Head of Data Science & AI

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

Head of Data Science & AI
£100,000 - £125,000 plus private healthcare, company car or car allowance and more great benefits (Work Level 4)
In this role you’ll split your time between working at home and our Manchester office, being in the office for 1 to 3 days each fortnight working with our teams (find out more about our hybrid working policy at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy)

We’re open to applications from people who may require flexible working arrangements. There’ll be an opportunity to discuss your flexible working requirements during the interview process, and at offer stage.

We have redesigned our Digital, Technology and Data function for the future, creating new career opportunities, strengthened our capabilities and are improving our processes so we can deliver even better services for our Co-op, our colleagues, members and customers.

We're looking for a Head of Data Science & AI to join our group Data & AI team and help us unlock even greater value from our Databricks group data lake, covering all our Co-op businesses and giving you access to world leading capabilities at scale. You'll lead our data science and AI practice, identifying new opportunities to use Data Science and AI to better serve our customers and members, improve efficiency, solve complex business challenges and deliver meaningful commercial outcomes. Working closely with senior leaders across Co-op, you will shape our future strategy, direction and ensure we're making the most of the transformational opportunities that data and AI can create.

Why this role matters

We've invested heavily in our data capability, platforms and processes ensuring we have a huge breadth of high-quality data and a talented, collaborative team to work with. We have many Data Science and AI products already live in production across our 2,400 stores and with our 24 million customers each year. So rather than building from scratch, you'll focus on what comes next, helping shape the second generation of our AI strategy, blending role and process specific agents in with structured data science and context sensitive alerts. You will help educate and influence senior leaders to embed data within decisions and consider the right places to use AI and agentic support to improve service outcomes and empower our colleagues.

If you're excited by combining technical credibility with strategic leadership, this is a chance to make a genuine impact at scale.

What you’ll do

• Lead and evolve Co-op's Data Science and AI strategy, ensuring it aligns to our wider business goals
• Work with senior leaders across the business to identify where data science and AI can deliver the greatest value
• Shape and prioritise a pipeline of opportunities that improve colleague and member experiences and drive commercial outcomes
• Lead, coach and develop a team of talented Data Scientists, creating an environment where people can thrive and do their best work
• Build understanding and excitement around data science, AI and agents, helping colleagues and leaders understand what's possible
• Oversee the delivery of data science and AI products, ensuring they are effective, scalable and aligned to business needs
• Reinforce and uphold our governance, ethical standards and ways of working for the responsible use of AI as it scales
• Work closely with our business facing Data Domain Leads, technology teams and business stakeholders to turn great ideas into measurable outcomes in production
• Monitor and demonstrate the value delivered through data science and AI initiatives, ensuring investment is focused on the areas of greatest impact

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we only ask for the minimum criteria. To thrive here, you’ll need to bring:

• Significant experience leading high-performing data science, machine learning or AI teams in a large and complex organisation
• A strong data science background, with the technical credibility to lead and support specialist teams
• A track record of turning data science, machine learning or AI capabilities into measurable business outcomes
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and helping leaders understand how data and AI can solve business challenges
• Experience with cloud-based data and AI platforms. While we work with Databricks at Co-op, we welcome candidates who bring experience from similar platforms such as Snowflake or Microsoft Azure.
• A clear understanding of the ethical, security, governance and risk considerations involved in the use of AI
• Excellent leadership, communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to inspire teams and bring people together around a shared vision

We know some people may hesitate to apply if they don’t meet every requirement. At Co-op, we’re committed to building diverse and inclusive teams, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly, we still encourage you to apply.

Why Co-op?

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• A company car or £6,000 car allowance
• Private healthcare
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• 30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands
• Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice
• 24/7 colleague support service
• Training and support for your development and career progression
• Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion