal methodologies, frameworks, and tools.
- Extensive experience in management or consultancy roles within the e-Commerce domain.
- In-depth specialist sector knowledge in at least 1-2 areas, ideally including retail, FMCG/CPG, B2B, or automotive.
- Strong understanding of digital ecosystems and technologies, including e-commerce platforms, CMS, PIM, and agile software delivery methodologies.
- Proven leadership skills with the ability to effectively lead and motivate cross-functional teams.
- Exceptional relationship-building and networking skills, with a knack for building rapport with senior stakeholders.
- Advanced problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse complex business problems, think laterally, and develop creative solutions.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and concisely to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Passion for client success and a commitment to exceeding expectations.
- Willingness to travel to client sites within the UK and potentially within the EU.
Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we'll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We'll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.
Permanent only:
We offer a great benefits package including a discretionary bonus scheme, training opportunities, competitive pension, medical insurance, life assurance, social events, opportunities to buy and sell holidays, family friendly policies, discounts with hundreds of retailers and much more.
Our culture thrives on our core values, designed for impact-driven individuals: Heart, Brains and Courage.
We lead with Heart, fostering empathy and trust where genuine connections and human-centric work flourish.
We empower your Brains for innovation, valuing relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence to solve complex challenges.
And we champion Courage, inspiring you to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions that push our thinking to be better than yesterday.
#LI-EMEA
We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we've adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office an average of four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
WPP (VML) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
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