AI Transformation - Programme Lead

Engage People Recruitment; Dublin; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Engage People Recruitment seeks an AI Transformation - Programme Lead to drive a comprehensive AI-first transformation across a major Irish organisation. You will partner with senior leadership, IT, data teams and external partners to turn strategy into measurable change.

You will own the end-to-end delivery, develop business cases, manage budgets and ROI, and ensure governance, risk, and adoption are embedded across the programme.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading transformation or technology programmes in complex organisations.
• Strong business analysis skills including requirements gathering and documentation.
• Practical understanding of digital transformation, automation and AI technologies.
• Experience managing projects through cross-functional teams.
• Ability to build business cases, budgets and ROI analyses for senior decision-makers.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Build and manage a prioritised roadmap of digital, automation and AI initiatives across the organisation.
• Partner with senior leadership, business units, IT and external partners to translate strategy into change.
• Run discovery sessions to capture pain points and define clear requirements.
• Create business cases covering scope, costs, benefits, risks, delivery approach and ROI.
• Present recommendations to senior stakeholders and secure sign-off for new projects.
• Own end-to-end delivery from planning through adoption and benefits tracking.
• Translate business needs into clear requirements for IT, AI specialists and delivery partners.
• Collaborate with vendors and consultants to support solution delivery.
• Define success criteria, testing plans, governance and adoption measures.
• Ensure solutions meet GDPR and data protection standards.
• Monitor risks, budgets, milestones and benefits throughout programmes.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Business analysis

Digital transformation

Project leadership

Budgeting & ROI

Communication

Education

Degree in business/engineering/technology or related field

Tools

PRINCE2

PMP

Agile

Job description

We’re hiring an AI Transformation - Programme Lead to drive a major AI-first transformation agenda across a large, multi-site organisation. This is a newly created, high-visibility role. You’ll partner with senior leadership, business functions, IT, data teams and external technology partners to turn strategy into real, adopted change.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Building and managing a prioritised roadmap of digital, automation and AI initiatives.
• Working with teams across the business to spot opportunities for improvement and innovation.
• Running discovery sessions to understand pain points and define clear requirements.
• Creating business cases that cover scope, costs, benefits, risks, delivery approach and ROI.
• Presenting recommendations to senior stakeholders and securing sign-off for new projects.
• Owning the end-to-end delivery of approved initiatives, from planning through to adoption.
• Translating business needs into clear requirements for IT, AI specialists and delivery partners.
• Collaborating with vendors and consultants to support solution delivery.
• Defining success criteria, testing plans, governance and adoption measures.
• Ensuring all solutions meet responsible AI, GDPR and data protection standards.
• Monitoring risks, budgets, milestones and benefits throughout each programme.
• Supporting teams as they adopt new tools, processes and ways of working.
• Overseeing training, upskilling and benefits tracking as the function grows.
• Keeping accurate records to support potential grant funding or R&D incentive claims.
• As the organisation matures in this space, the role may also expand into the integration of robotics and physical AI alongside agentic AI systems.

You’ll ideally have:

• A track record of leading business transformation, change or technology programmes in a complex organisation.
• Strong business analysis skills, including requirements gathering and documentation.
• A practical understanding of digital transformation, automation and AI technologies.
• Experience managing projects through cross-functional teams.
• The ability to build business cases, budgets and ROI analysis for senior decision-makers.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience working with and influencing senior leadership.
• Strong written skills, particularly around reporting and governance documentation.
• A degree in business, engineering, technology or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Nice to haves

• Experience in a project-based environment (such as construction, engineering or similar)
• Familiarity with agentic AI or process automation.
• Knowledge of GDPR and data governance.
• Experience with grant-funded projects or R&D tax incentives.
• Exposure to project or programme management frameworks (e.g. PRINCE2, PMP, Agile).
• Awareness of robotics, physical AI or the future integration of AI systems.
• Experience building and managing a small team.