Director, Digital Shelf Strategy

The posting, as VML wrote it

Who We Are

VML is a global creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands that drive growth. Guided by a Human First philosophy, VML is known for its innovative work for brands and consistently ranks among the world’s leading creative companies, including the WARC Creative 100. VML’s global network spans 55+ markets with principal offices in Buenos Aires, Kansas City, London, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore.

VML is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel.

For more information, please visit www.vml.com and follow along on LinkedIn #WeAreVML.

About the role

The Director, Digital Shelf Strategy & Content is a senior, client-facing strategist responsible for defining how brands optimize product content, discoverability, and shopper experiences across retailer and marketplace ecosystems.

This leader combines deep CPG category knowledge, retailer expertise, digital shelf intelligence, and product content strategy to develop scalable approaches that improve product visibility, shopper engagement, conversion, and commercial performance.

The Director translates consumer and shopper insights, retailer requirements, search behavior, competitive intelligence, and digital shelf analytics into clear content strategies, actionable creative briefs, and measurable optimization roadmaps.

Serving as a strategic bridge between Commerce Strategy, Discoverability, Content, Creative, Analytics, and Retail Operations, this role ensures digital shelf recommendations translate into effective execution across retailer platforms.

The ideal candidate brings a strong understanding of product experience management (PXM), retailer-specific content requirements, and emerging product discovery behaviors, including AI-powered search and agentic commerce.

This is a strategy leadership role, not a content production, syndication, or retailer portal operations position.

What you'll do

• Digital Shelf & Content Strategy
• Lead development of digital shelf strategies across major retailer and marketplace ecosystems, including Walmart, Amazon, Target, Kroger, Sam's Club, Instacart, and other relevant retail platforms.
• Translate brand objectives, category dynamics, shopper insights, and retailer requirements into actionable product content strategies.
• Define retailer-specific and cross-retailer approaches to product titles, descriptions, attributes, imagery, enhanced content, taxonomy, and product storytelling.
• Identify opportunities to improve product discoverability, differentiation, engagement, and conversion throughout the digital shopping journey.
• Develop strategic frameworks that balance brand consistency with retailer-specific optimizati

[…]
loping digital shelf strategy playbooks, capability frameworks, or managed service methodologies.

Core Skills

• Digital Shelf Strategy & Optimization
• Product Content Strategy & Creative Briefing
• Retailer & Marketplace Discoverability
• CPG Shopper & Category Insights
• Product Experience Management (PXM)
• Product Information Architecture & Taxonomy
• Retailer Content Requirements & Governance
• Digital Shelf Analytics & Competitive Benchmarking
• Strategic Quality Assurance
• Client Consulting & Strategic Storytelling
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Commerce Capability Development

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, click WPP Benefits for more details.

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$75,000 — $180,000 USD

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 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.

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