Senior Director, AI Porfolio & Governance

BioSpace; Oxford (PA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Immunocore is seeking a Senior Director, AI Portfolio & Governance to lead the enterprise AI strategy through disciplined portfolio management and governance. Reporting to the CIO, you will establish processes to assess, prioritize, approve, deliver and measure AI investments across R&D, Clinical, Regulatory, Medical, Commercial and corporate functions.

The role operates across AI engineering, Enterprise Systems, Data, IT Compliance, Legal, Privacy and Security, providing the structure to move

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in computer science, engineering, life sciences, business or related field.
• Typically 12+ years of enterprise technology, digital transformation, portfolio or program leadership, AI/data products, governance or regulated technology delivery.
• Experience establishing or running portfolio, governance or operating processes.
• Strong working knowledge of generative AI, LLM-based applications and agentic automation.

Responsibilities

• Translate the enterprise AI strategy into a managed portfolio, operating cadence and execution plan.
• Own the AI portfolio intake process, ensuring opportunities are captured, assessed and shaped before investment.
• Run portfolio prioritization and sequencing with CIO and leadership decisions.
• Develop and maintain business cases and investment proposals for AI initiatives.
• Establish and operate the AI governance process with IT Compliance, Legal, Privacy and Security.
• Translate AI policies and controls into practical operating processes.
• Maintain the enterprise AI portfolio view and provide concise reporting to CIO and senior leadership.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution across business owners, AI engineering, Enterprise Systems, Data and partners.
• Drive adoption and value realization for deployed AI capabilities and measurable benefits.
• Support scientific and healthcare AI opportunities by structuring use cases and engaging resources.
• Manage selected strategic vendors with clear scope and governance.
• Continuously improve the AI operating model.

Skills

Portfolio management

Cross-functional leadership

Executive communication

Generative AI knowledge

Education

Bachelor's or advanced degree in CS/engineering/life sciences/business

Job description

Vacancy Name

Senior Director, AI Porfolio & Governance

Vacancy No

VN853

Employment Type

Permanent

Location of role

Gaithersburg, MD, Radnor, PA or Oxford, UK

Department

Information Technology

Key Responsibilities

The Senior Director, AI Portfolio & Governance is responsible for implementing Immunocore's enterprise AI strategy through disciplined portfolio management, practical governance and coordinated execution. Reporting to the CIO, the role establishes and runs the processes through which AI opportunities are assessed, prioritized, approved, delivered and measured, ensuring investment is focused on the initiatives with the strongest business and scientific value.

The role works across R&D, Clinical, Regulatory, Medical, Commercial and corporate functions, and across AI engineering, Enterprise Systems, Data, IT Compliance, Legal, Privacy and Security. It provides the operating structure that moves AI initiatives from idea to production: clear intake and decision processes, defined ownership, proportionate controls, delivery coordination, adoption and benefits tracking.

This is a senior individual-contributor and matrix-leadership role. The CIO retains ownership of enterprise AI strategy, investment decisions and direct leadership of the technical AI resources. This role owns the portfolio-management and governance mechanisms used to implement that strategy, working through influence across business, technical and control functions rather than leading a parallel technology organization.

