AI Council Program Manager & PMO Lead

About the job:

Experience: 10+ years, with prior consulting-advisory background (Big 4-Big 5).

We are seeking an experienced Program Manager to run the operational backbone of the client's Business Unit AI Council.

This role owns the Council's operating cadence end to end - from meeting preparation and materials, through decision capture and idea pipeline tracking, to stakeholder coordination and follow-through.

The ideal candidate brings a Big 4-Big 5 consulting or advisory pedigree: structured problem-solving, executive-grade communication, disciplined program governance, and the polish to operate credibly with senior client stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

AI Council Operations - Cadence:

- Own and run the operational cadence of the client BU AI Council: scheduling, agenda design, pre-reads, and meeting facilitation logistics.

- Prepare high-quality meeting materials - agendas, briefing packs, status summaries, and decision papers - to executive standard.

- Maintain an active, forward-looking agenda and a rigorously managed issue log.

Decision - Idea Management:

- Capture, structure, and track AI ideas and use-case proposals through the Council's intake and prioritization pipeline.

- Maintain a decision register: record Council decisions, rationale, owners, and target dates; ensure decisions are communicated and actioned.

- Track follow-ups to closure, escalating slippage and blockers with clear options and recommendations.

Stakeholder - Governance Management:

- Manage stakeholder role clarity across the Council (sponsors, members, working groups, SMEs); onboard new members and maintain RACI - terms of reference.

- Coordinate across business, technology, data, risk, and compliance stakeholders to keep initiatives moving between Council sessions.

- Serve as the single point of contact for Council operations, ensuring transparency and predictability of the governance rhythm.

PMO Discipline:

- Establish and maintain PMO artifacts: plans, RAID logs, status reporting, dependency tracking, and benefits - value tracking for Council-sponsored initiatives.

- Produce concise, executive-ready status reporting for BU leadership and program sponsors.

- Continuously improve Council operating mechanics - templates, tooling, cadence, and information flow.

Required Qualifications - Experience:

- 10+ years of program-project management experience, with substantial time managing executive governance forums, steering committees, or transformation PMOs.

- Prior consulting or advisory experience with a Big 4-Big 5 firm (or equivalent tier-one advisory firm) is mandatory.

- Demonstrated ability to prepare board-steering-committee-grade materials: agendas, briefing packs, decision papers, and status reports.

- Strong stakeholder management skills at senior manager to CXO level; comfortable chasing actions across functions with tact and persistence.

- Excellent written and verbal communication; high attention to detail; strong PowerPoint and Excel skills.

- Working knowledge of AI-GenAI concepts sufficient to engage credibly with AI use-case discussions (deep technical expertise not required).

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience running AI-digital transformation governance bodies, innovation councils, or use-case intake-prioritization processes.

- Familiarity with AI governance themes: responsible AI, data privacy, risk and compliance considerations in AI adoption.

- PMP, PRINCE2, MSP, or SAFe certification.

- Experience in financial services or professional services client environments.

- Familiarity with collaboration and tracking tooling (Azure DevOps, Jira, Planner, SharePoint, Miro or equivalent).

Success Measures (First 6-12 Months):

- Council cadence running predictably with materials issued on time and to standard.

- 100% of decisions and actions logged, owned, and tracked to closure; ageing actions visibly managed.

- Stakeholder feedback confirms the Council is well-run, transparent, and decision-effective.

- Idea pipeline actively maintained with clear prioritization status for every intake item.