Deputy General Counsel, Corporate Risk

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients, and communities.

Working at WPP means being part of a global network of more than 100,000 talented people dedicated to doing extraordinary work for our clients. We operate in over 100 countries, with corporate headquarters in New York, London and Singapore.

WPP is a world leader in marketing services, with deep AI, data and technology capabilities, global presence and unrivalled creative talent. Our clients include many of the biggest companies and advertisers in the world, including approximately 300 of the Fortune Global 500.

Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow. 

Why we're hiring:

Working at WPP means being part of a global network of over 100,000 talented individuals across 112 countries. Our company creates transformative ideas and outcomes for clients through an integrated offer of communications, experience, commerce, and technology. WPP and our award-winning agencies partner with many of the world's leading companies and organizations – from Ford, Unilever, and P&G to Google, HSBC, and the UN. Our client roster includes 69 of the FTSE 100, 348 of the Fortune Global 500, all 30 of the Dow Jones 30, and 70 of the NASDAQ 100. WPP has headquarters in New York, London, and Singapore, with a corporate presence in major markets worldwide.

WPP’s Business Integrity program is fundamental to ensuring our policies, procedures, and control environment are understood and upheld across all geographies and markets. This program is designed by aligning our resources, systems, and processes with WPP’s risk appetite, governance requirements, and regulatory expectations, then developing actionable strategies.

Our Business Integrity efforts focus on addressing the root causes of risk through:

• Resources: Championing and enhancing messages and examples from global, regional, and local leadership through communications, training, workshops, town halls, and practical guidance for our people, alongside providing "on the ground" support for daily queries.
• Systems: Advising on the implementation of WPP’s policies, procedures, and controls, and providing a compliance perspective for the design and structure of our enterprise resource planning (ERP) environment.
• Processes: Conducting an annual assessment of business integrity risk, monitoring dynamic data feeds, proactively managing self-certifications and disclosures, reviewing and investigating concerns (including those raised by whistleblowers), and tracking remediation efforts.

WPP is looking to hire a senior legal professional into a new role within WPP Business Integrity. This individual will provide technical and strategic advice on legal, risk, and compliance matters across WPP.

What you'll be doing:

This London-based role offers global coverage for an individual passionate about law, regulation, risk, compliance, and ethics, who is eager to develop a stimulating career within a dynamic corporate environment.

The role sits within WPP’s Business Integrity team (part of WPP’s Legal function) and reports to the WPP General Counsel Corporate Risk, based in London, who in turn reports to the WPP Group Chief Counsel.

Key responsibilities include supporting the WPP Group Chief Counsel and General Counsel Corporate Risk on the following:

• Advising and supporting WPP companies on day-to-day legal risk and regulatory queries and requests.
• Providing guidance on and managing governance and regulatory matters related to compliance, ethics, and legal risk elements of employee affairs.
• Ensuring effective and efficient policies and procedures are in place, understood, and respected by all employees, and that WPP’s resources, systems, and processes align with these policies and regulatory requirements.
• Identifying and analysing current and emerging legal and regulatory risk issues across WPP, investigating policy breaches and violations of applicable external laws, regulations, and codes, and devising and implementing mitigation and remediation actions.
• Driving our global risk management strategy, including through WPP’s risk committee structure, and cultivating a robust resilience culture.
• Collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders across WPP to identify, evaluate, and mitigate risks and uncertainties.
• Ensuring WPP’s risk appetite, governance requirements, and applicable regulator expectations are understood and respected by WPP staff.
• Advising and guiding WPP staff on a range of risk matters with a particular focus on business integrity topics, including compliance, ethics, respect in the workplace, anti-bribery & corruption, and gifts & hospitality.
• Developing and maintaining precedents, best practices, and data sets that comply with company policies and local law, for use across WPP.
• Managing external law firms and other professional advisors.

What you'll need:

• Demonstrated ability to independently identify and solve complex issues, delivering results with robust technical knowledge and strong written and verbal communication skills in a challenging and sometimes unpredictable commercial environment. 
• A track record of building trust and strong partnerships with stakeholders at all levels, particularly on sensitive and confidential matters. 
• Ability to effectively manage and prioritise a varied workload to achieve positive outcomes. 
• Significant experience as a legal professional, typically gained over several years in a relevant field.
• A strong ethical compass and passion for integrity in your work.
• Persuasive and able to drive positive change. 

Who you are:

You're open: We are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are open-minded: to new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working.

You're optimistic: We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We approach all that we do with conviction: to try the new and to seek the unexpected.

You're extraordinary: we are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.

What we'll give you:

Passionate, inspired people – We aim to create a culture in which people can do extraordinary work.

Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.

Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you up for the challenge?

#LI-Onsite

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.

WPP is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular 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.

Please read our Privacy Notice (https://www.wpp.com/en/careers/wpp-privacy-policy-for-recruitment) for more information on how we process the information you provide.