Senior Manager- AI & Innovations in London

The Senior Manager of AI & Innovation leads strategic initiatives that leverage artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to drive innovation, operational efficiency, and competitive advantage. This role combines visionary thinking with hands-on execution, fostering a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement across our portfolio.

Key accountabilities

• Strategic Leadership
  • Keep abreast of and evaluate emerging technologies to help inform strategic direction & planning.
  • Assist in the definition and prioritization of innovation initiatives.
  • Develop and execute our AI and innovation strategy aligned with business goals.
  • Regularly assess and update where appropriate the AI roadmap, ensuring the roadmap is aligned with the strategy, is constantly up to date in a fast-paced market of change around AI technology.
• AI & Data Strategy
  • Lead the design and have hands-on execution of AI-driven solutions across the portfolio.
  • Oversee data governance, AI model development and ethical AI practices.
  • Collaborate with Data scientists, and other teams to deliver successful impactful AI projects.
  • Evaluate and implement modern data platforms and AI tools, including cloud-native solutions and generative AI applications.
• Innovation Management
  • Cultivate a culture of innovation through workshops and cross-functional collaboration.
  • Manage & implement an innovation pipeline, along with prioritization to prototyping to scaling.
  • Evaluate ROI and impact of innovation initiatives.
  • Assess existing initiatives and incoming initiative requests and scope them according to technical feasibility, business impact, and available capacity.
  • Collaborate with the Catalyst Programme to ensure oversight and input with AI initiatives that are planned or in flight.
• Business Engagement and Stakeholder Management
  • Build strong, trusted relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including our technical partners.
  • Build presentations and communicate complex AI and innovation strategies and concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Collaboration and Delivery Management
  • Partner with the Delivery Team to oversee end-to-end delivery of AI & innovation projects or initiatives, ensuring effective execution and on-time delivery.
  • Provide governance, support, and guidance to technical teams and PMO to ensure successful technical delivery and management in line with best practices.
  • Facilitate cross-functional collaboration between teams to resolve delivery roadblocks.
  • Ensure technical deliverables meet quality standards and align with business objectives, addressing issues as they arise.
• Risk Management and Issue Resolution
  • Identify and mitigate portfolio-wide risks, escalating critical issues to senior leadership when necessary.
  • Report on progress and risks weekly through various channels.
  • Support Project Managers in identifying and managing delivery risks, coordinating cross-functional solutions as required.
  • Contribute to post-mortems and lessons-learned sessions after key project milestones, driving continuous improvement across the portfolio.
• Roadmap Development and Continuous Improvement
  • Develop and maintain the AI & Innovation roadmap, ensuring technical alignment with both business strategy across the various portfolios.
  • Lead continuous improvement initiatives to optimise delivery, and increase the quality of outcomes.
• Estimating, Budget Submissions, and Financial Oversight
  • Develop, validate, and manage cost estimates, financial forecasts, and budget submissions, ensuring financial transparency and accountability.
  • Support the development of pricing models and ensure that all financial aspects are properly captured in project proposals, including resource costs, hardware/software expenses, and vendor engagements.
  • Track actual costs against forecasted budgets, identifying variances, risks and taking corrective action as required.
• General Duties
  • Execute tasks as directed by the Director of Development & Innovation or by Leadership.

Qualifications and experience

• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 8+ years’ of experience in technical roles with experience in innovation management roles.
• AI and Data Analytics is a plus.
• A technical background is essential, with proven track record of hands-on delivery of technical solutions.
• Proven track record of delivering and managing innovation programs, AI solutions is a plus.
• Strong understanding of Machine Learning, cloud platforms and digital platforms is essential.
• Experience in working with multiple third-party vendors and partners to deliver complex solutions.
• Team building and pragmatic problem-solving skills with local, international, and multicultural staff.
• Ability to understand the holistic business needs of an organisation and apply this understanding to the management of the initiatives.
• Ability to multitask, balancing priorities among competing needs whilst ensuring the required detail and quality is achieved, providing the highest level of value to BDO.
• Strong interpersonal, collaboration and business relationship skills.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication & stakeholder management skills.
• Able to work under pressure and meet deadlines, and able to adopt flexible working practices as required from time to time.
• Able to manage sensitive and confidential information.
• Able and willing to travel internationally when required.
• Able and willing to work US time zone for meetings when required.