• Translate the enterprise AI strategy and priorities set by the CIO and leadership team into a managed portfolio, operating cadence and clear execution plan.
• Own the AI portfolio intake process, ensuring opportunities are consistently captured, assessed and shaped before investment or technical build begins.
• Run portfolio prioritization and sequencing, preparing clear recommendations for CIO and leadership decisions based on strategic alignment, expected value, risk, feasibility, capacity and dependencies.
• Develop and maintain business cases and investment proposals for AI initiatives, including expected benefits, delivery approach, resource needs, dependencies, risks and measurable outcomes.
• Establish and operate the AI governance process in partnership with IT Compliance, Legal, Privacy and Security, including risk classification, review gates, required approvals, decision records, ownership, monitoring expectations and escalation paths.
• Translate agreed AI policies, standards and control requirements into practical operating processes that teams can follow without creating unnecessary friction or duplicate governance.
• Maintain the enterprise AI portfolio view, including status, dependencies, delivery risks, decisions, spend, expected value and realized benefits; provide concise reporting to the CIO and senior leadership.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution across business owners, AI engineering, Enterprise Systems, Data and external partners, ensuring initiatives have clear ownership, requirements, acceptance criteria and delivery commitments.
• Drive adoption and value realization for deployed AI capabilities, establishing benefits measures such as cycle-time reduction, productivity, quality, adoption, risk reduction and business impact, and following through until benefits are evidenced.
• Support scientific, clinical and healthcare AI opportunities by helping functional leaders structure use cases, navigate the portfolio and governance process, and engage the right technical and specialist resources.
• Manage selected strategic vendors or implementation partners where they support portfolio execution, ensuring clear scope, effective handoffs, appropriate controls and sustainable internal capability.
• Continuously improve the AI operating model based on delivery experience, regulatory developments, technology changes and feedback from business and control functions.

Essential Qualifications

Education, Experience and Knowledge:

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in computer science, engineering, life sciences, business or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically 12+ years of relevant experience spanning enterprise technology, digital transformation, portfolio or program leadership, AI/data products, governance or regulated technology delivery, with significant experience operating with senior business stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience establishing or running portfolio, governance or operating processes that move technology initiatives from intake and prioritization through delivery, adoption and measurable value realization.
• Strong working knowledge of generative AI, LLM-based applications and agentic automation, sufficient to assess use cases, understand solution and control trade-offs, and work credibly with engineers, vendors and business stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in life sciences, biotech, pharma or another regulated environment, particularly where technology delivery requires structured governance, validation, privacy, security or risk controls.
• Experience with enterprise AI programs, AI portfolio management, responsible AI governance, or technology investment and prioritization processes.
• Familiarity with cloud AI platforms, ideally AWS, and modern data platforms such as Snowflake is beneficial but deep platform engineering expertise is not required.

Experience & Knowledge

• Strong portfolio and operating-model mindset: able to turn strategic direction into practical intake, prioritization, governance, delivery and benefits-management processes.
• Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional initiatives through influence, bringing together business SMEs, engineers, enterprise systems, data, compliance, legal, security and external partners.
• Strong business acumen and executive communication skills, including business-case development, prioritization recommendations, portfolio reporting, benefits tracking and concise senior leadership communication.
• Practical understanding of responsible AI concepts including evaluation, human oversight, risk tiering, auditability, validation and controls, applied in partnership with specialist compliance, legal, privacy and security teams.
• Comfort operating as a senior individual contributor in a small, high-impact AI function; direct people-management experience is useful but is not required for success in the role.

About The Company

Immunocore (NASDAQ: IMCR) is a pioneering, commercial-stage T cell receptor biotechnology company whose purpose is to develop and commercialize a new generation of transformative medicines which address unmet patient needs in oncology, infectious diseases and autoimmune disease. Our leaders in R&D are internationally recognised as some of the biotech industry’s most successful drug developers. We are creating not just an environment where great minds can interact but an innovation powerhouse answering the big questions.

Focused on delivering first-in-class biological therapies to patients, we have developed a highly innovative soluble TCR platform. Our ImmTAX molecules underpin a new generation of precision engineered drugs that harness the immune system to treat a broad spectrum of diseases with high unmet medical need, including oncology, infectious diseases and autoimmune diseases.

At Immunocore, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We value the unique contributions each person brings to our team. By embracing Science, Trust, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and Entrepreneurship (STRIDE), we create an environment where collaboration thrives, ideas flourish, and transformative changes happen. STRIDE represents more than just letters; it embodies our shared identity and drives our mission. We are dedicated to developing breakthrough therapies that transform patients’ lives, advancing medicine, and supporting one another in these pursuits.

Immunocore is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As such, we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law.