Head of AI

Job title: Head of AI

Report to: Operations Director

Location: Remote within the UK, with regular travel to our group companies and to client sites, typically three to five days a month

Hours: Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 18:00 (40 hours a week)

About us

Owlis is a UK IT managed services group, backed by private equity, that grows by bringing established regional IT providers together on one platform. Each business keeps its own name and its local relationships. Behind it sits one set of systems, one set of policies, and a group with the depth to support it properly. Together, we look after small and medium-sized businesses across the UK with managed IT, cybersecurity, and AI and transformation services.

About the role

AI is a new service pillar for our group, and its first job is to grow revenue quickly. This role owns that pillar for every company in the group. It takes a first AI offer to market in week one, builds a 12 to 18 month roadmap and delivers it, and turns AI into repeatable services, including AI as a Service as part of our core managed IT offering. It holds the budget for the AI team and tools, hires and grows the team, and trains our people across the group to sell and support AI.

Core systems

• Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Azure AI services (Azure OpenAI, AI Foundry) and Copilot Studio
• Power Platform for workflow automation
• HubSpot for pipeline and revenue tracking; HaloPSA for service and project work

What you will be doing

Revenue and go-to-market (number one priority)

• Own the AI revenue strategy for the group, with targets agreed with the Operations Director and CFO
• Take a first AI offer to market in week one, using what we can deliver now
• Build the 12 to 18 month roadmap within 90 days, and deliver it
• Structure AI as a Service as part of our core MSP offering, and propose its pricing for approval
• Build the AI pipeline in HubSpot with account managers in every group company

AI service pillar

• Own the AI service pillar at group level: catalogue, standards, delivery method and support model
• Make every AI service repeatable: standard scope, deliverables, pricing inputs and support
• Design and build AI systems hands-on alongside the team, especially in the first year
• Choose platforms and tools, staying vendor-neutral where it serves the client

Team and budget

• Hold the budget for the AI team and tools, with sign-off from the Operations Director and CFO
• Hire, lead and develop the AI Consultant, AI Engineer and Automation Engineer, and grow the team as revenue grows
• Report revenue, pipeline, spend and roadmap progress monthly

Training and collateral

• Produce collateral, playbooks and demos for every group company
• Train account managers and engineers across the group to sell and support AI
• Lead AI adoption inside our own companies, with a measured approach to time saved

Compliance and risk

• Work with the Compliance Manager so our AI services meet our obligations internally and for clients
• Contribute to our ISO/IEC 42001 management system and DPIA screening for new AI processing
• Keep a register of AI systems we build and run, with owners and risk ratings

Outcomes and KPIs

• In the first 90 days: first AI offer in the market from week one; 12 to 18 month roadmap and revenue plan agreed with the Operations Director and CFO; AI as a Service structured and priced for approval; first hires under way; guardrails agreed with the Compliance Manager.
• By 6 months: AI as a Service live as part of our core MSP offering and sold in every group company; repeatable services in the catalogue with collateral and training delivered; the AI team in post; revenue tracking to plan.
• By 12 months: AI revenue on track for the 2027 target; roadmap milestones delivered; account managers in every group company selling AI with confidence; the team growing as revenue allows.

Competencies

• Clear evidence of taking an AI or technology service to market and growing its revenue, with the offer, pricing and results described
• Hires in step with revenue, with a clear business case for each hire and tool, tracks spend against plan and develops people so the team isn't dependent on them
• Explains model choice, retrieval or tooling, evaluation, cost and failure modes from first-hand work, and is honest about what went wrong
• Designs repeatable services with clear tiers or units, standard scope, deliverables and support, and a pricing model tied to value and cost to deliver that fits alongside the existing MSP contract
• Builds a credible week-one offer existing clients will buy, AI as a Service with clear tiers and a pricing model, and a roadmap sequenced by revenue with team and budget in step, realistic measures and room to adapt when new information arrives
• Explains the oversharing risk plainly, uses a staged rollout with a permissions review, labelling and an acceptable-use policy, brings in the Compliance Manager and the client's data owner, and still finds a way to sell the work
• Leads training and change across the group with simple collateral and playbooks, training tied to real client conversations, early wins shared, local leaders kept in front and uptake measured
• Under pressure, looks at the pipeline and the reasons, makes a clear call, explains it to the Operations Director and the companies, and adjusts the plan without dropping the goal
• Raises issues constructively and tests them, and tells people early and plainly, with options

Essential skills and experience

• Has built and grown revenue from a new technology service or practice, owning its go-to-market plan
• Has turned AI or automation into repeatable services clients paid for, including scoping, pricing model and delivery
• Builds with large language models hands-on, for example Azure OpenAI, Copilot Studio, Azure AI Foundry or another major model platform
• Has held a budget and hired people into a growing team
• Sets practical guardrails for AI use covering data protection, security and accuracy
• Explains AI plainly to business owners and trains others to sell and support it

Desirable skills and experience

• Experience in an IT managed services provider or IT consultancy serving SME clients
• Has designed recurring, per-user or subscription pricing for a managed service
• Knowledge of ISO/IEC 42001 or another AI governance framework
• Has built workflow automation and integrations, for example Power Automate, Logic Apps or an integration platform
• Writes Python or C# for AI applications
• Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate or a comparable AI certification

Development

The function is new and built to grow. As revenue grows, we expect the team, budget and remit to grow with it, potentially into a wider transformation or director-level role.

Our recruitment process

Our process usually has four stages:

• A short pre-screening call with our HR / Recruitment team.
• A competency interview with the Operations Director
• A revenue strategy and roadmap case study, presented to the Operations Director and CFO
• A final conversation with Owlis Group executives, after which we aim to make an offer.

Any offer is conditional on two satisfactory professional references from employers named on your CV (with a work email address for each), proof of your right to work in the UK and, where required, a DBS check. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship.

Please note that this is a job advertisement rather than a full job description. The complete job description will be shared with you alongside your contract of employment.

Equal opportunities

The Owlis Group is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from everyone and make recruitment decisions on the basis of skills, experience and potential, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. If you need any adjustments to take part fully in the recruitment process, please let us know and we will be glad to help.