Service Line Leader - AI & Data
Position Summary
We are seeking an entrepreneurial Service Line Leader - AI & Data to grow and scale HEA's AI & Data advisory practice. This is a hands-on leadership role built around service definition and delivery. The successful candidate will be the subject-matter authority who scopes, estimates, and closes AI & Data engagements sourced by HEA's BD/Marketing team and account leaders, build the delivery methodology and team, and serve as HEA's public face and thought leader for AI & Data in the market.
Reporting & Organizational Fit
- Serves as a peer to HEA's existing Service Line Leaders
- Partners directly with HEA's four industry vertical leads (Financial Services; Healthcare & Human Services; Nonprofit & Education; Supply Chain, Construction & Real Estate), who surface AI & Data opportunities within their existing client accounts
- Partners with the CRO and BD/Marketing team, who own new-logo lead generation and pipeline sourcing for AI & Data
Key Responsibilities
1. Deal Estimating, Solutioning & Closing
- Serve as the AI & Data subject-matter expert in active sales cycles sourced by BD/Marketing (new clients) and account leaders/account teams (existing clients)
- Lead solution scoping, estimating, and proposal development for AI & Data engagements, translating client needs into credible statements of work and pricing
- Personally participate in and help close deals, bringing technical credibility and executive presence to the table alongside account leaders and BD
- Lead contract and commercial negotiation for AI & Data engagements
- Own revenue, margin, and growth targets for the service line, with accountability for estimating accuracy, win rate, and deal profitability
2. Market Presence & Thought Leadership
- Serve as the face of AI & Data for HEA in the market, the go-to public voice, in partnership with Marketing, on AI & Data topics
- Represent HEA at industry forums, conferences, webinars, and in publications as an AI & Data subject-matter expert
- Partner with Marketing on content, point-of-view pieces, and campaigns that build HEA's AI & Data brand and credibility ahead of the sales cycle
- Translate complex AI & Data concepts into clear, actionable insight for non-technical executive audiences, both externally and internally
3. Practice Building & Delivery
- Build, launch, and scale a profitable AI & Data service line, including staffing model, pricing strategy, and service catalog
- Recruit, vet, and manage a bench of fractional AI & Data Associates consistent with HEA's fractional delivery model
- Create repeatable delivery methodologies, accelerators, and reusable intellectual property
- Collaborate with business and technical teams to define, prioritize, and roadmap client AI & Data initiatives
4. Advisory & Innovation
- Advise HEA leadership and clients on AI & Data strategy, market trends, and emerging opportunities
- Evaluate emerging AI technologies, vendors, and partners, maintaining HEA's vendor-independent posture, no single-vendor bias in recommendations to clients
5. Responsible AI & Risk Oversight
- Apply right-sized, pragmatic AI governance and risk practices appropriate to mid-market clients, prioritizing practical guardrails over enterprise-scale compliance frameworks
- Identify risks associated with client AI adoption and recommend proportionate mitigation strategies
- Periodically assess delivered AI & Data engagements for business impact, scalability, and ROI
Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in AI/ML, data science, or related fields, including demonstrated advisory or strategic leadership contributions
- Proven track record scoping, estimating, and closing complex consulting or professional services engagements as the subject-matter expert in the sales cycle. Comfortable being brought in by account leaders and BD to help win deals
- Established or emerging public profile as an AI & Data thought leader, speaking, writing, or media experience is a strong plus
- Strong working knowledge of AI technologies including machine learning, NLP, computer vision, and generative AI/LLMs
- Working knowledge of AI governance and responsible AI practices, applied pragmatically for mid-market clients
- Strong business acumen with a track record of aligning technology strategy to business outcomes
- Exceptional communication, executive presence, and stakeholder management skills
- Comfort operating in an advisory delivery model rather than a traditional staffed-team consulting environment
- Bachelor's degree in a related field required; Master's degree preferred but not required
Job Type:Full-Time
Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k with Match
