Data Science & AI Strategy Lead

Co-op; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Holiday allowance 28 days rising to 32

Pension contributions up to 10%

Company car or £6,000 car allowance

Private healthcare

Onsite gym access at Manchester HQ

Discounts on Co-op products and brands

Salary access via Stream

Virtual healthcare and wellbeing tools

24/7 colleague support service

Training and career progression

Job summary

Co-op is seeking a Head of Data Science & AI to drive our group Data & AI strategy across all businesses. You will lead the data science and AI practice, work with senior leaders to uncover opportunities, and deliver scalable AI products that improve services for members and customers.

This role blends strategic leadership with hands-on direction in a large, data-rich organisation. You’ll partner with Databricks and other platforms, shaping the second generation of our AI strategy while

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading data science, ML or AI teams in a large organisation.
• Strong data science background with technical credibility to lead specialist teams.
• Track record turning data/AI capabilities into measurable business outcomes.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders on data/AI strategies.
• Experience with cloud-based data/AI platforms (Databricks, Snowflake, Azure).
• Understanding of ethics, security, governance in AI.

Responsibilities

• Lead and evolve Co-op's Data Science and AI strategy to align with business goals.
• Work with senior leaders to identify where data and AI add value.
• Prioritise a pipeline of opportunities improving colleague and member experiences and driving outcomes.
• Coach and develop a high-performing Data Science team.
• Build understanding and excitement around data science, AI and agents across the business.
• Oversee delivery of AI products ensuring they are scalable and aligned with needs.
• Uphold governance and responsible use of AI as it scales.
• Collaborate with data domain leads, tech teams and stakeholders to turn ideas into production outcomes.
• Monitor and demonstrate value delivered by data science and AI initiatives.

Skills

Data science leadership

AI strategy

Stakeholder management

Cloud platforms

Databricks

Ethics & governance

Tools

Databricks

Azure

Job description

Co-op is seeking a Head of Data Science & AI to drive our group Data & AI strategy across all businesses. You will lead the data science and AI practice, work with senior leaders to uncover opportunities, and deliver scalable AI products that improve services for members and customers.

This role blends strategic leadership with hands-on direction in a large, data-rich organisation. You’ll partner with Databricks and other platforms, shaping the second generation of our AI strategy while