Head of AI (Regulatory Policy and Supervision) in Belfast

Full time / Part time Salary: £72,146 - £81,952, with potential for further progression to £92,273pa with our pay progression scheme.

Location: Hybrid. Contracted to our Wilmslow, London, Edinburgh, Cardiff or Belfast office, however, we offer flexible home and office-based working opportunities. There will be times when you will be expected to attend the office to collaborate with colleagues or travel due to business need. Please note, from Autumn 2026 our head office will relocate from Wilmslow to Manchester city centre.

Why work for the ICO?

• Pay progression scheme.
• Hybrid and flexible working options.
• 25 days paid holiday per year, plus privilege and public holidays.
• Flexi leave (up to 26 additional days leave per year).
• Pension (employer contribution around 28.9%).
• Online discount scheme to save money at major supermarkets, retailers, gyms, restaurants, insurance providers and many more.
• Health Cash Plan.
• Fantastic development opportunities to learn and progress.

Job summary: Step into a role where technology, policy, and societal impact converge. The Technology Directorate—home to the ICO’s most forward‑thinking technologists—sits at the heart of the Regulatory Risk and Innovation Service, tackling some of the most complex and consequential questions of our digital age. You’ll influence national thinking on responsible AI development and help translate data protection principles into meaningful, future‑proof practice. This is an opportunity to lead at the frontier of technology and regulation—where your decisions will shape not just policy, but public trust in AI itself.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator of information rights. In a data-driven world, we provide advice, guidance, and support to organisations enabling compliance with their obligations, as well as protecting individuals and their personal data. As an employer, we are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives and careers of our people, and we empower you to be curious, impactful, collaborative and respectful.

Job description: You will leverage your experience to support the wider Directorate and ICO in making sure the use of data and AI by organisations that we regulate conforms with the law. You will identify and seek to address ethical issues such as bias or discrimination and will advocate for changes in industry that promote a privacy and fairness by design approach to the use of AI. You will champion and push the boundaries of responsible data use, translating data protection and privacy rights from principles to practice. Working with the Director of Technology and Head of the Core Technology Department you will be instrumental in shaping the future of AI regulation and responsible AI development.

Key responsibilities:

• Grow, mentor and lead the ICO’s AI department, ensuring that team members are clear about expected standards of performance, motivated and developed to provide effective and efficient services.
• Support delivery of AI and Biometrics strategy and develop the AI department.
• Represent the ICO in situations where expertise in AI is required e.g. meeting representative bodies and information rights interest groups, giving evidence to Parliamentary committees, speaking at conferences and taking part in media activity.
• Advocate for a fair and rights-based approach to AI and data use.
• Engage with the practitioner community and policy makers to develop and implement privacy and rights focused approaches to data science and the use of AI, focusing on embedding ‘by design’ approaches.
• Identify emerging ethical, legal and technical problems within AI and data science and develop approaches to mitigate these issues by collaborating with a range of stakeholders across industry, academia and civil society.
• Collaborate with other regulators to identify and respond to common challenges, and build common capability and approaches.
• Be conversant with relevant legislation and political, social and legal as well as technological developments, that impact on information rights.

Person specification:

Essential criteria assessed at application stage:

• Substantial experience relevant to the role requirements, as described in the role responsibilities and person specification, and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualifications or experience.
• Significant experience in AI, data science and its ethical impact/policy implications.
• Significant experience of recruiting, establishing and managing a data science / AI team.
• Significant experience of developing a data strategy and data governance approach.
• Experience of the latest privacy preserving machine learning techniques and related technologies.
• Experience of developing new approaches to managing and mitigating ethical and responsible use issues with AI and data.
• Experience of writing business cases, strategies, roadmaps and presenting to senior stakeholders at C‑Suite level.

Essential criteria assessed during interview:

• Up to date, expert knowledge of current trends and practices relating to the use of AI, machine learning, data and algorithms.
• Good knowledge and understanding of data protection and privacy legislation, rights legislation and frameworks, ethical frameworks for AI, policy and best practice.
• Excellent analytical skills, data presentation skills and data visualisation ability.
• Experience of translating legislative requirements to the development and application of AI, machine learning and data science solutions.
• Knowledge of threat and risk assessment processes and practices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills including the ability to explain technical matters to a non-technical audience, at C-suite level.
• Strong research skills demonstrating an ability to identify emerging trends, issues and technologies.
• Personally effective – excellent organisational skills, ability to prioritise and delegate.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion: The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. We are championing this through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Board together with a number of staff networks.

Closing Date: Please submit your CV and cover letter by 23:59, 5 March 2026. Your cover letter should be no more than 1,000 words and should clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria for the role. We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. To ensure your application is considered, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.