Data, AI & Augmentation Manager

You will lead the Data, AI and Automation pillar, owning the strategy and delivery of procurement’s data, digital and AI capability. You will identify, shape and deploy opportunities for automation and AI across procurement processes, ensuring tools are practical, safe and embedded into day to day ways of working.

You will define data standards and system behaviours, ensure data is reliable and usable, and create the digital conditions needed for accurate reporting and effective commercial insight. You generate the data, dashboards, signals and exception reporting that underpin commercial intelligence, ensuring outputs are accurate, timely and ready for interpretation by the Commercial Intelligence pillar.

You will manage and develop the Data, AI and Automation team, ensuring the pillar delivers high quality digital products, reliable data and effective change that improves procurement performance.

Key responsibilities of the role:

• Own, develop and execute the AI and automation productivity roadmap for procurement, maintaining a clear pipeline of opportunities and prioritising high value improvements such as predictive analytics, early warning signals and intelligent automation.
• Identify and lead the delivery of high value AI improvements, sequencing activity based on value and readiness and turning opportunities into practical changes that lift efficiency, strengthen controls and improve the quality of commercial decisions.
• Integrate AI into core processes and decision support, ensuring use is safe, explainable and tied to clear business outcomes.
• Set adoption standards and skills plans, and track benefits such as return on investment, time saved, error reduction and improved decision quality.
• Own procurement and vendor data governance, quality and architecture, setting the rules for how data is structured, maintained and validated across procurement systems.
• Own vendor master data and onboarding standards, including the data model, mandatory fields, risk and ESG attributes and transparency evidence, with systems enforcing completion and PR&A assuring compliance.
• Maintain the procurement taxonomy, reference data and coding standards so reporting, spend analysis and risk insight are accurate and consistent.
• Run data quality controls and measures, with clear data quality KPIs, root cause analysis and remediation plans.
• Maintain a single, trusted set of procurement and vendor data, and own data access and system generated reporting for the function.
• Lead improvement of procurement systems and workflow automation, ensuring solutions are practical, adoptable and deliver measurable business value.
• Set the configuration and control standards for procurement systems, and own SAP and SRM access management and user setup, including roles, permissions and workflow access.
• Operate AI regulatory and ethical guardrails, ensuring compliance with the UK AI Act and GDPR, including human oversight, transparency, model documentation and responsible automated decision making.

About you:

The following are essential requirements for the recruitment of the role:

Qualifications:

• Degree level or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant discipline
• Strong grounding in data, digital or AI related disciplines through professional experience
• MBA or postgraduate qualification in a relevant discipline (desirable)
• Professional accreditation in data governance, digital transformation, AI or an equivalent field (desirable)

Experience:

• Extensive experience leading data, digital or AI capability within a procurement or commercial function, delivering measurable improvement in systems, controls or insight
• Experience designing, improving or operating data governance, data quality or digital workflow standards
• Experience working with senior stakeholders across Finance, Digital, Legal, Audit, Risk and operational teams to resolve issues and strengthen digital capability
• Experience in a regulated industry such as water, energy, infrastructure or utilities with a focus on digital transformation
• Participation in relevant industry or professional networks (data, AI or digital)
• Experience supporting organisational or process modernisation
• Passionate about mentoring and capability-building within teams, supporting professional development

Knowledge & Skills:

• Deep working knowledge of data governance, data quality and data architecture, and how these support consistent, compliant and confident decision making
• Awareness of emerging AI and digital trends relevant to procurement

Good to know:

Please note, we may close this role sooner if required. We may also extend the original closing date depending on interest. Due to the nature of the industry, we require satisfactory references, post offer medical clearance, and a criminal records Basic Disclosure check on all new employees joining the business. For some roles there may be additional checks and security clearance required, and this offer is subject to all checks being satisfied. You will receive further information on how to complete these checks via email once you have accepted this offer.

Benefits:

• Variable pay schemes (your salary band will remain the same, but performance depending, you could receive an incremental within-band increase and a yearly incentive)
• Option to buy additional annual leave up to 5 days per year
• Enhanced employer pension contributions – Up to 11% employer contributions
• Free Mortgage Brokering Services
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Progression opportunities, including the ability to apply for funded training and coaching and mentoring programmes
• Gym and fitness discounts as well as high street shopping
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discount off all Welsh Water visitor attraction centres and gift shops
• Car-leasing scheme and free on-site parking at all sites
• Health CashBack scheme and access to an online GP service
• An employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate family
• Many more can be found on our website!

Who we are:

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water keep 3 million people healthy each day with safe, reliable water, and take away wastewater to clean, before returning it safely to our beautiful rivers and seas. To be able to deliver high quality, essential services which help to protect the health of our customers, colleagues and our environment, we need the right people to deliver on our vision. This is achieved by living our core values and demonstrating the core behaviours that underpin them. The security of our people, assets and information is key to us, so we are looking for people who understand and comply with the company’s required security objectives.

We know that the most successful teams are the most diverse teams. Equality, diversity and inclusion provide the very foundation to our culture at Welsh Water. We want every individual to feel confident, proud and able to bring their whole selves to work. To ensure an improved representation in our workforce, applications are particularly welcome from minority groups including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, Females, LGBT+, Non-binary and people with disabilities. Together we continue to build a workplace that not only celebrates the diverse voices of our colleagues but also represents each customer we serve.

In essence, ours is a company based on trust, openness, respect, commitment and honesty. A company that our colleagues are proud to work for.