Partner – Category Intelligence and Strategy Full Time NEW

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 creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com.

WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com

At WPP Media, We Believe In The Power Of Our Culture And Our People. It’s What Elevates Us To Deliver Exceptional Experiences For Both Our Clients And Each Other. In This Role It Will Be Critical To Embrace WPP & WPP Media’s Shared Core Values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.

About Mindshare : A Leading WPP Media Brand,

Mindshare delivers Good Growth for its clients. As “Growth Architects,” we drive growth that benefits all stakeholders — better for people, planet, and business — by using media with intention. This approach creates more meaningful connections with consumers, increases consumer trust in the brand, and delivers better outcomes for all stakeholders.

Role Summary And Impact

Reporting of the Role

This role reports to: Head — Strategy & Intelligence

3 Best Things About The Job

• Category depth with business breadth – You own one category completely – its media landscape, its competitive dynamics, its consumer and cultural context. But you never lose sight of the business. Everything connects back to growth.
• Senior work from day one – This is a client-facing strategic leadership role. You will be in senior conversations, leading strategic recommendations and influencing how some of India’s most iconic brands invest in media.
• A strategy practice – You will be joining a team that is reimagining what media strategy looks like – integrating AI, data intelligence and cultural thinking into a practice that goes well beyond traditional media planning.

In This Role, Your Goals Will Be

In 3 months: Develop deep working knowledge of your assigned category – brands, competitive landscape, consumer context and media history. Build relationships with key internal and client stakeholders. Begin owning deliverables and contributing meaningfully to strategic discussions.

In 6 months: Independently lead strategic presentations and recommendations for your category. Become the internal authority on category intelligence. Be proactively bringing insights and opportunities to client teams rather than only responding to briefs.

In 12 months: Own the strategic agenda for your category. Lead major client reviews independently. Have measurably elevated the quality and ambition of strategic thinking for the portfolio. Be seen by clients as an indispensable strategic partner.

Skills And Experience

Key Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Intelligence Lead the strategic intelligence agenda for your assigned category – synthesising competitive media activity, consumer behaviour, cultural trends and business dynamics into clear, actionable strategic narratives for client and internal teams.

Client Partnership & Senior Stakeholder Engagement Build deep, trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders across brand and media. Drive strategic discussions that connect media investment to brand equity and business outcomes – going beyond campaign execution to category growth thinking.

Media Strategy Leadership Develop and own the media strategy for your category portfolio – grounded in planning rigour, informed by data and connected to the broader business agenda. Ensure strategy translates consistently from brief to plan to outcome.

Competitive & Consumer Intelligence Maintain a current and nuanced understanding of the competitive media landscape, consumer media behaviour and emerging cultural trends. Translate these into timely, actionable recommendations that give the brand a strategic edge.

Data & Insights Build bespoke strategic analyses, deep-dive studies and intelligence frameworks using media data, consumer research tools and secondary sources. Turn complex data into clear points of view.

Thought Leadership & Collaboration Partner with Central planning, data and activation teams to ensure strategic intent is reflected at every stage of the media investment cycle. Contribute to agency thought leadership and category best practice.

What Your Day Job Looks Like

• Monitoring competitive activity, consumer signals and cultural trends to identify strategic opportunities and risks for your category brands.
• Building and presenting strategic analyses and recommendations for client brand and planning reviews – connecting media thinking to business outcomes.
• Working with planning and data teams to ensure category strategy is reflected accurately in media plans and measurement frameworks.
• Scanning secondary research, social listening tools and consumer survey platforms to build and update category intelligence.
• Adding strategic nuances to CCBT, MOC and AOP discussions – developing the category point of view that shapes investment decisions.
• Collaborating with Central strategy and intelligence teams to build category-specific frameworks, tools and best practices.

What You Will Need

Must Have

• 10–14 years of experience in media strategy, with a strong foundation of must-have 3–6 years in core media planning at a leading media agency. A solid grounding in planning mechanics – channel strategy, audience and reach thinking, platform dynamics, ROI frameworks – is essential for this role.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver senior-level strategic recommendations – to category heads, marketing directors or equivalent – with confidence and clarity.
• Strong experience working on large FMCG or consumer brand accounts, with an understanding of how brand strategy, consumer insights and media investment connect to business outcomes.
• Excellent analytical capability – ability to work across multiple data sources (media, consumer, competitive, business) and synthesise a clear and actionable point of view.
• Outstanding communication skills – able to simplify complexity, build compelling narratives and present to senior internal and external audiences.
• A proactive, independent working style – someone who brings the agenda rather than waiting for the brief.

Good to Have

• Domain expertise in one of the following categories: Beauty & Wellbeing, Home Care, Personal Care or Foods & Nutrition.
• Experience on the brand or strategy side at an FMCG or digital media/tech company.
• Familiarity with AI-powered intelligence tools, social listening platforms and emerging media research methodologies.
• Experience contributing to brand planning, AOP or marketing strategy discussions beyond the media brief.
• Working knowledge of 1PD strategy, audience intelligence frameworks and data-driven planning approaches.

Minimum Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree in Marketing, Business, Communications or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience with a demonstrated foundation in media planning and a track record of strategic leadership.
• Experience managing senior client relationships independently.

Life At WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.  

WPP Media 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.

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 around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

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