Head of AI & Technology – Professional Services & Consulting

Cape Town | Hybrid | Permanent | Confidential Search

A specialist energy-economics consultancy and think tank is appointing a senior technology leader to shape its AI strategy, build its technology platform and help reinvent how the business works.

The firm combines strategic advisory, independent public-interest research and subscription market-intelligence products. It is growing and wants AI to increase the quality, reach and productivity of its work while keeping expert human judgement at the centre.

This is a senior leadership role for someone who combines practical AI expertise, product judgement and strategic thinking. You will need to move confidently between leadership discussions, hands-on prototyping and the delivery of reliable systems.

Working directly with the Managing Director, Head of Operations and senior technical leaders, you will shape how people and AI work together, develop new products and services, and connect the systems that support the business.

Key responsibilities

• Own and develop the firm’s AI strategy, translating advances in technology into practical improvements in research, analysis, writing, review and client delivery.
• Build and test AI workflows, agentic automation and knowledge-management capabilities, using experiments and prototypes to establish what delivers measurable value.
• Help identify and develop commercially relevant AI-enabled products and services, working with technical experts to turn specialist knowledge into scalable offerings.
• Build, run and improve the platforms supporting subscription products, including data pipelines, dashboards, subscriber tools and the computing environment around specialist models.
• Design a coherent architecture for internal systems across finance, timesheets, CRM, project and contract management, and reporting.
• Give leadership better visibility of the business through connected data and reliable management information.
• Partner with the Head of Operations on workflow redesign and implementation, owning technology architecture and delivery while Operations leads adoption and change management.
• Set standards for data security, client confidentiality, reproducibility and outsourced technology services.

You will be a strong fit if you have

• A substantial background in hands-on software development, engineering or technology delivery, supported by recent, practical experience building with AI.
• Strong applied knowledge of large language models, AI workflows, agentic automation and data engineering.
• Experience designing systems and taking prototypes or products into reliable production use.
• Sound product and commercial judgement, including pragmatic decisions about what to build, buy or outsource.
• The confidence to contribute to leadership-level discussions about business strategy, competitive positioning and the future of expert work.
• The ability to remain hands-on while setting direction and coordinating internal specialists and external providers.
• Clear communication and the credibility to work with economists, engineers and analytical experts who expect evidence and practical results.
• An interest in how AI changes client needs, service delivery and opportunities for new products.

This role is unlikely to suit candidates whose experience is primarily in

• IT support, systems administration or infrastructure management without practical AI and product-development experience.
• Technology strategy or transformation advisory without a substantial record of building and delivering systems.
• Pure research without experience applying technology to business workflows or production products.

Energy-sector experience is beneficial, but it is not essential. You do need the curiosity and technical ability to understand complex specialist work quickly.

The firm recognises that this combination is rare. Candidates with clear strengths in two of practical AI expertise, product innovation and senior leadership, and the ability to develop the third, are encouraged to apply.

Location: Cape Town, with hybrid flexibility

Package: Competitive base salary with a performance component recognising the AI impact you create

Please apply with a CV that clearly demonstrates what you have built, delivered and improved through AI and technology.