About the Role
The AI Product Strategist serves as the connective layer between WPP | Ford business and capability owners and the central AI team, ensuring AI product development aligns with Ford's strategic priorities. This cross-functional, discovery-led role bridges operational needs with technical build capacity, translating requirements into a shared architecture and roadmap.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary strategic interface between WPP | Ford business and capability owners and the central AI team.
- Conduct structured discovery and requirements-gathering across SME teams, mapping current-state workflows before recommending AI-enabled solutions.
- Re-engineer and document business processes as a precondition to any agent or AI build.
- Translate business needs into clear, technically actionable briefs for the AI Architect and Applied AI Product Manager.
- Partner with the AI Architect and Development on feasibility assessments, ensuring SME-identified needs are properly scoped and prioritized into the product roadmap.
- Ensure workstreams build toward a shared AI architecture rather than in silos.
- Track execution of SME-requested builds through to deployment; manage timelines and communicate status to stakeholders.
- Partner with the AI Value Engineering & Measurement function to ensure every use case sourced from SMEs is logged, centralized, and routed to measurement.
- Flag blockers, risks, and architectural gaps to Rachel Beecroft; maintain visibility into AI program status across all business-facing workstreams.
- Act as a change-sensitive advocate for the business — ensuring the AI program builds with the business, not in a vacuum.
Requirements
- 6–8 years in solutions consulting, technical product management, business process consulting, or delivery management.
- Comfortable operating across creative, media, production, and shopper/retail domains simultaneously.
- Experience translating ambiguous business requirements into structured technical briefs for engineering/product teams.
- Familiarity with AI/ML tools and platforms in a marketing, content, or commercial environment.
- Strong stakeholder management skills; ability to build trust with both SME teams and technical product owners.
- Comfortable working in a fast-moving, evolving program with incomplete information and shifting priorities.
Skills
- AI/ML tools and platforms
- Stakeholder management
- Technical product management
- Business process consulting
- Delivery management
- Solutions consulting
Location
- Remote
- Hybrid
Work Type
- Hybrid
Experience Level
- 6-8 years
Salary/Compensations
- $75,000—$180,000 USD
Benefits
- Competitive benefits package
About the Company
- 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 award-winning human-first work for clients including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's.
- In 2026, VML was named Campaign’s Global Network of the Year and ranked #2 Creative Network of the Year at Cannes Lions.
- 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.
- The WPP l Ford Team is an integrated operating network made up of a dynamic multi-agency ecosystem that serves Ford Motor Company and its many diverse units around the world.
- This operating team provides a breadth of marketing experience for Ford across Communications, Marketing, Brand and Customer Experience, A.I., Creative, Production, Media, Strategy, Analytics, Commerce & Technology and more.
- Operated under a central leadership team, it draws best-in-class talent from leading WPP agencies including VML (Brand & Customer Experience), WPP Media (Media), GTB (Precision Retail Marketing), WPP Production (Brand Design & Production), Zubi & UWG (Multicultural), and Burson (Corporate Communications/ Public Relations), among other key WPP specialists.
- WPP l Ford team members work in a highly integrated environment, with direct exposure across virtually every discipline of modern marketing.
- This role is imbedded within VML agency as part of the WPP network.
- At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world.
- Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration.
- Ford is in a period of rapid transformation, modernization, and evolution.
- This exciting challenge is about more than just marketing vehicles. It’s about lifestyle, experiences, technology and helping to build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.
- Ford is a global company founded on powerful shared ideals - valuing service to the world as much as they do to their customers.
- After 123 years, this iconic brand has learned to adapt and change, continuously evolving to focus on services, experiences and software, in addition to vehicles.
Equal Opportunity
- 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.
