Head of AI Delivery and Innovation

Head of AI and Innovation

Fixed-term contract | Brisbane (hybrid, 2-3 days onsite) | $157,000-$192,000 plus 17% superannuation

Seek selling points

• A rare dual mandate: shape the AI roadmap, then personally build the systems that ship
• Direct visibility to the CIO, COO and Executive Group on AI you personally build
• 12-month fixed-term contract inside a genuine multi-year AI transformation program

About the client

Our client is a large higher education organisation undergoing a significant technology-led transformation, with artificial intelligence central to how it plans to serve students, staff and the broader community. Its Digital Solutions function is values-driven, modernising technology, culture and ways of working to build a genuinely digital future. Operating in a sector under close public scrutiny, the organisation has set its sights on becoming a genuine leader in applied AI rather than a follower. It is a complex, federated environment where change happens at scale and outcomes matter to a broad community of stakeholders.

About the role

Most organisations have an AI strategist who cannot build, or a builder with no seat at the table; this role is deliberately both. You will have direct input into the University's AI roadmap and Digital Master Plan rather than only executing someone else's, while remaining genuinely hands-on in designing and building agentic AI, generative AI and RAG-based systems from concept through to production. Based in Brisbane on a hybrid basis, with two to three days onsite, you will report to the CIO and be visible to the COO and Executive Group, engaged on a 12-month fixed-term contract that sits inside a genuine multi-year transformation program. You will thrive here if you want both the seat at the table and your hands on the keyboard, and struggle if you only want one.

Duties

• Own end-to-end delivery of agentic AI, generative AI, LLM and RAG-based systems, from concept through to production.
• Provide direct input into the University's AI roadmap and Digital Master Plan, shaping direction as well as delivering against it.
• Establish the AI capability function from scratch, including tooling, delivery patterns, multi-agent orchestration practices and an initial operating model.
• Make enterprise architecture and cloud platform decisions across Azure, AWS and GCP to ensure solutions are secure, scalable and sustainable.
• Embed governance, risk and responsible AI as a core pillar, covering transparency, bias mitigation and post-deployment monitoring, while mentoring and uplifting existing staff.

Requirements

• Postgraduate qualification, or equivalent industry experience, in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering or a related discipline.
• Proven track record shipping AI or ML into production in a real enterprise environment, not just a lab or a pilot.
• Experience building or leading an AI capability function from the ground up.
• Hands-on experience with agentic AI and multi-agent orchestration, not just conceptual familiarity.
• Practical experience with RAG, prompt engineering and MLOps/LLMOps, evidenced by work actually delivered.
• Genuine commitment to governance and responsible AI in a regulated or complex environment.
• Comfortable operating under executive and board-level scrutiny, not just line management oversight.
• Australian citizenship or permanent residency is required for this role.

How to apply

If you want both the seat at the table and your hands on the keyboard, we would love to hear from you.