AI Strategy Senior Manager

Job Summary:
This role is responsible for planning, managing, executing, and leading a team in AI, Automation, and Data-Driven consulting related engagements, including AI Readiness/Operational assessments; AI Strategy; IT Strategy; in addition to Digital Transformation efforts. In this role, the AI Strategist is charged with managing teams of professionals through all potential project states of diagnostic, planning, solution design and delivery to include managing engagement economics, accurate status reporting, and quality control. This role is responsible for ensuring exceptional client service and high-quality engagement deliverables enabling our clients to make impactful data-driven decisions. The AI Strategist is also responsible for developing new business with existing clients and prospects while managing all aspects of client pursuits and advice to the practice leadership, professional development, thought leadership, and business development including all phases of the client proposal process.
Job Duties:
Drives data, AI, and intelligent automation strategy discussions with clients and prospects, while demonstrating industry vertical domain knowledge
Authors a client’s AI & Automation Strategy, working closely with BDO AI and automation architects/engineers/analysts to estimate cost and effort
Leads AI discovery engagements: finds, evaluates and ranks use cases by business value, feasibility, data readiness and risk
Builds business cases and ROI models for priority use cases, and defines success metrics so value can be measured after go-live
Writes AI roadmaps and phased plans that turn into implementation SOWs, working with AI architects on solution approach and estimates
Advises clients on AI governance and responsible AI, including usage policies, risk tiering, and data privacy and regulatory considerations
Designs AI operating models for clients, including Centre of Excellence (CoE) structure, roles, intake processes and funding models
Plans change management and adoption so AI solutions actually get used across the client’s business
Leads quick GenAI and agentic AI prototypes (copilots, agents, document intelligence) on client data to confirm value and requirements early
Helps develop and package the firm’s AI strategy and discovery offerings, including methods, assessment frameworks and reusable assets
Builds relationships with technology partners (for example, Microsoft) to support joint go-to-market and client pursuits
Executes sales and go to market activities including industry vertical analytics presentations, authoring of thought leadership web content for the Firm, sales opportunity identification/qualification, analytics project scoping, solution demonstrations, and sales proposals
Conducts client workshops and interviews to understand the client’s AI and automation maturity, prioritize AI and automation gaps, and identify technology innovation opportunities
Leads the transition from sales to engagement kickoff, by overseeing staffing plans and managing client expectations
Leads interactive sessions to gather and recommend AI and intelligent automation requirements, while envisioning viable AI and intelligent automation solutions that solve business challenges
Builds visualization prototypes using sample data, to discover and confirm client requirements via tangible demonstration
Oversees or executes the creation of functional design documentation.
Manages and builds client relationships during project execution, effectively becoming a trusted advisor of the client
Consults the transition from solution build into validation/testing/deployment, to ensure the requirements/intentions/vision of the functional design is upheld
Maintains a broad and current understanding of AI, automation, Data, and IT strategies, methodologies, and tools
Contributes to Firm intellectual property around agentic AI use cases, techniques, and best practices
Other duties as assigned
Supervisory Responsibilities:
Manages approaches to industry vertical use cases and recommend best practices
Builds and leads a team of AI strategists and managers, including hiring, performance management and career development
Owns pipeline, sales and utilization targets for AI strategy work, including the rate at which discovery turns into delivery work
Manages client expectations and oversees the execution of their authored data strategy
Mentors project team members on industry vertical trends and development
Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Education:
Bachelor’s degree, required
Experience:
Eight (8) or more years of experience within AI, Automation, AI Consulting, or AI Strategy, required
Four (4) or more years of experience developing, driving, leading and managing AI & automation strategy for clients, required
Demonstrated experience leading AI or GenAI solutions, prototypes, or strategy-led AI implementations that were built and put to use with clients, with measurable business results the candidate can demonstrate, required
License/Certification:
Project Management Professional (PMP), AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty, Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate, Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), or Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), preferred
Software:
Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, required
Knowledge of statistical techniques, RAG, and LLMs, preferred
Knowledge of cloud data ingestion/storage/transformation technologies, preferred
Language:
N/A
Other Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
Strong project management and client relationship management skills
Ability to work with a high degree of professionalism and autonomy
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Solid organizational skills, especially the ability to meet project deadlines with a focus o

Skills
AWS, Azure, Machine Learning, Project Management, Business Development, Quality Control, Intellectual Property, Documentation