Senior Director, AI & Business Transformation (US) at Code and Theory

Code and Theory is hiring a Senior Director to lead large-scale business transformation engagements within our Enterprise Transformation practice. You will own C-suite relationships, design governance and operating model architecture, and use AI-powered prototyping to generate alignment before asking large organizations to change.

This is a senior anchor role. The right person combines executive presence with the instinct to prove things in practice rather than present them on slides. Consulting rigor and builder instincts in the same person — seniority scales the strategic frame, not the distance from delivery.

Depending on the client engagement, this role may operate in a forward-deployed capacity — embedded inside a client team, working alongside their engineers, product leads, and operators to ship solutions in real time. That is not a separate track or program. It is a mode this work requires, and the expectation is that you are ready for it when the account calls for it.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own VP-to-C-suite relationships across complex, multi-workstream engagements — shape scope, lead delivery, and maintain executive confidence through ambiguity
• Navigate organizational politics without losing the thread of what the engagement is actually trying to accomplish
• Hold both the strategic frame and working-level detail simultaneously — credible in a leadership offsite and a process redesign session in the same week
• Design target-state operating models end-to-end: org structure, decision rights, governance forums, and the operating cadences that make them run
• Define measurement strategy — performance baselines, leading and lagging indicators, and the metrics leadership actually uses
• Design investment governance frameworks: ROI models and stage-gate mechanisms that connect spend to measurable outcomes
• Design activation motions across direct and partner ecosystems, with the enablement and feedback loops that change behavior in the field
• Operate with genuine fluency in how AI and agentic workflows change operating models — measurement automation, intelligent routing, dynamic scoring
• Direct or build working prototypes that prove the approach: a functional demonstration inside the client's actual process carries more weight than a future-state slide
• Design human-agent collaboration patterns at the operating model level, including the governance that makes those boundaries sustainable
• Lead multi-workstream programs: workplan, resource allocation, risk management, and delivery governance
• Build reusable IP — diagnostic frameworks, blueprint templates, activation playbooks — that make the practice's work scalable
• Shape new engagements and contribute to business development alongside practice leadership

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• 12-15 years in management consulting, enterprise technology, or professional services; substantial time as the lead operator on executive-level transformation engagements
• Proven executive presence: able to hold a C-suite working session without a more senior person in the room
• Deep experience designing unified operating models spanning governance, org design, data and measurement, investment frameworks, and field enablement
• Track record structuring multi-phase transformation programs with measurable outcomes
• Background in enterprise software, SaaS, martech, or platform businesses — especially where the operating model spans direct and partner ecosystems — is a strong differentiator
• Clear, defensible point of view on where AI changes how an organization operates and where it is a distraction
• Fluency designing operating models where AI is a core mechanic, not a bolt-on
• Hands-on experience building AI-powered workflows or prototypes is a differentiator; strong conceptual command and the ability to direct technical execution is the floor
• Systems thinker: you understand how incentives, governance, data, and enablement interact — and how failure in one breaks the rest
• Accountable to outcomes: a transformation program that produces a good report but does not change how the organization operates is a failure
• Most useful close to the work — inside the client environment, not managing from a distance
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree or specialized credential a plus
• Willingness to travel within the US (20-30%)

ABOUT US

Born in 2001, Code and Theory is a digital-first creative agency that sits at the center of creativity and technology. We pride ourselves on not only solving consumer and business problems, but also helping to establish new capabilities for our clients. With a global client roster of Fortune 100s and start-ups alike, we crave the hardest problems to solve. We have teams distributed across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The Code and Theory global network of agencies is growing and includes Kettle, Instrument, Left Field Labs, Create Group, Current, and TrueLogic.

Striving never to be pigeonholed, we work across every major category: from tech to CPG, financial services to travel & hospitality, government and education to media and publishing. We value the collaboration with our client partners, including but not limited to Adidas, Amazon, Con Edison, Diageo, EY, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lenovo, Marriott, Mars, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, and TikTok.

The Code and Theory network is comprised of nearly 2,000 people with 50% engineers and 50% creative talent. We’re always on the lookout for smart, driven, and forward-thinking people to join our team.

The compensation range for this role is $160,000 – $250,000 and spans multiple levels. We're open to hiring at the level that best matches the right candidate's experience. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, budget, and location.