Company Overview

Our client is a mission-driven science philanthropy that fuels breakthrough biomedical discovery and strengthens science education by backing exceptional researchers with long-term, flexible support. With a multi-billion-dollar endowment and a sustained annual investment in research and education, the organization is built for long-horizon impact rather than short-term results. Its culture emphasizes curiosity, rigor, and collaboration, with a strong commitment to responsible innovation and an inclusive environment where teams are encouraged to test, learn, and continuously improve. As the organization continues to modernize how it operates in service of its mission, it is building a practical, responsible internal AI capability and is hiring a Director, AI Enablement to lead that effort.

Position Overview

The Director, AI Enablement is an inaugural, high-visibility opportunity to build an enterprise AI capability from the ground up with clear executive sponsorship and the ability to shape both strategy and execution. You will lead an internal AI accelerator team focused on turning generative AI into real operational improvements by identifying high-value problems, rapidly prototyping solutions, and deploying tools that teams actually use. This role blends technical credibility with cross-functional influence, partnering closely with leaders across administration, operations, IT, and change enablement. Success will be measured by tangible outcomes, including a portfolio of completed pilots and multiple solutions in sustained operational use within the first 12 to 18 months.

Position Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted partner to senior leaders and operational teams as they evaluate and adopt AI-enabled ways of working.
• Build and lead a small, high-impact team and coordinate work with external specialists and vendors as needed.
• Identify, prioritize, and lead high-impact generative AI pilots across administrative and operational functions.
• Own end-to-end pilot delivery, from problem definition and solution design through deployment and adoption.
• Translate leadership priorities and business needs into clear, executable AI use cases that drive measurable improvement.
• Ensure solutions are embedded into day-to-day work by redesigning workflows, balancing efficiency, usability, and appropriate human oversight.
• Drive rapid prototyping and iteration so pilots produce usable solutions, not just demonstrations.
• Partner with IT and data teams to assess data readiness and enable responsible access and integration needed for AI use cases.
• Help establish and follow responsible AI and data-handling guidelines, including a clear governance process for approvals and risk review.
• Stay current on the generative AI landscape and recommend what to adopt, test, or defer based on value, feasibility, and risk.

Position Qualifications

Required:

• A proven track record delivering practical, production-grade AI or technology solutions that drive measurable operational impact.
• A minimum of 8 to 12 years of progressive experience in AI, technology, or digital transformation roles, including meaningful recent experience implementing generative AI in enterprise settings (or equivalent experience).
• Hands-on technical credibility, including building and deploying genAI solutions and rapid prototyping (for example, in Python) with an ability to evaluate build vs buy tradeoffs.
• Working knowledge of modern genAI patterns (for example, retrieval approaches for internal knowledge, agent-style workflows, and prompt design) and how to apply them responsibly.
• Demonstrated experience taking pilots into sustained use, including reliability, user adoption, and support considerations.
• Strong process orientation with experience redesigning workflows so AI improves how work gets done.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical trade-offs to executives and translate business goals into executable delivery plans.

Preferred:

• Experience in mission-driven organizations and/or environments with distributed or consensus-driven decision-making.
• Experience supporting adoption through change management, training, and communications alongside solution delivery.
• Experience managing both direct reports and external partners to deliver outcomes on time and with accountability.

If you’re ready to make an impact and take your career to the next level, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now and a member of Talentfoot’s recruitment team will be in touch should your track record of success, experience, skills and qualifications match our client’s requirements.

Talentfoot Overview

Talentfoot Executive Search specializes in future proofing organizations by securing forward-thinking leaders across sales, marketing, eCommerce, product, data, operations, finance, and technology with a track record of accelerating growth, innovation and profitability. Since 2010, we’ve partnered with more than 2,500 companies and lead the industry with a 98% client success rate. Learn more at Talentfoot.com