AI Transformation Director

AI Transformation Director

Salary: £150,000–£180,000 + Benefits

Location: Manchester – Hybrid

Forge Talent is supporting the appointment of an AI Transformation Director for a senior strategic role within the technology consulting sector.

This is an opportunity for an accomplished technology leader who understands how to turn the potential of Artificial Intelligence into genuine commercial value.

We are looking for someone who operates comfortably at the intersection of technology, business strategy and enterprise transformation. Someone capable of advising executive leadership teams, identifying opportunities for AI adoption and taking responsibility for translating those opportunities into scalable, practical solutions.

Importantly, this is not a position for someone who has moved entirely away from the technology. The successful candidate will combine senior consulting experience with genuine technical depth, remaining close enough to the engineering to challenge, design and demonstrate solutions.

The role will suit someone who thrives in complex enterprise environments, enjoys building senior client relationships and wants to play a leading role in how organisations adopt and scale AI.

The Role

As AI Transformation Director, you will take a leading role in developing and delivering complex AI, Cloud and Data transformation initiatives for enterprise clients.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Building strategic relationships with CIOs, CTOs, CDOs and executive leadership teams, acting as a trusted advisor on AI adoption and technology transformation.
• Identifying opportunities where Artificial Intelligence can deliver measurable improvements in business performance, operational efficiency and customer experience.
• Leading the development of enterprise AI strategies, from initial assessment and business case through to implementation and adoption.
• Designing and shaping sophisticated AI solutions, including Generative AI, Agentic AI and intelligent automation.
• Providing hands-on technical leadership, working directly with engineering and architecture teams to validate solutions and accelerate delivery.
• Leading senior stakeholder workshops, technical discovery sessions and strategic planning engagements.
• Developing scalable cloud and data architectures capable of supporting enterprise-wide AI adoption.
• Supporting commercial opportunities through technical solution design, client presentations and complex proposal development.
• Establishing effective delivery teams and mentoring senior technical specialists.
• Ensuring AI initiatives are commercially justified, technically robust and aligned with governance and regulatory requirements.

Enterprise AI & Technical Leadership

• Proven experience designing and delivering enterprise AI, Cloud or Data transformation programmes.
• Strong hands-on engineering background, with the ability to design, prototype and technically validate solutions.
• Demonstrable experience with Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs) and enterprise AI integration.
• Experience taking AI solutions beyond proof of concept into production environments.
• Strong understanding of modern cloud architecture, cloud-native development and enterprise systems integration.
• Experience developing technology strategies and roadmaps that deliver measurable business outcomes.

Consulting & Executive Engagement

• Significant experience in a senior, customer-facing technical consulting or solutions architecture role.
• Proven ability to advise and influence CIOs, CTOs, CDOs and other executive stakeholders.
• Experience leading technical discovery workshops, strategic assessments and complex client engagements.
• Ability to translate sophisticated technical concepts into commercially relevant recommendations.
• Strong commercial awareness, including solution shaping, business case development and pre-sales.
• Experience working directly with engineering and delivery teams to ensure successful implementation.

Leadership & Delivery

• Proven ability to lead complex, multidisciplinary technology transformation initiatives.
• Experience mentoring senior technical specialists and building effective delivery teams.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management and presentation skills.
• Ability to balance technical excellence with commercial objectives and client expectations.

Advanced AI & Data Technologies

• Practical experience developing Agentic AI solutions and intelligent automation.
• Experience with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures.
• Hands-on exposure to Amazon Bedrock and Amazon SageMaker.
• Experience with Machine Learning platforms, modern data engineering and analytics architectures.
• Knowledge of AI governance, security and responsible AI implementation.

Cloud & Architecture

• Deep AWS platform expertise, ideally gained within a hyperscaler or leading technology consultancy.
• Experience designing serverless and event-driven architectures.
• Exposure to platform engineering, APIs and complex enterprise integration.
• Experience modernising legacy applications and technology environments.

Industry & Consulting Background

• Experience working within a leading AI consultancy, hyperscaler or specialist technology transformation business.
• Background delivering enterprise programmes within Financial Services, Gaming, Retail or the Public Sector.
• Experience operating in highly regulated environments where data security, compliance and governance are critical.
• Experience developing consulting propositions or expanding strategic client accounts.
• Exposure to industry events, technical communities, conference presentations or thought leadership.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is a high-impact senior leadership appointment offering the opportunity to influence how major organisations approach Artificial Intelligence and digital transformation.

You will have the platform to shape complex client engagements, influence technical strategy, develop innovative AI solutions and build high-performing delivery capabilities.

For someone who combines genuine technical expertise with commercial ambition, this represents an opportunity to operate at the forefront of enterprise AI adoption.

Package: £150,000–£180,000 + Benefits

Working Arrangement: Manchester – Hybrid

For a confidential conversation, contact Max Learmonth at Forge Talent.