Head of Commercial-AI & Innovation - Commercial Directorate, Grade - G7 New Delhi

HM Government; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A governmental body in the UK is seeking a Head of Commercial-AI & Innovation to lead the newly established team at the British High Commission in New Delhi. The role involves strategic oversight of AI and innovation initiatives, managing a team of commercial specialists, and enhancing collaboration with stakeholders. Ideal for an experienced leader with knowledge of AI and proven commercial acumen. This position offers a competitive monthly salary plus benefits.

Benefits

Medical cover

Group Hospitalisation Scheme

Annual leave and public holidays

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of relevant work experience in the required domain.
• Demonstrable line management experience of managing a Commercial team.
• Experience in coaching and mentoring to build capability at all levels of a commercial function.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic delivery of the Commercial AI & Innovation Hub.
• Facilitate cross UK Government AI knowledge sharing.
• Monitor adherence to internal and external policies.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Commercial acumen

AI & Innovation knowledge

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or related field

Job description

View Vacancy - Head of Commercial-AI & Innovation - Commercial Directorate, Grade - G7 New Delhi

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.

Job Category

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Operations and Corporate Services)

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment, educational details, behavioural and technical/ professional skills questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only with all the required details and the shortlisting is not basis CV/ cover letter. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Main purpose of job:

Based at the British High Commission in New Delhi the job holder will have a key leadership role in the creation and management of a newly established team for Commercial AI & Innovation to help the United Kingdom's (UK) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The Team will be a part of the FCDO's wider Commercial Directorate and report into the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Commercial Team located in the UK. The role of the New Delhi DDaT AI & Innovation Team will be to lead and operate the Commercial AI & Innovation Hub to support DDaT and FCDO key stakeholders across the organisation.

The Head of Commercial AI & Innovation, New Delhi, will lead, manage and coordinate a team of commercial specialists who will work closely with the rest of the DDaT Commercial team in the UK and other regions. The role will be line managed from the UK within DDaT Commercial.

The jobholder will be accountable for developing and delivering AI & Innovation Commercial insights, gathering and sharing market intelligence with the business and commercially assessing and capturing value and benefits from AI & Innovation to support FCDO. They will have responsibility leading and managing the team's overall workload, setting priorities and providing a point of coordination for interacting with the Commercial team in the UK. The jobholder will be expected to oversee, coach and mentor their team.

Due to the remote management aspect of the role the job holder will require strong communication, interpersonal, and supervisory skills to lead their team and interact with colleagues, customers and suppliers in the UK.

We reserve the right to review, revise or amend the roles and responsibilities from time to time reflecting the changing needs of business.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve:

Reporting to the Head of Commercial - DDaT in the UK, the jobholder will have responsibility for management and leadership of the Commercial AI & Innovation Hub based in New Delhi

• The primary responsibility of the jobholder will be leading and overseeing the strategic delivery of the Commercial AI & innovation Hub. Facilitate the increase of knowledge and sharing of third party advancements on AI in a global / international scale, and assessing other innovative technology
• Facilitate cross UK Government AI knowledge sharing
• Strategic oversight of Market Intelligence sharing with the business e.g. supplier insights, and cross government approach,
• Leading and developing the team to become AI Commercial Advisors within FCDO,
• Commercially partnering with FCDO dedicated in-house team for disruptive innovation and operational technology R&D (referred to as FCDOx).
• Strategically assessing and capturing the commercial value and benefits from AI/Innovations.
• Supporting the business with AI Commercial insights e.g. differing commercial models that are used.
• Working with Commercial Directorate to explore UK cross government AI funding routes that can support FCDO's ambitions.
• Strategically assess the Commercial risks associated with AI.
• Ensuring compliance: Monitor adherence to internal and external policies, including regulatory requirements.
• Stakeholder management, work with the Senior Strategic Relationship Manager to ensure information is captured and reported as required.
• Lead on people and capability development of the team
• Continuous improvements, lessons learning and best practice
• Working with key stakeholder across FCDO to capture and help refine business requirements
• Other duties as required

As part of their day-to-day role the jobholder will need to:

• develop relationships with senior stakeholders FCDO stakeholders such as Information, Digital and Data Directorate (IDD) (the IT Department of the FCDO) to promote commercial best practice with regards to AI & Innovation, especially with FCDOx, Digital, and Data teams.
• build relationships with other teams and spend categories across the FCDO
• coach the team in developing their knowledge and development of AI & Innovation category strategy's

The job holder will be expected to provide overall leadership, guidance and support to their team to:

• share best practice through lessons learnt exercises and collaborative working across Commercial Directorate
• challenge how we do things to ensure a culture of continuous improvement
• ensure the team's performance is tracked and managed
• working with the UK capability teams to identifying development/training needs and solutions and professionally develop their team
• Building/maintaining an inclusive and positive environment for their team and behave in a way that supports the FCDO cultural statement acting as a role model for the team.
• Identify and document commercial savings, including necessary approvals of benefits in line with FCDO Commercial savings policy.
• Capture, manage and report commercial data

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

Line management of 1 X SEO (Deputy Head - Commercial AI & Innovation) & Quality Assurer for 2 HEOs (Senior Adviser - Commercial AI & Innovation)

Working Pattern:

Gross conditioned hours are 40 hours per week. Any changes with regards to work hours or working patterns, considering alignment to certain UK shift timings will be basis the operations requirements and an agreement with the line manager/ head of department.

Flexible working can be considered, a mix between office/home-based working is currently practice but increased presence in the office will be expected; with a current expectation of 4 days per week in the office.

