Senior Director, AI Porfolio & Governance

Senior Director, AI Porfolio & Governance

VN853

Permanent

Gaithersburg, MD, Radnor, PA or Oxford, UK

Information Technology

The Senior Director, AI Portfolio & Governance is responsible for implementing Immunocore's enterprise AI strategy through disciplined portfolio management, practical governance and coordinated execution. Reporting to the CIO, the role establishes and runs the processes through which AI opportunities are assessed, prioritized, approved, delivered and measured, ensuring investment is focused on the initiatives with the strongest business and scientific value.

The role works across R&D, Clinical, Regulatory, Medical, Commercial and corporate functions, and across AI engineering, Enterprise Systems, Data, IT Compliance, Legal, Privacy and Security. It provides the operating structure that moves AI initiatives from idea to production: clear intake and decision processes, defined ownership, proportionate controls, delivery coordination, adoption and benefits tracking.

This is a senior individual-contributor and matrix-leadership role. The CIO retains ownership of enterprise AI strategy, investment decisions and direct leadership of the technical AI resources. This role owns the portfolio-management and governance mechanisms used to implement that strategy, working through influence across business, technical and control functions rather than leading a parallel technology organization.

• Translate the enterprise AI strategy and priorities set by the CIO and leadership team into a managed portfolio, operating cadence and clear execution plan.
• Own the AI portfolio intake process, ensuring opportunities are consistently captured, assessed and shaped before investment or technical build begins.
• Run portfolio prioritization and sequencing, preparing clear recommendations for CIO and leadership decisions based on strategic alignment, expected value, risk, feasibility, capacity and dependencies.
• Develop and maintain business cases and investment proposals for AI initiatives, including expected benefits, delivery approach, resource needs, dependencies, risks and measurable outcomes.
• Establish and operate the AI governance process in partnership with IT Compliance, Legal, Privacy and Security, including risk classification, review gates, required approvals, decision records, ownership, monitoring expectations and escalation paths.
• Translate agreed AI policies, standards and control requirements into practical operating processes that teams can follow without creating unnecessary friction or duplicate governance.
• Maintain the enterprise AI portfolio view, including status, dependencies, delivery risks, decisions, spend, expected value and realized benefits; provide concise reporting to the CIO and senior leadership.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution across business owners, AI engineering, Enterprise Systems, Data and external partners, ensuring initiatives have clear ownership, requirements, acceptance criteria and delivery commitments.
• Drive adoption and value realization for deployed AI capabilities, establishing benefits measures such as cycle-time reduction, productivity, quality, adoption, risk reduction and business impact, and following through until benefits are evidenced.
• Support scientific, clinical and healthcare AI opportunities by helping functional leaders structure use cases, navigate the portfolio and governance process, and engage the right technical and specialist resources.
• Manage selected strategic vendors or implementation partners where they support portfolio execution, ensuring clear scope, effective handoffs, appropriate controls and sustainable internal capability.
• Continuously improve the AI operating model based on delivery experience, regulatory developments, technology changes and feedback from business and control functions.

Education, Experience and Knowledge:

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in computer science, engineering, life sciences, business or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically 12+ years of relevant experience spanning enterprise technology, digital transformation, portfolio or program leadership, AI/data products, governance or regulated technology delivery, with significant experience operating with senior business stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience establishing or running portfolio, governance or operating processes that move technology initiatives from…