Influencer Lead

Job Title: AOU Influencer Lead
Company: WPP Media South Africa
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Reports To: African Digital Director

Role Overview
The AOU Influencer Lead is responsible for leading the growth, execution, governance, and operational excellence of influencer marketing across the Africa Operating Unit. This role drives the development and implementation of scalable influencer strategies, ensures alignment with global and regional best practices, and oversees campaign execution across multiple markets, brands, and agency partners.
As the central influencer capability lead for the AOU, the role is accountable for influencer governance, creator platform adoption, compliance, reporting, financial oversight, and the continuous evolution of influencer marketing as a key media and consumer engagement channel. 

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
•    Lead the influencer marketing agenda across the Africa Operating Unit.
•    Develop and evolve influencer marketing frameworks, governance, and best practices.
•    Ensure influencer strategies are aligned with brand objectives, consumer insights, and media planning approaches.
•    Drive transformation initiatives that improve influencer effectiveness, measurement, and scalability across markets.
•    Act as the regional subject matter expert for influencer marketing and creator economy trends. 

Campaign & Operational Excellence
•    Oversee end-to-end influencer campaign delivery across multiple African markets.
•    Ensure campaigns are executed in accordance with approved ways of working, global standards, and legal requirements.
•    Monitor campaign performance and drive optimization opportunities.
•    Establish consistent processes for influencer recruitment, onboarding, briefing, content approvals, and reporting.
•    Serve as the escalation point for influencer-related operational challenges. 

Influencer Governance & Compliance
•    Own CreatorIQ (CIQ) adoption, utilization, and compliance across the AOU.
•    Ensure influencer activity is accurately tracked, measured, and reported within approved platforms.
•    Drive influencer screening, vetting, brand safety, and governance requirements.
•    Maintain compliance with global influencer marketing policies and legal guidelines.
•    Partner with PACS, Legal, Media, Social, and agency stakeholders to mitigate risk and uphold brand integrity. 

Financial Management
•    Oversee influencer budgets, forecasting, and financial reporting.
•    Monitor campaign spends and financial performance across markets.
•    Ensure accurate budget tracking, supplier management, and commercial accountability.
•    Support annual planning and investment recommendations for influencer activity. 

Reporting & Measurement
•    Establish measurement frameworks and KPI standards across the AOU.
•    Drive campaign reporting, performance analysis, benchmarking, and learning agendas.
•    Deliver regional reporting and actionable insights to senior stakeholders.
•    Promote data-driven decision-making and performance optimization. 

Stakeholder & Team Leadership
•    Collaborate with regional and global marketing, media, social, and strategy teams.
•    Support and develop influencer managers across multiple markets.
•    Align agency partners and in-market teams on influencer processes and expectations.
•    Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement. 

Key Success Measures
•    Successful delivery of influencer campaigns across all AOU markets.
•    CreatorIQ compliance and platform adoption rates.
•    Campaign performance against business and media KPIs.
•    Budget management accuracy and financial accountability.
•    Consistent implementation of global influencer governance standards.
•    Stakeholder satisfaction and operational excellence.
•    Continuous growth and evolution of influencer capabilities across the AOU. 

People Leadership & Collaboration
•    People Leadership & Market Management.
•    Lead and manage a network of in-market Influencer Managers and influencer teams across multiple African markets, providing strategic direction, coaching, capability development, and operational oversight.
•    Drive consistency in influencer best practices, governance, campaign execution, reporting standards, and platform compliance across all markets.
•    Foster a high-performance, collaborative culture that enables teams to deliver best-in-class influencer campaigns while adapting to local market nuances.
•    Act as the primary escalation point for influencer-related challenges, ensuring timely resolution and alignment across stakeholders. 
•    Collaboration & Stakeholder Management.
•    Partner closely with Media, Social, Creative, Analytics, Commerce, EPICS, PACS, Legal, Procurement, and Marketing teams to deliver integrated consumer experiences.
•    Collaborate with global, regional, and local stakeholders to align influencer strategies with business objectives and brand priorities.
•    Build and maintain strong relationships with agency partners, media teams, talent partners, platform providers, and senior client stakeholders.
•    Lead cross-functional forums, governance meetings, and capability-building initiatives to drive alignment, innovation, and operational excellence across the Africa Operating Unit.

Skills & Experience
•    Extensive experience in influencer marketing, digital marketing, media strategy, or integrated communications.
•    Strong understanding of creator ecosystems, social platforms, and influencer measurement methodologies.
•    Experience managing large-scale regional or multi-market campaigns.
•    Strong financial and commercial acumen.
•    Excellent stakeholder management and leadership skills.
•    Experience working across diverse markets and cultures.
•    Proven ability to drive transformation, process improvement, and operational excellence.