Learning and development opportunities:

• Continual professional development through CIPS certification up to MCIPS / or CPSM - Multiple Options
• Foundation Level Contract Management Training - Government Commercial Office

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Essential on arrival:

Candidates should note that the FCDO operates within a regulated sector for procurement and that training will be provided on the UK's legal framework for conducting public sector procurement.

• Bachelor's degree in business or related field
• Minimum 7 years of relevant work experience in the required domain
• Demonstrate knowledge of AI & Innovation
• Experience of activities within the commercial and procurement lifecycle
• Able to articulate complex concepts, present, gain buy-in from senior stakeholders (internal and external).
• Demonstrable line management experience of managing a Commercial team. Experienced in leading and managing internal stakeholders
• Able to demonstrate the value of commercial activities to internal stakeholders,
• Working Internationally: previous experience in working in a global organisation in either a commercial or AI/Innovation capacity
• Evidence of the ability to identify potential improvements and successfully manage changes that deliver beneficial commercial outcomes
• Experience in coaching and mentoring to build capability at all levels of a commercial function, including a team and direct reports
• Commercial Technical Skills: previous experience in leading on complex commercial situations and leading teams

Language Requirements:

• Language: English
• Level of Language Required: Operational - Extensive

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

Desirable:

• Formal qualification in Procurement or Commercial or Project discipline (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply CIPS or its equivalent)
• Experience & knowledge of Hindi language

Required behaviours

Communicating and Influencing, Developing Self and Others, Leadership, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Seeing the Big Picture

Application deadline

25 August 2025

Grade

Grade 7 (G7)

Type of Position

Full-time, Permanent

Working hours per week

40

Region

South Asia & Afghanistan

Country/Territory

India

Location (City)

New Delhi

Type of Post

British High Commission

Number of vacancies

1

Salary Currency

INR

Salary

INR 259,018 per month plus 12% Provident Fund and 6% Superannuation

Type of Salary

monthly

Start Date

1 December 2025

Other benefits and conditions of employment

For British High Commission candidates, the Country Based Staff BHC Terms & Conditions will apply.

For other than BHC Candidates, salary will be all-inclusive of INR 259,018 per month plus 12% Provident Fund and 6% Superannuation.

Additionally, the BHC offers a great benefits package that includes annual domiciliary medical cover, plus a Group Hospitalisation Scheme with INR 500,000 floater cover for your immediate family which includes self, spouse/partner and children up to an age of 23 years and irrespective of age, only if with, physical or mental disability.

No relocation or any other related costs or assistance will be provided. FCDO does not pay for any travelling, accommodation & relocation expenses incurred and/or accept any financial risk, including cancellation or reschedule costs

Please note - BHC does not deduct tax at source and employees are required to ensure that any requirements of local income-tax law are complied with in full. Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, e.g., some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.

FCDO operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require. The BHC is recognised as a good employer, with a robust, fair and transparent performance management & appraisal system linked to increments and staff bonuses. We have a 5-day working week, plus annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave provision, special leave, paid sick leave provision; ample development opportunities, travel opportunities, a good organisational culture, and excellent work/life balance.

Around half of our work forces are women. We treat people with respect and equality and have a policy of zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, bullying, or harassment.

This is a good opportunity to be part of a strong, diverse team, working in the biggest network that FCDO has anywhere across the globe. We are aiming to make it the best.

Additional information

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment, educational details, behavioural and technical/ professional skills questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only with all the required details and the shortlisting is not basis CV/ cover letter. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stageOverseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders will need have, or be able to obtain, a valid special work permit issued from Government of India (GOI) to work in the British High Commission (BHC). BHC will not be able to sponsor work visas or obtain/ assist with the special work permit from GOI. Offers of employment made to OCI card holders will be conditional upon candidates obtaining a special work permit.

Note: For requisite special permission to take up employment in any foreign Diplomatic Missions in India, OCI Cardholder must visit

Please note - successful applicants will be offered employment on Country Based Staff (CBS) terms and conditions. This is not a permanent UK Civil Service position and does not attract diplomatic immunities and privileges (other than what an individual may already hold if they are a recognised partner/family member of a serving diplomat).

To Apply:Please note applications without (a) and (b) will not be considered.

a) Complete the Online Application Form
b) Complete the Experience, Professional Skills and Behaviour based Segments in the Online Application Form

Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

To ensure a successful application it is important that you explain how you demonstrate behaviours and technical / professional skills, basis your experience. You are strongly advised to read the which provides a detailed guidance on how these behaviours are defined for each position.

Applicants are encouraged to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique to prepare specific examples of when and how you have demonstrated these behaviours in your application, by evidencing a structured response, including your skills and experiences. You briefly describe the situation in which you demonstrated the behaviour, and then explain your task in addressing the situation, what action you took and the result of this.

Internal candidates applying for this position need to inform their current line managers, else the applications will not be considered.

We will accept only online applications by 25th August 2025 (latest by 23:55 hours IST).

Please note that all the applicants will be required to strictly adhere to the security guidelines for British High Commission.

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.

Please note - "Provident Fund Transfer in and out from EPFO is not possible as BHC PF is managed by a private PF trust governed by Indian Income Tax Act, 1961. The staff still has the option to transfer out and in from a privately held PF trust which are not governed by EPFO. Any tax deduction on EPF will be in compliance with local income-tax law and must be complied with in full."

Applicants who do not have the required qualification & experience should kindly abstain from applying, as their applications will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and no telephone enquires will be dealt with. Basis the scores, the candidate/s who did not score as highly as the successful candidate, might be placed on the reserve list. If during the reserve period of 12 months, the same or largely similar role becomes available, the role may be offered to the second or subsequent appointable candidates.

The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative and he appointment will be subject to successful clearance of police Verification and other checks including references, medical, educational, and professional.

We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, or creed. We are also open to applications from people who want to work flexibly.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.