HEAD OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Our client, a leading textile organization, seeks to appoint an experienced professional for the following role:

The Head of Artificial Intelligence will establish and lead the organization's AI function from the ground up, reporting to the Chief Information Officer. The role will define the AI strategy, governance and operating model, identify and deliver high-value use cases across corporate (IT) and manufacturing (OT) domains, and drive AI awareness and adoption across the workforce while managing the risk and ethical dimensions of AI.

• →Develop a multi-year AI strategy and roadmap covering corporate (IT) and manufacturing (OT) domains, with prioritized use cases tied to measurable business value.
• →Assess current AI readiness across data, infrastructure, skills and use cases, and establish a maturity baseline benchmarked against textile and manufacturing practice.
• →Design and build the AI function, including roles, reporting structure and operating model, integrated with IT, OT, Digitalization and Cybersecurity.
• →Take prioritized use cases such as quality and defect detection, demand forecasting, process optimization and corporate productivity tools from pilot to production, tracking ROI for each.
• →Define a build-vs-buy-vs-outsource framework; select and govern AI vendors and platforms under clear contracts and SLAs.
• →Implement an AI governance framework covering data usage, model risk, bias, explainability and human oversight.
• →Lead AI literacy and adoption programs for corporate teams and shop-floor staff, and reduce unsanctioned AI use.
• →Partner with Infrastructure, Systems and Digitalization teams to ensure data, compute and OT data pipelines are ready to support AI at scale.

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering or a related discipline. An MBA or equivalent business qualification is an advantage.

10–15 years of progressive experience in AI/ML, data or digital transformation, including at least 3–5 years building or leading an AI function or major AI program from an early stage. Experience applying AI in both corporate and industrial/manufacturing environments is strongly preferred; textile or process-manufacturing exposure is an advantage.

• Strong working knowledge of AI/ML, generative AI, computer vision and industrial AI applications such as predictive maintenance and quality inspection.
• Proven ability to translate AI capability into a prioritized, business-relevant roadmap and to separate genuine value from hype.
• Experience establishing AI governance covering data privacy, model risk, bias and responsible use, with familiarity with relevant Pakistani legislation such as PECA 2016 and the Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2002.
• Track record of evaluating and managing AI vendors, platforms and outsourced AI services, including commercial and governance terms.
• Proven ability to build a new function and to attract and develop AI and data talent.
• Strong change-leadership, stakeholder-management and cross-functional collaboration skills.