Group IT AI Lead in Liverpool

Business Area: IT

Place of Work: Liverpool

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract

When you join USS, the size and scale of our pension scheme means you will have numerous opportunities to learn and develop your career. Given our size you'll have real autonomy and influence as you collaborate closely with a wide-ranging team of experts. Our office is a vibrant place to work, and we offer flexibility of office/homeworking due to our hybrid model.

About the role

In your role as Group IT AI Lead, you will make a meaningful and valued contribution from the outset. This role will provide a great opportunity to act as the primary technical lead for Microsoft 365 AI, Co-pilot and wider AI solution capabilities within IT. You will help shape and drive the M365 AI strategy, ensuring that enterprise requirements, technical considerations, and governance controls are addressed cohesively.

What you will be doing

• Act as the primary technical lead for Microsoft 365 AI and Copilot, coordinating the Group IT AI ask and shaping enterprise strategy, standards, and controls.
• Provide technical guidance to ensure safe, secure, and scalable adoption of AI across USS, bridging innovation and operational delivery.
• Provide technical direction, evaluate new M365 AI features, helping define standards and guardrails, and support safe and scalable adoption.
• Share and monitor industry standard AI initiatives and strategies and assess how they align with existing business solutions and platforms, focusing on platforms such as Azure AI, Copilot Fabric, and Power Platform.
• Act as both an advisor and hands-on enabler, bridging innovation and delivery, enabling USS to realise value from AI while maintaining strong security, compliance, and control.
• Define and embed a robust Copilot framework, including agent development architecture principles, standards, and appropriate implementation controls, ensuring alignment with the Software Development Policy.
• Develop and maintain reference architectures and reusable patterns for M365 Copilot and Power Platform capabilities, supporting consistency, interoperability, and best practice adoption across USS.
• Support end-to-end solutions for Copilot and Copilot Studio, encompassing data ingestion, development, deployment, and seamless integration with existing Power App architecture and SharePoint.
• Review and validate Copilot solution designs against enterprise technology architecture, providing assurance and recommendations.
• Lead prototyping activities and technical feasibility assessments for new Copilot features technologies, driving innovation and practical adoption within the Power Platform eco-system.
• Collaborate proactively with stakeholders to ensure Copilot usage is aligned with the organisation’s overall technology and business strategy.
• Partner closely with key stakeholders to bridge the gap between Copilot-driven innovation and operational delivery, ensuring Copilot powered solutions deliver productivity and value.

About you

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they don't tick every box, if you're excited about working for us and have most of the skills or experience we're looking for, then please apply, regardless of whether you meet all the requirements outlined in this profile.

To be successful in the role you will have:

• In depth understanding of M365 suite of products, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, Enterprise AI Agent design and build using Microsoft Copilot Studio, Microsoft Graph, and AI driven workflow optimisation.
• Proven experience collaborating with business stakeholders, architects, and technical peers to shape technical strategy, solution design, and Copilot and AI adoption roadmaps.
• Strong knowledge of AI concepts including LLMs, prompt engineering and responsible Copilot practices.
• Hands on experience designing and delivering solutions using Power Apps, Automate, Power Bi to support Copilot customisation, automation, and governance.
• Proven experience implementing Copilot ready solutions, including data readiness, permissions alignment, content lifecycle management, including Dataverse, SharePoint, OneDrive & Teams.
• Deep familiarity with Power Platform, Microsoft Fabric, Entra ID, and M365 data security and compliance controls.
• Experience creating Copilot powered solution in regulated enterprise environments, ideally within financial services.
• Ability to disseminate and communicate Copilot concepts, risks, and technical approaches to a broad range of audiences including non-technical stakeholders.

Why join us?

At USS, every individual contributes to building a secure financial future for our members and their families. We strive to create a work environment where everyone can thrive professionally while making a meaningful impact on the lives of others. We're also committed to helping you build your career by providing opportunities for development. We put a focus on recognising and supporting each individual's unique career path, driving this forward with the support of an engaged and proactive management team. Here at USS, we want you to thrive in and out of work with a friendly team, flexible culture and excellent range of benefits!

How we will reward you

• Great starting salary
• Generous annual leave package
• Access to a high quality pension scheme provided through Universities Superannuation Scheme
• Supportive people policies (including enhanced occupational sickness pay and family friendly pay)
• Financial contributions towards your personal development to help you maintain your physical and mental wellbeing
• Access to a range of health and wellbeing services i.e., private healthcare, discounted gym membership
• Learning and development opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and talent
• Employee Volunteer Day’s to support the communities where you work and live
• Cycle to Work Scheme

Our culture and values

Our people are what makes us different. We work together to create a diverse and inclusive culture that embraces individuality, where people are welcomed and feel comfortable in the knowledge that they can be themselves. Our purpose firmly states the importance of members, putting them ‘front and centre’ of what we do. This is embedded through our values:

• Integrity
• Collaboration
• Excellence

About us

Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) was established in 1974 as the principal pension scheme for universities and other higher education institutions in the UK. We work with around 330 employers to help build a secure financial future for almost 577,000 members and their families. We are one of the largest private defined benefit pension schemes in the UK, with total assets of around £76.8bn (at 31 March 2025).

USSL is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We strive to ensure our recruitment process is as flexible and inclusive as possible so we can attract diverse candidates and recruit the best talent. We want all candidates to perform at their best during the recruitment process, so if you need any reasonable adjustments or if there is anything we can do to help support you through your recruitment journey please let us know by contacting resourcing@uss.co.uk.