Innovation Manager (AI)

Location: Cardiff, UK; The Hague, Netherlands; or Washington, USA. Hybrid working with 2 days in the office per week.

Salary: £54,927–£68,659 per year, depending on experience. Equivalent figures are also listed as €75,439–€94,299 and $99,367–$124,208 USD.

Company

hirify.global provides educational services to more than 6,000 schools across 160 countries.

What you will do

• Identify, frame, and prioritize AI and automation opportunities that improve operational efficiency, quality, service, and risk management.
• Translate business challenges into AI use cases, success measures, delivery plans, cost estimates, resource forecasts, and business cases.
• Build and maintain a pipeline of AI-enabled improvement initiatives aligned with strategic priorities.
• Lead or coordinate pilots, proofs of concept, and experiments to validate business value and feasibility.
• Partner with Assessment and Operations, Digital, Data, Product, and other business teams to embed solutions into operational processes.
• Coordinate suppliers, contractors, and internal specialists while supporting stakeholder engagement, change planning, adoption, and benefits tracking.

Requirements

• Degree qualification or equivalent professional experience in operational improvement, digital transformation, business analysis, education technology, computer science, or a related field.
• Experience leading or supporting AI, automation, digital transformation, or data-driven improvement initiatives.
• Strong ability to translate business problems into requirements, use cases, and implementation plans.
• Knowledge of responsible AI, privacy, information security, and ethical considerations.
• Experience working with operational or assessment-related data to support decision-making and process improvement.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain complex concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across cross-functional teams.
• Working knowledge of AI, machine learning, generative AI, and automation technologies.

Culture & Benefits

• Fixed-term contract through 30 June 2027.
• Hybrid work with flexible working hours; UK core hours are 10am–12pm and 2pm–3pm, with a 37.5-hour working week.
• UK benefits include a flexible benefits allowance equivalent to 1.5% of annual salary, pension contributions, enhanced family-friendly benefits, and life assurance.
• 25 days of annual leave plus public holidays, with the option to purchase up to 5 additional days.
• Paid volunteering leave and continuous professional development opportunities.
• Respectful, diverse, compassionate, and equal-opportunity working environment with reasonable support or adjustments available.