Senior Program Director

Company: VML
Location: Schiller Park
Posted on: January 29, 2026

Job Description:

About VML 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 human first, award-winning work for blue chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendys. The agency is recognized by the Forrester Wave™ Reports, as a Leader among Marketing Creative and Content Service Providers, Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization. In addition, VML’s specialist health network, VML Health, is one of the world’s largest and most awarded health agencies. VML’s global network is powered by 26,000 talented people across 55 markets, with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney. Who We Are Looking For: VML is hiring a Senior Program Director to oversee social and commerce program delivery for a large CPG company in a client-facing capacity. You will lead a largescale integration of Agile across client teams and partner agencies. You ideally have commerce expertise and a proven track record of standing up commerce clients across various retailers. Your breadth of account and PM experience enables you to lead large, multi-disciplinary teams to successfully deliver fast-paced client solutions. What Youll Do: People | Manage 3-4 direct reports out of our Chicago office. Partner with Account and Operations leads to provide ongoing client satisfaction. You’ll oversee the development of integrated project and program deliverables across IAT teams and agency partners, handling concurrent workstreams for multiple retailers across North America. Process | Establish and maintain project and program communications. Oversee project estimations and staffing recommendations, while implementing new processes across large workstreams. Ensure calendars and deployment schedules are maintained for multiple operating units globally. Leverage AI where possible to optimize delivery and efficiency. Financials | Responsible for project profitability. Plan, track, and approve project expenses, billing, and invoices. Partner with the finance team to develop a consistent profitability and utilization view across all workstreams. Manage resource allocation on an ongoing, weekly basis, and monitor project burn rates, budgets, and reconciliations. Work | Manage a large-scale roll out of Agile project management methodologies and principals. Drive projects forward from point A to point B, ensuring excellent and timely delivery. Provide purpose, direction, and motivation to the team. You’ll be a champion for the work and internal project team by taking notes, following up, building timelines and plans, etc. Youll also build slides, create compelling stories, and manage comprehensive documentation. Who You Are: A builder | Process-oriented and an innovator with a strong point of view and distinct voice. You have experience standing up new commerce clients and establishing streamlined operations. Open and collaborative | Comfortable with ambiguity and a champion of team environments that encourage collaboration. You thrive in client-facing roles, with an innate ability to understand client problems and provide tailored solutions. Optimistic and resilient | You dig in and work around challenges, providing the balance and stamina needed to keep the team motivated and positive. Ego-less | Willing to wear multiple hats to contribute to the teams success, regardless of the task. What Youll Need: 10-12 years of experience in PMO leadership and delivery management, ideally within an agency setting. CSM certification a plus. Proven change-management expertise leading an Agile methodology integration across agencies and clients. Social and Commerce/Shopper Marketing experience preferred, with a background in CPG brands and omnichannel programs desired. Proven track record of standing up successful project management teams and rolling out largescale systems integrations. Experience working with integrated agency teams and external partner agencies. Familiarity with Smartsheet, Excel, Monday.com, Workday, and Jira. Experience with Workfront or Proof HQ is a plus. Interest in AI and how to leverage it as a delivery tool. Strong project management operations skillset, including effective meeting management and capturing actionable next steps. Ability to prioritize tasks, navigate challenges, and build operational rigor. The base salary range for this position at the time of this posting is indicated below. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package $75,000—$180,000 USD We believe the best work happens when were together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. Thats 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.

Keywords: VML, Palatine , Senior Program Director, IT / Software / Systems , Schiller Park, Illinois