Head of Artificial Intelligence

Role Purpose

The Head of AI will define and deliver Homes for Students’ enterprise AI strategy, embedding intelligent solutions across the organisation to enhance customer experience, improve operational efficiency, strengthen decision-making, deepen data insights, and drive commercial performance.

As the senior authority on AI, data science, and automation, the role will translate business challenges into scalable, ethical, and value-driven AI solutions that deliver measurable impact. AI will be positioned as a core business capability, integrated into how the organisation operates, rather than a standalone technical function.

Working closely with executive leadership, technology teams, and operational stakeholders, the Head of AI will drive the practical adoption of generative AI, predictive analytics, intelligent automation, and AI-powered decisioning across multiple business areas. All initiatives will be embedded into day-to-day workflows, with clear outcomes, adoption, and return on investment.

The role will also ensure that Homes for Students adopts AI responsibly, balancing innovation with strong governance, transparency, security, and regulatory compliance, while staying ahead of emerging regulation and industry best practice.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Leadership

• Define and own the enterprise AI strategy aligned to Homes for Students’ business goals.
• Identify high-value AI use cases across multiple departments
• Act as a senior advisor to the executive team on AI opportunities, risks, and investment decisions.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing AI and data science capability, including internal teams and external partners.
• Promote a culture of data-driven decision-making and responsible AI adoption across the organisation.

Delivery & Execution

• Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of AI solutions, from discovery and design through to deployment, adoption, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure AI products are scalable, secure, explainable, and integrated into real business processes and systems.
• Champion intelligent automation, AI copilots, and decision-support tools to improve productivity, service quality, and speed of execution.
• Define success metrics and ensure AI initiatives deliver measurable ROI and business impact.

Governance, Ethics & Risk

• Establish AI governance frameworks covering ethics, bias, privacy, security, and regulatory compliance.
• Ensure responsible use of AI.
• Stay ahead of UK and global AI regulation and best practice.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with operational and functional leaders to ensure AI solutions solve real-world problems and are adopted effectively.
• Translate complex AI concepts into clear, actionable business language for non-technical audiences.
• Represent Homes for Students externally with technology vendors, strategic partners, and industry forums, shaping partnerships and thought leadership.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Deep understanding of modern AI ecosystems, including generative AI, agentic systems, AI copilots, automation, and orchestration frameworks.
• Significant experience leading AI, data science, advanced analytics, or intelligent automation functions at a senior level.
• Proven track record of delivering complex transformation programmes where data, technology, and innovation materially improved business performance.
• Strong technical grounding in machine learning, generative AI, automation, and modern data platforms, with the ability to guide architectural decisions.
• Experience operating in complex, regulated, or customer-centric environments.
• Ability to influence at executive level and bridge technical, operational, and commercial perspectives.

Desirable

• Experience in property, real estate, hospitality, retail, or other consumer-facing service environments.
• Demonstrable experience delivering AI solutions that generated tangible business value and operational improvement.
• Experience working with cloud-based AI platforms and modern data stacks.
• Knowledge of emerging AI regulation and ethical AI frameworks.

What We Offer:

• Generous holiday package: 25 days, plus bank holidays, for work-life balance.
• An extra day off for your birthday.
• Pension Scheme.
• Exclusive retail discounts to make your money go further.
• Car leasing scheme for a comfortable commute.
• Cycle-to-work scheme to stay active and eco-friendly.
• 2 charity days per year to make a difference in the community.
• Life insurance for peace of mind.
• Just Eat for Business - we love a regular takeaway!
• Length in service bonuses