Head of AI Integration & Innovation

Head of AI Integration \& Innovation *Leading AI adoption, integration and development across Skilled Careers* Reports to: Managing Director \& Senior Leadership team Location: Hybrid with regular time at core office locations Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience Direct reports: None initially; scope to build a small team as adoption scales Purpose of the Role Skilled Careers is looking to appoint a senior individual to own and drive the adoption, integration and ongoing development of AI tools and workflows across the business. This is a newly created role sitting at the intersection of technology, operations and change management — the successful candidate will identify where AI (including tools such as Claude and other LLM-based platforms) can improve recruiter productivity, client reporting, business intelligence and back-office efficiency, and will lead the practical rollout of these tools across teams. This is not a narrow IT or data-science hire. The role requires someone who can work directly with recruitment consultants, operations, finance and leadership to understand real workflow pain points, translate them into practical AI-enabled solutions, and manage the change process required to embed new ways of working across the organisation. Key Responsibilities Strategy \& Roadmap * Develop and own a company-wide AI adoption strategy and roadmap, aligned to business priorities set by the Director and senior leadership. * Identify and prioritise use cases across recruitment operations, business intelligence, client reporting, finance/credit control and marketing. * Track emerging AI tools and platforms relevant to recruitment and staffing, and assess build-vs-buy options. Implementation \& Integration * Lead hands-on implementation of AI tools and workflows — including automation of reporting (e.g. performance dashboards, client reports, debtor analysis) and integration with existing systems such as Bullhorn. * Work with external vendors and platforms (e.g. Anthropic, Microsoft) to configure and deploy tools securely and appropriately. * Establish data governance, security and responsible-use guidelines for AI tools used across the business. Adoption \& Change Management * Train and support consultants, managers and support functions in using AI tools effectively and appropriately in their day-to-day work. * Build internal champions and feedback loops to continuously improve adoption and identify new opportunities. * Measure and report on the impact of AI initiatives — time saved, quality improvements, revenue or margin impact — to the Director and leadership team. Innovation \& Future Development * Scope and, where appropriate, build bespoke internal tools (e.g. reporting generators, recruiter dashboards, client-facing deliverables) using AI-assisted development. * Act as the internal expert and first point of contact on AI capability, opportunity and risk. Person Specification Essential * Proven experience leading or delivering a technology, digital transformation or automation initiative within a business (recruitment/staffing sector experience a strong plus, not essential). * Strong practical understanding of modern AI tools — LLM-based platforms (e.g. Claude, ChatGPT), automation/workflow tools, and how they apply to real business processes. * Comfortable working hands-on with data and reporting tools (Excel, Word/document automation, Python or Node.js scripting an advantage). * Excellent stakeholder management — able to work credibly with recruitment consultants and senior leadership alike. * Strong communication skills, able to translate technical concepts into practical business language. * Self-starting and comfortable operating with significant autonomy in a newly created role. Desirable * Experience in recruitment, staffing, or professional services environments. * Familiarity with Bullhorn or similar ATS/CRM platforms. * Background in business intelligence, performance analytics or operations. * Change management or training delivery experience. What Success Looks Like (First 6–12 Months) * A clear, agreed AI adoption roadmap signed off by leadership. * At least two to three high-impact workflows (e.g. client reporting, performance tracking) fully automated and adopted by the relevant teams. * Measurable time savings and/or quality improvements reported back to the business. * Growing internal confidence and capability in using AI tools safely and effectively across the business.