Head of Digital, AI and Innovation

This is not a traditional IT role. It is not an "AI for the sake of AI" role either. It is a chance to build something practical, safe and genuinely useful - using digital tools, automation and AI to reduce admin, improve access to knowledge, strengthen decision-making and give colleagues more time to focus on the people we support.

You will lead our new Digital, AI and Innovation function, reporting to the IT Director. You will work across operations, quality, people, finance, commercial and IT to find the problems worth solving, test ideas quickly, and turn the best ones into secure, scalable services. You will be part strategist, part translator, part delivery leader and part builder. You will need to be comfortable talking to senior leaders about risk, value and priorities - then sitting with operational teams to understand the messy reality of day-to-day work and how technology could make it better.

What you will help us do

We are building an AI and digital innovation capability that can move quickly, but safely.

That means:

• finding high-value opportunities for AI, automation and digital improvement
• turning business problems into practical solutions
• leading pilots, prototypes and experiments with clear success measures
• helping colleagues adopt new tools with confidence
• making sure innovation is governed, secure and supportable
• connecting ideas with data, systems, suppliers, APIs, security and architecture
• turning successful pilots into services that can scale across ivolve

This could include chatbots, AI agents, workflow automation, internal digital tools, SaaS improvements, process redesign, knowledge assistants and future AI-enabled services., * AI and digital innovation could change how ivolve works - but only if we do it well.

• Done badly, it creates noise, risk and disconnected experiments.
• Done well, it can help colleagues find information faster, remove unnecessary admin, improve consistency, support better decisions and unlock new ways of working across care and support.
• This role exists to make sure we do it well.
• To move fast where it is safe.
• To put people, values and accountability at the centre.
• And to turn innovation into something that genuinely helps ivolve support more people to flourish.

• You are curious, practical and impatient with clunky processes.
• You like solving ambiguous problems and turning ideas into action.
• You understand that AI is powerful, but only useful when it solves a real problem, has the right controls, and is adopted by people who trust it.
• You can challenge the status quo without creating chaos.
• You can move quickly without ignoring risk.
• You can translate technical concepts into plain English.
• You can work with people who are excited, sceptical, cautious or unsure and bring them with you.
• You care about using technology to make work better for colleagues and outcomes better for the people we support.

What we are looking for

We are looking for someone who is technically strong, delivery-focused and commercially minded - someone who can do more than talk about AI. You need to be credible with developers, architects, suppliers and senior stakeholders, and able to turn ideas into working, secure and supportable solutions.

You may come from a software development, solution design, automation, AI engineering, technical product, digital delivery or systems integration background. You may have led teams, built internal tools, developed automations, configured platforms, worked with APIs, or delivered technology-enabled change across complex systems.

You do not need to have done this exact role before - because very few people have. But you do need enough hands-on technical experience to understand how AI, automation, integrations, data flows and enterprise platforms actually work in practice. You will also need the judgement to know when to prototype quickly, when to apply more formal engineering discipline, and when technology is not the answer.

You will need experience or strong understanding of:

• software development, solution design, automation or technical delivery
• AI tools, agents, low-code platforms, workflow automation or digital product delivery
• APIs, integrations, data flows, SaaS platforms and cloud environments
• turning prototypes into secure, scalable and supportable services
• business analysis, process redesign, adoption and benefits tracking
• governance, risk, data protection, cyber security and responsible AI use
• working confidently across technical teams, suppliers, senior leaders and operational colleagues
• creating structure, standards and momentum in a new and fast-evolving area