Fractional Chief AI Officer

Head of AI; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 86,000; Part time

Job summary

A reputable digital consulting firm based in Manchester is seeking an experienced Head of AI to define and lead their AI strategy in a flexible fractional role. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience in AI leadership within a CRM context, particularly HubSpot. Responsibilities include prioritizing AI initiatives, developing scalable offerings, and providing strategic insights to the board. This role offers an earning potential of up to £86k annually based on engagement frequency.

Qualifications

• Senior AI leader with strong commercial instincts required.
• Experience in AI consultancy or leading AI strategy is essential.
• Familiarity with HubSpot or similar CRM platforms is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the internal AI agenda and roadmap.
• Develop AI use cases and strategies aligned to business goals.
• Shape AI-enabled services and create implementation blueprints.
• Lead focused delivery cycles with visible outcomes.

Skills

Senior AI leadership

Commercial instincts

Experience with CRM-led businesses

Implementation of AI outcomes

Board-level influencing

Job description

Client: Leading HubSpot Agency (Enterprise & Global Implementations)

Engagement: Fractional (2–6 days per month, flexible)

Earning Potential: up to ~£86k p.a. (based on 6 days per month)

We are working with a leading HubSpot agency that delivers large-scale, complex CRM implementations for enterprise and global clients. The business is already deeply embedded in the HubSpot ecosystem and is now looking to accelerate how AI is embedded both internally and within the services it delivers to clients.

They are seeking a senior, commercially minded Fractional Chief AI Officer / Head of AI to help define, lead, and operationalise their AI roadmap.

This is not a pure research or experimentation role. The focus is on pace, clarity, and outcomes.

The challenge

The organisation is already active in AI but wants to:

• Move faster and more deliberately
• Turn HubSpot’s AI and agentic capabilities (eg Breeze and related tooling) into clear, scalable service offerings
• Strengthen internal AI capability without hiring a full-time CAIO at enterprise-market salaries
• Establish a clear, board-ready narrative around AI priorities, investment, and outcomes

The role

Working alongside an existing CTO and senior leadership team, you will:

• Take ownership of the internal AI agenda and acceleration roadmap
• Define and prioritise high-impact AI use cases across the business
• Help shape and package AI-enabled services built on HubSpot’s platform
• Create clear implementation blueprints that can be delivered repeatedly by consulting teams
• Lead short, focused delivery cycles (eg 90-day sprints) with visible progress and outcomes
• Provide senior AI leadership and decision-making, not day-to-day delivery

What success looks like

Within the first 3–6 months, you will have:

• Defined a clear AI strategy aligned to the firm’s commercial goals
• Identified and progressed a small number of priority AI initiatives that materially move the business forward
• Helped translate AI capability into market-facing services
• Left the leadership team with clarity, confidence, and momentum around the AI roadmap

The profile we are looking for

• Senior AI leader (CAIO / Head of AI / AI Strategy Lead) with strong commercial instincts
• Experience working in or alongside CRM-led businesses (HubSpot strongly preferred; Salesforce, Dynamics, Pipedrive or similar also relevant)
• Proven ability to move from AI concepts to real, implemented outcomes
• Comfortable working fractionally and influencing at board and exec level
• Pragmatic, straight-talking, and outcome-focused - low fluff, high impact

Engagement model

• Fractional engagement (typically 2–6 days per month)
• Earning potential up to ~£86k p.a. based on 6 days per month
• Flexible scope that can scale up or down as priorities evolve
• Opportunity to shape a high-profile AI agenda within a respected HubSpot-led organisation