Domain Expert; Data & AI Strategy

Domain Expert Role Overview

Location:

UK-based, hybrid working. Regular travel may be required to client sites, Methods offices and practice/community events.

Salary: £80,000-£120,000 base salary, plus bonus.

As a Domain Expert for Data & AI Strategy in the Data & AI Consulting Practice, you will help Methods' clients use data, analytics and AI to improve business outcomes, public services, operational performance, regulatory confidence and organisational capability.

You will act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, shape and deliver high-impact consulting engagements, support business development, create repeatable Methods offers and help build a strong internal community of practice.

Methods is appointing seven Domain Experts, each matched to a core strategic offering. These experts will be the thought leaders and subject-matter authorities for their domains, shaping propositions, guiding client delivery, and strengthening Methods' position in the market.

• Lead Data & AI strategy engagements for public-sector and regulated-industry clients.
• Facilitate senior stakeholder workshops with executives, boards, SROs, CDOs, CIOs, CTOs, transformation directors, operational leaders and service owners.
• Assess organisational maturity across data, AI, analytics, governance, technology, operating model, people, process, adoption and value realisation.
• Identify, assess and prioritise Data & AI use cases across operational efficiency, service improvement, decision support, automation, fraud/error reduction, workforce productivity and customer/citizen experience.
• Develop business cases, investment narratives, benefits maps, value cases, KPIs, OKRs and transformation roadmaps.
• Advise on technology strategy at decision level, including build/buy/partner options, platform direction, interoperability, supplier risk, lock-in, scalability and AI readiness.
• Help clients avoid disconnected pilots by defining realistic routes from experimentation to scaled delivery.
• Shape discovery, alpha, proof-of-concept, mobilisation and transformation programme approaches.
• Support sales and bid teams by developing Data & AI strategy offers, proposal content, client presentations and account growth ideas.
• Mentor consultants in strategic advisory skills, structured problem solving, executive communication, business case development and benefits-led consulting.

• 8+ years' experience in Data & AI strategy, digital transformation, technology advisory, business consulting, data-led change or large-scale transformation.
• Evidence of measurable impact from previous programmes or projects.
• Experience acting as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders in consulting, public sector, regulated industries or large complex organisations.
• Experience developing data strategies, AI strategies, transformation roadmaps, business cases or investment cases.
• Strong understanding of Data & AI capabilities, including analytics, AI/ML, GenAI, data platforms, data governance, architecture and adoption considerations.
• Experience prioritising use cases based on value, feasibility, risk, organisational readiness and strategic alignment.
• Experience working with sales, account or bid teams to shape offers, proposals or client opportunities.
• Experience contributing to communities of practice, professional development, knowledge-sharing or internal capability building.
• Experience working in highly regulated environments where governance, security, compliance, operational risk and auditability matter.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to turn ambiguity into clear options, recommendations and decisions.

• Data & AI strategy development.
• Executive advisory and board-level communication.
• Business case and value case development.
• Data and AI maturity assessment.
• Use-case discovery and prioritisation.
• Benefits realisation and impact measurement.
• Transformation roadmap design.
• Technology strategy and supplier option assessment.
• Strategic workshop design and facilitation.
  
  Public-sector and regulated-industry advisory.

• Central government, local government, health, justice, policing, education or defence.
• Energy, utilities, critical national infrastructure or regulated asset-intensive organisations.
• Defence primes, aerospace, aviation, space or complex engineering organisations.
• Financial services, insurance, telecoms or other highly regulated commercial sectors.

• Experience with HM Treasury Green Book, Better Business Cases, MSP, Agile delivery, TOGAF, SAFe or equivalent strategy/transformation methods.
• Experience advising on Microsoft Fabric, Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, Databricks, Snowflake, Microsoft Copilot or enterprise data platforms.
• Experience building new consulting propositions or scaling a consulting capability.
• Experience working in multi-supplier, client-side advisory or delivery assurance environments.
• Experience contributing to thought leadership, conference…