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The Most Senior Data & AI Role We Have Seen Posted This Week

Writer: Sochima Anthony Nwafor
Sochima Anthony Nwafor
Oct 6
3 min read

This one is for the senior professionals in the BDPN community, those who have been leading data teams, shipping production AI systems, and thinking about organizational strategy, not just technical delivery. The opportunity is significant: a Head of Data & AI role with full autonomy to define strategy, build a team, and put real AI capabilities into production at scale.

The salary is £170,000 to £180,000. The location is West Yorkshire, on-site. The brief is to turn data and AI into genuine business differentiators not to manage a legacy analytics function, but to actually build something new.

The Role

Head of Data & AI, Confidential employer (retained search via Morson Edge)

West Yorkshire — on-site | Permanent | £170,000 – £180,000

The hiring organisation is looking for a commercially minded, hands-on leader to define and deliver their Data & AI strategy from the ground up. This is not an oversight role. You will be expected to set the technical direction, explore and apply generative AI and LLM technologies, own the data platform strategy, establish MLOps practices, build the team, and connect technology investment to measurable commercial outcomes.

What the role involves

  • Defining and delivering the full Data & AI strategy, roadmap, and technical direction

  • Applying generative AI, LLMs, RAG, Agentic AI, predictive analytics, graph intelligence, recommendation systems, and semantic search

  • Taking ideas from prototype and MVP through to production at scale

  • Owning the data platform strategy and ensuring robust MLOps and engineering practices

  • Building, leading, and developing a high-performing Data & AI team

  • Working with senior leadership to connect AI investment to customer outcomes and commercial priorities

  • You must have: Proven production-grade AI and ML experience, hands-on generative AI and LLM expertise including RAG and agent architectures, deep modern data engineering knowledge, strong Azure cloud background, and a track record of leading high-performing technical teams.

How to apply well

  • Your CV must show production AI, not just experimentation. At this level, employers want to see systems that ran in the real world with users, with monitoring, with business outcomes attached. For every AI initiative you list, include what it delivered commercially: revenue generated, cost saved, decision quality improved.

  • Frame your leadership story clearly. You are applying to build a team from scratch or reshape an existing one. Document team sizes you have led, how you structured capability development, how you handled underperformance, and how you connected team growth to business outcomes.

  • Demonstrate commercial judgment. This role sits at the executive table. Your CV and cover letter should read like a business document as much as a technical one. What technology investments did you champion, and what was the business case? What did you say no to, and why?

  • Address responsible AI explicitly. The job description calls out that AI innovation must be "secure, responsible, transparent and appropriate." At this salary level, the hiring manager will expect a considered answer to questions about AI governance, bias, and risk.

  • Contact Morson Edge proactively. This is a retained executive search. The recruiter is your route in. Reach out to Morson Edge directly via LinkedIn or their website with your CV and a brief note about why this role fits where you are in your career.

Who to message on LinkedIn

  • Morson Edge Executive Search Team: https://www.linkedin.com/company/morson-group Morson Edge handles the search for this role. A direct message to their senior consultants at Morson Edge (searchable via the Morson Group LinkedIn page) is the right first step, not the company being hired for. Introduce yourself briefly, reference the TotalJobs listing, and attach your CV.

  • Ian Benjamin — Founder & MD, BDPN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianbenjamin1/ — Ian has deep relationships with UK employers across data, digital, and technology. If you are a senior BDPN member pursuing this role, let him know, BDPN's employer network and Ian's personal relationships in the sector could open a direct conversation with the hiring company.

  • Dr Stephen Nwoye — Senior Data Engineer, NHS; BDPN CPD Course Designer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-nwoye-860b3911a/ Stephen is a senior data practitioner within the BDPN community. A conversation with him about interview preparation for a Head of Data & AI role, particularly around responsible AI and AI governance — would be genuinely valuable.


    BDPN job role
    BDPN job role

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