AI Strategy Delivery Lead - Retail - Strategy & Consulting
Accenture
AI Strategy Delivery Lead – Retail - Strategy & Consulting
Job Description
We Are
The beginning of a new Data & AI decade that will reshape work and society has begun. Accenture is stepping boldly into this future with a clear strategy and purpose: to help clients optimise and reinvent their business with data & AI — backed by a multibillion-dollar investment and commitment to our people to do industry-defining work. With over 45,000 professionals dedicated to Data & AI, our Data & AI organisation brings together experienced innovation, strategic investment, exceptional talent and a powerful ecosystem.
You Are
As an AI Strategy/Delivery Lead, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and leading enterprise-wide AI transformation programmes within Strategy & Consulting for Retail Companies. You will translate high-level business and industry roadmaps into actionable AI strategies, delivery frameworks and operational models. Your contributions will be instrumental in defining how generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), agentic workflows and advanced analytics deliver measurable business value — and in leading cross-functional teams to deliver at scale.
The Work
Architect and lead end-to-end AI transformation programmes within retail: from visioning and strategy through roadmap, business case, use-case prioritisation, value capture model, and scaling to full business operations.
Engage with C-suite and senior client stakeholders to identify strategic AI opportunities, align them with business objectives, develop investment cases and define success metrics.
Define and embed AI-powered operating models, governance frameworks, organisational readiness plans (people, process, technology) and change management strategies to operationalise AI at scale.
Architect the solution mix, including generative AI/LLMs, retrieval-augmented workflows (RAG), agentic automation and advanced data architecture, ensuring alignment to business value and risk/privacy/ethical considerations.
Estimate cost models and business viability of AI/LLM usage patterns — including licensing, cloud/compute, fine-tuning and ongoing operationalisation — and drive decisions on technology sourcing, ecosystems and vendor partnerships.
Establish and manage delivery frameworks and reusable solution patterns and components for AI strategy and execution, enabling acceleration across clients and industries.
Lead cross-functional teams spanning strategy, design, architecture, engineering, data science, and delivery — including mentoring, resource planning, performance management and ensuring high-quality client outcomes.
Drive go-to-market efforts: contribute to proposal development, service offering definition, executive thought leadership and internal capability uplift.
Manage financial oversight of AI programmes: forecasting, budgeting, commercial tracking, risk mitigation, and value realisation metrics.
Ensure adherence to Responsible AI, security, data privacy, regulatory and ethical requirements in all AI strategy and delivery work.
Qualifications
What You Need
10+ years of consulting, business transformation or digital strategy experience with at least 6 years dedicated to AI/ML/data strategy or delivery roles.
Proven record of leading large, complex AI/data transformation engagements with senior client sponsors and multi-million budgets.
Deep understanding of generative AI, LLM technologies, agentic systems, RAG and advanced analytics, and how they map to business opportunity and operational model change.
Strong business acumen with ability to link AI ambitions to value creation, cost models, risk models and operating model design.
Excellent stakeholder management skills, including experience influencing at C-suite level, leading multidisciplinary teams and driving strategic decisions under ambiguity.
Experience with cloud-based data and AI platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and knowledge of enterprise architecture, data ecosystems, AI platform components.
English is required for this position as this role will regularly interact with stakeholders across Canada, US and other countries across our Global footprint where English is the common language. Due to the significant high volume of interactions with these English-speaking stakeholders, which is inherent to this position, it is not possible to reorganize the company's activities to avoid this requirement.
A University Degree is required for this position.
Bonus Points If You Have
Experience within specific industries (e.g., Communications, Media & Technology, Financial Services, Retail) driving AI-enabled reinvention.
Demonstrated thought leadership in AI strategy, generative AI/LLMs or agentic automation.
Direct experience in developing AI operating models, maturity assessments and value frameworks.
Prior experience managing global delivery or offshore teams, and travel flexibility (0-100% depending on client).
Locations
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