At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead AI innovation, manage product backlogs, and drive efficiency through automation.
- Company: Join Medialab, the UK's top independent media agency with a vibrant culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, flexible working, and 25 days holiday plus your birthday off.
- Other info: Dynamic team culture with excellent career growth and opportunities for mentorship.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in AI while working with industry-leading clients and partners.
- Qualifications: 3-5 years in product management, experience with AI tools, and strong stakeholder engagement skills.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
JOIN OUR JOURNEY Medialab is the UK’s leading independent media agency, and one of the fastest growing in the industry. We’re a media agency that’s made differently: purpose-led, data-driven, founder-run and proudly independent.
Our entrepreneurial spirit means success is recognised and rewarded. There are no limits to what you can achieve here, which our employees agree with, evidenced by being a Campaign Best Place to Work for six consecutive years and one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025. As well as this, we’re Campaign’s Independent Agency of the Year 2024 and Media Week’s Independent Agency of the Year 2025.
We are IPA Effectiveness accredited, an IPA People-First agency, and All In Champions, with industry-leading work recognised by double-gold at the 2024 IPA Effectiveness Awards for our work with Laithwaites and a 2025 Effie for our work with Alzheimer’s Society.
Our independence means we can focus 100% on doing the right thing to secure success for our clients and our brilliant people. We work with a wide variety of clients including Hovis, IG, Sharps Bedrooms, SunLife, Standard Life, Ancestry, Laithwaites Wine, Save the Children, Guide Dogs, Alzheimer’s Society, RNLI and Clearscore.
OUR VALUES
- Commit to Doing the Right Thing (Act with integrity and accountability)
- Help People Flourish (Invest in people)
- Dig Deeper to Understand Better (Data driven curiosity)
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
Working at Medialab comes with lots of perks including all the usual things you would expect, such as a competitive salary package, pension, season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, weekly social events and big summer / end of year parties.
On top of that, we offer extra benefits, which make life at Medialab even more rewarding:
- Time to Unwind – 25 days holiday (+ Christmas holiday closure), a day off for your birthday, holiday buying scheme, flexi-hours and work abroad scheme.
- Hybrid Working – Balance between home and office. (3 days in office) We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements from the commencement of employment.
- Career Growth – A meritocratic approach to progression with quarterly reviews, CPD Platinum accredited training, mentoring and leadership support.
- Health & Wellbeing – Private medical insurance, health cash plan, gym discounts, wellbeing apps Mental Health First Aiders and free professional counselling.
- Supporting Families – Enhanced parental leave pay, flexible working and life assurance.
- Giving Back – Paid charity days and sustainability initiatives.
- Perks & Rewards – Retail discounts, long-service trips and an unforgettable team culture.
YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE
The Head of AI & Innovation is an AI Product Owner who is responsible for maintaining a prioritised, value-annotated backlog, ensuring the delivery of the innovation team meets the need and ensuring the value is materialised through seeing the solutions through to successful embed & enablement in the business.
This role sits at the intersection of strategy, operations and delivery. You’ll help identify where AI (and broader automation or tooling) can drive efficiency and smarter ways of working, and you’ll lead the internal AI innovation pipeline that brings those solutions to life.
You will manage use case prioritisation and delivery from our Data Innovation Team which sits within the Apollo Department, spanning both in-house AI solutions and the development of our Marketing Effectiveness tooling. You’ll own strategic relationships with innovation partners like Google and third party AI consultancies. You’ll also act as the bridge between business challenges and technical delivery teams, ensuring that ideas become reality.
HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT
- You will be accountable for the creation and management of a value-annotated innovation backlog, ensuring every item has a clear path to ROI.
- You will be responsible for defining user stories and functional requirements that translate business needs into actionable engineering tasks.
- Consult with the Lead AI & Innovation Engineer to ensure the technical roadmap aligns with the commercial priorities of the business.
- Design and run training sessions, creating documentation, and leading user enablement initiatives.
- Support department leads in restructuring workflows to accommodate new AI capabilities.
- Manage strategic relationships with external partners (e.g., Google, AI consultancies) and staying ahead of industry shifts.
- Act as the "face of AI" within the agency (~80/20 delivery/advocacy split), curating and sharing relevant industry news and trends.
- Provide enough technical context to hold high-level design discussions with engineers while deferring to their expertise on architecture.
- Line Manage the team, providing career mentorship and ensuring individual work aligns with the broader business strategy as well as managing scheduling & capacity of work across the team.
WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TEAM
Must Have Skills
- At least 3–5 years leading a product backlog, writing functional user stories, and managing delivery cycles in an Agile environment.
- Direct experience shipping AI-powered tools or automated workflows (e.g., LLM integrations, RAG-based applications, or internal GPTs).
- Experience presenting to and influencing Board-level or Department-head stakeholders.
- A track record of measuring and proving the ROI of technical deployments (e.g., hours saved, revenue unlocked, or adoption % targets met).
NICE to Have Skills
- Ability to "play" with the tech (Prompt Engineering, No-code tools) to build Proof-of-Concepts.
- Formal experience or certification in organisational change or internal training/enablement.
- Specific familiarity with the Google Cloud / Vertex AI / Gemini ecosystem.
- Understanding of the campaign lifecycle, attribution, or media planning workflows.
Head of AI & Innovation in City of Westminster employer: MediaLab Group
Contact Detail:
MediaLab Group Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of AI & Innovation in City of Westminster
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the industry, attend events, and connect with potential colleagues on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their values and how they align with yours. This will help you answer questions confidently and show that you're genuinely interested in being part of their team.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your pitch! Be ready to explain how your skills and experiences make you the perfect fit for the Head of AI & Innovation role. Tailor your examples to highlight your achievements in AI and innovation, making it clear how you can add value.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up after interviews! A quick thank-you email can go a long way in keeping you top of mind. Plus, it shows your enthusiasm for the role and appreciation for the opportunity.
We think you need these skills to ace Head of AI & Innovation in City of Westminster
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for AI & Innovation: When you're writing your application, let your enthusiasm for AI and innovation shine through! We want to see how you can bring fresh ideas to the table and drive our projects forward.
Tailor Your Experience: Make sure to highlight your relevant experience in leading product backlogs and managing delivery cycles. We love seeing how your past roles align with what we're looking for, so don’t hold back!
Be Clear and Concise: Keep your application straightforward and to the point. We appreciate clarity, so make sure your skills and achievements are easy to spot. Bullet points can work wonders here!
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves.
How to prepare for a job interview at MediaLab Group
✨Know Your AI Stuff
Make sure you brush up on the latest trends in AI and automation. Be ready to discuss your experience with AI-powered tools and how you've successfully implemented them in previous roles. This will show that you're not just familiar with the tech, but that you can also leverage it effectively.
✨Showcase Your Strategic Thinking
Prepare examples of how you've managed product backlogs and defined user stories in an Agile environment. Highlight your ability to align technical roadmaps with business priorities, as this role requires a strong connection between strategy and delivery.
✨Demonstrate Your Leadership Skills
Since you'll be managing a team, think about how you've mentored others in the past. Be ready to share specific instances where you've helped team members grow and how you've ensured their work aligns with broader business strategies.
✨Engage with Industry Trends
Stay updated on industry shifts and be prepared to discuss how these trends could impact Medialab. Showing that you can act as the 'face of AI' within the agency will demonstrate your commitment to being a thought leader in the space.