Senior People Partner

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 delivery through GBS, offshore, or similarly matrixed teams and influencing outcomes without formal authority.
• Working knowledge of US employment practices and the judgment to recognize when Legal, Employee Relations, or another specialist should be engaged.
• Workday proficiency, including the ability to review employee information, validate transactions, and identify discrepancies.
• Strong Excel, data-management, PowerPoint, project-management, and organizational skills.
• Excellent writing skills, with the ability to create polished, concise communications and materials for employees and leaders.
• The maturity, discretion, and composure required to handle sensitive information and interact credibly with senior leaders.

Who you are: