Manager, Emerging Talent Programs

About WPP Media

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. With exceptional talent, trusted data and intelligence, and world-class partnerships – all united by our pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity, and deliver transformational growth.

WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

For more information, visit wppmedia.com .

About WPP Media

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. Utilizing exceptional talent, trusted data, and world-class partnerships—all united by our pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open—we help clients navigate change and deliver transformational growth.

WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalization at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, we ensure clients see exactly how and why their media investment is working. For more information, visit  wppmedia.com .

Role Summary

WPP Media is committed to cultivating future industry leaders through our award-winning  Launch Pad Program  (our associate cohort experience) and our comprehensive  Internship Program .

The  Manager, Emerging Talent Programs  is a collaborative role responsible for the end-to-end strategy, execution, and management of both the summer internship and cohort-based associate hiring programs. This role drives the recruitment, operational, and programmatic strategies needed to attract, hire, and retain high-performing, diverse, and non-traditional early career talent. Managing a Recruitment Coordinator, the Manager serves as a key organizational liaison to ensure WPP Media remains a premier destination for emerging talent.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership Team Management

Campus Sourcing Strategy: Develop and execute a data-driven US campus recruiting and early talent strategy aligned with WPP Media’s vision, culture, and inclusion and impact initiatives.

Team Leadership: Manage, coach, and develop a Recruitment Coordinator and junior team members on full-cycle recruiting and day-to-day operations.

Onboarding Training: Onboard and train new Emerging Talent recruiters on recruitment processes, ATS workflows, and ongoing professional development.

Financial Management: Co-manage the campus recruiting budget and evaluate the ROI of all sourcing and programming initiatives.

Program Management Operations (Launch Pad Internships)

End-to-End Execution: Oversee the planning, scheduling, and execution of the annual program calendar, including full-time Summer Internships, part-time internships (as offered), and Launch Pad associate cohorts.

Cohort Administration: Manage operational logistics for each cohort, including data reporting, meeting recaps, and partnership with TA and People Ops to meet offer letter, NHA, and provisioning deadlines.

Continuous Improvement: Partner with the Learning Effectiveness (L E) team to establish continuous program assessments. Lead post-program reviews and annual competitor analyses to optimize future cohorts.

Performance Transitions: Coordinate goal-setting, evaluations, and career conversations with Interns. Partner with hiring managers and Resource Management to transition high-performing interns into permanent roles or alumni networks.

Sourcing, Recruitment Candidate Experience

Full-Cycle Recruitment: Manage a balanced, reduced requisition load, ensuring a high-touch, structured, and positive candidate experience.

Diversity Pipelines: Analyze and report on candidate demographics to ensure diverse, non-traditional talent pools are actively represented.

Employer Branding: Partner with MarComms to design and deliver compelling employer branding materials via Handshake, social media, and campus marketing campaigns.

Programming, Event Planning Campus Relations

University Partnerships: Build and maintain strategic relationships with target universities, career centers, student groups, and national diversity-focused organizations.

Event Execution: Plan and execute virtual and in-person campus events, including information sessions, career fairs, and workshops in collaboration with the Emerging Talent team.

Alumni Engagement: Design and implement structured engagement and alumni initiatives (e.g., mentorship, networking events) to foster long-term connections.

Stakeholder Engagement Collaboration

Cross-Functional Collaboration:  Partner with Resource Management, L E, and People teams to align program outcomes with business talent needs.

Operational Liaison: Serve as the primary point of contact for Interns, hiring managers, people partners, and other business stakeholders to resolv…