Initi8 Recruitment
VP / Director of AI Automation – London
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VP / Director of AI Automation – London
The Job
Working as the VP / Director of AI Automation, your job will be to build and shape an enterprise AI automation capability from the ground up.
This isn't a role where you'll inherit a mature AI function, established roadmap and existing playbook. You'll help create them.
- Working closely with executive leadership, you will identify where AI and automation can create the greatest commercial impact across the business and build a 12–24 month roadmap covering efficiency, revenue opportunities, workflow automation and wider AI adoption.
- You'll lead and develop a specialist team of AI Solution Engineers, while working directly with senior stakeholders across the organisation to identify, prioritise and deliver AI opportunities.
- A major part of your job will be deciding what should be built, what should be bought and what shouldn't be done at all.
- You'll establish the frameworks used to prioritise AI initiatives based on commercial value, complexity, feasibility and risk.
- You'll also take ownership of AI governance. Working alongside Compliance, Legal, Risk and Technology, you'll help establish the guardrails that allow the organisation to move quickly with AI while maintaining appropriate control around data, models and production AI agents.
- Most importantly, this isn't an AI innovation lab.
- Your success will be measured by whether the solutions your team creates are actually adopted and generate measurable business value.
- You'll work closely with business teams to embed AI into real workflows and, over time, help those teams develop more of their own AI capability within the frameworks you've established.
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About you
You will be an experienced AI, Automation or Transformation leader who combines strong commercial judgement with genuine technical credibility.
You may currently be a Head of AI, Director of AI, AI Transformation Director, Head of Intelligent Automation, VP of AI or come from a senior AI-focused consulting or business transformation background.
You don't need to be a traditional software engineering leader or machine-learning researcher.
You do need to understand modern Generative AI deeply enough to lead people building with it.
- You'll have practical experience with areas such as LLMs, prompt engineering, AI agents and AI-driven workflow automation, and you'll be comfortable getting into the detail with technical specialists when required.
- You should have experience taking AI or automation initiatives beyond PowerPoint and into production.
- You'll understand how to identify a business problem, build the commercial case, prioritise it, deliver the solution and drive adoption afterwards.
- Experience operating in a regulated environment is highly desirable. You should be comfortable working with Compliance, Legal and Risk and understand the importance of governance, data privacy, auditability and appropriate controls around enterprise AI.
- You'll also be a strong people leader who is comfortable building teams and creating structure in an environment where not everything has already been defined.
About the company
This is an established international business going through an important stage in its AI journey.
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- There is already significant enthusiasm for AI across the organisation and multiple areas of the business are looking at how automation and Generative AI can improve the way they operate.
- The next stage is about bringing greater structure to that activity: identifying the highest-value opportunities, establishing appropriate governance and building a central capability capable of delivering AI automation at scale.
- This role will have significant executive visibility and the opportunity to influence how AI is used across the organisation for years to come.
Location
London – hybrid working.
The role will involve working with colleagues and technical teams internationally.
The process
- Initial conversation with me.
- Followed by interviews with senior technology/business leadership and members of the executive team.
- Full details of the interview process will be discussed during our initial conversation.
The Money
Competitive senior leadership package.
Full salary, bonus and benefits details will be discussed during our initial conversation.
What should you do now?
If you're an AI or Automation leader who has actually delivered AI into production, can build the business case as comfortably as you can discuss the technology, and like the idea of building an AI capability rather than inheriting one, I'd like to speak with you.
Click apply and send me your CV.
If this isn't you but you know someone who would be perfect for the role, I'd also be very interested in speaking with them.
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