Manager, AI Strategy and Transformation

Yum! Brands; Plano (TX); On-site; USD 137,900 - 162,300; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

4 weeks vacation

Paid sick leave

Health insurance

Life insurance

Job summary

Yum! Brands in Plano, Texas is seeking a Senior Enterprise AI Strategist to lead and optimize AI initiatives across the organization. This role requires a collaborative leader who will drive AI literacy and champion new tools to improve business processes and productivity.

The ideal candidate will have at least 8 years of experience in digital transformation and AI strategy, along with a strong understanding of current AI trends. Yum! Brands offers a competitive salary ranging from $137,900 to $162,300, along with extensive benefits including health coverage and generous paid time off.

Qualifications

• 8+ years experience in digital transformation and AI strategy.
• Strong understanding of AI trends and tools.
• Experience with cross-functional initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and optimization of enterprise AI initiatives.
• Drive AI literacy and adoption across Yum! through AI Academy.
• Build local communities of practice for AI champions.

Skills

Digital transformation

AI strategy

Project management

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience

Job description

This role will translate business problems into scalable AI solutions and ensure the responsible and measurable deployment of AI across the organization. As a highly structured thinker and influential collaborator, you will help scale AI literacy, champion new tools and capabilities, and guide end-to-end automation initiatives that improve productivity, decision quality, and operational speed. This role operates with high autonomy, works across diverse stakeholders, and delivers outcomes that meaningfully shape Yum!’s AI maturity. The ideal candidate is a collaborative, action-oriented leader who can translate emerging AI capabilities into practical solutions and engaging learning experiences, influence stakeholders across functions, and drive measurable outcomes at scale.

Enterprise AI Strategy & Program Leadership

• Lead the development, launch, and ongoing optimization of Yum!’s enterprise AI initiatives.
• Develop and execute enterprise AI literacy programs through our AI Academy to drive AI education, engagement, and adoption across the organization.
• Scale enterprise agents and accelerate the shift toward workflow-integrated, action-oriented automation that streamlines processes across the business.
• Translate enterprise AI priorities and business problems into practical learning pathways, scalable solutions, and resources.
• Identify opportunities and risks across the AI roadmap and develop contingency plans to support adoption, impact, and responsible deployment.

AI Adoption & Change Enablement

• Build local communities of practice and train AI champions who can advocate for, model, and scale AI adoption across Yum!
• Drive awareness, engagement, and adoption through clear communications, stakeholder updates, and targeted enablement campaigns.
• Influence stakeholders across functions and brands by communicating complex AI concepts in a clear, practical, and business-relevant way.
• Represent the Enterprise AI Strategy & Transformation workstream as a key point of contact for internal stakeholders and external partners as needed.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Influence

• Partner with experts across AI, Learning, Analytics, Product, Engineering, and brand teams to integrate AI tools into daily workflows.
• Influence stakeholders across functions and brands by communicating complex AI concepts in a clear, practical, and business-relevant way.
• Prepare updates, recommendations, and insights for senior leaders on Enterprise AI progress, risks, adoption trends, and business impact.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in digital transformation, AI strategy, learning technology, product management, change management, or related fields.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives with measurable business, adoption, or productivity outcomes.
• Strong understanding of current AI trends, tools, and practical enterprise use cases.
• Experience partnering with product, engineering, learning, analytics, or business teams to design and scale new programs or platforms.
• Proven ability to influence stakeholders, communicate with senior leaders, and simplify complex topics for non-technical audiences.
• Strong program leadership skills, including roadmap development, prioritization, stakeholder management, and performance tracking.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent work experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building or scaling learning, training, enablement, or capability-building products.
• Experience launching enterprise adoption programs, communities of practice, or champion networks.
• Familiarity with AI productivity tools, generative AI platforms, prompt design, responsible AI practices, or AI literacy programs.
• Experience working in a multi-brand, franchised, restaurant, retail, or global enterprise environment.

Salary Range: $137,900 - 162,300 annually + bonus eligibility. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we’ll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.

Employees (and their eligible family members) may enroll in the following types of insurance coverage: medical, dental, vision, legal, and accidental death and dismemberment, as well as FSA/HSA (depending on enrolled medical plan). Yum! also provides short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance. Employees may enroll in our 401(k) plan. Yum! provides 4 weeks of vacation, paid sick leave, 10 paid holidays, a floating day off, and 2 paid days for volunteer time each calendar year.

To learn more about working at Yum!.

At Yum!, one of our core values is to Believe in ALL People. This means seeing the value in everyone and unlocking their full potential to be their best self.

YUM! Brands, Inc. (including its subsidiaries Yum Restaurant Services Group, LLC (“YRSG”) and Yum Connect, LLC (“Yum Digital and Technology”) (collectively, “Yum”) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to equity, inclusion, and belonging for all dimensions of diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other protected characteristic. Yum! is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities or special needs.

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