Director of Data & AI

• Drive WK's next phase of data, analytics and AI capability across the firm.
• Turn data and emerging AI into practical solutions for our business and clients.
• Shape the future of data and AI across strategy, transformation and governance.

Join the best. Be yourself.

“Being the best isn’t just about being the best professionals. It’s about being the best place to work, grow, be yourself.”

The opportunity
 
WK is building a leading AI-enabled global insurance business, and we’re looking for a Director, AI & Data to help lead that change. This is a senior leadership role for someone who wants to build AI, not just buy and roll it out, and to change how legal services are delivered to the insurance market. 
As a global firm with a singular focus on insurance, we hold deep, specialised knowledge of claims, coverage and disputes across Australia, the UK and Asia. You’ll turn that domain depth into models, ontologies and applied AI solutions used by our lawyers and our clients. 

Reporting to our Chief Technology & AI Officer (CTAIO) and working closely with our Head of Agentic Strategy & Operations, you’ll help shape and deliver our firmwide AI strategy across applied and generative AI. You’ll lead the technical vision, the team and the platforms that bring it to life, from strong data foundations through to agentic workflows and client-facing AI solutions. 

 
You’ll be responsible for:

AI strategy & vision 

• Work with the CTAIO to define and deliver WK’s AI and data strategy, translating it into a multi-year roadmap with clear, measurable outcomes. 
• Decide where WK builds, buys and partners, taking a clear-eyed view of frontier models, legal AI platforms and emerging capabilities such as agentic AI. 
• Keep WK at the forefront of AI and legal technology, and be a credible voice for the firm with clients, industry and the market. 

Applied & generative AI 

• Lead the design, build and deployment of applied and generative AI embedded in how our lawyers work. This spans predictive analytics and classification through to drafting, summarisation and decision support. 
• Partner with our Head of Agentic Strategy & Operations to design, build and scale agentic workflows across our product lines, with the right controls and human oversight. 
• Bring a product mindset: prioritise use cases by value, ship iteratively, measure adoption and impact, and retire what doesn’t work. 
• Get the most from our enterprise AI platforms while building differentiated capability on top of them. 

Models, ontologies & knowledge 

• Build WK’s knowledge layer: insurance and legal ontologies, taxonomies and knowledge graphs that capture how our domain expertise connects. 
• Lead retrieval, grounding, fine-tuning and model development approaches that turn WK’s knowledge and expertise into AI that outperforms generic tools. 
• Establish rigorous evaluation, including domain-specific benchmarks and expert review with our lawyers, so we know where our AI excels and where it doesn’t. 

Client solutions 

• Work with the CTAIO and our Advisory team to develop solutions and client platforms that support WK’s AI-focused risk offerings. 
• Bring high standards of explainability, auditability and assurance to everything we build. 
• Identify opportunities to create new client value from WK’s AI and data capability. 

Data foundations & architecture 

• Build on our existing data engineering and platform capability to create AI-ready data that is clean, connected, well governed and accessible. 
• Provide strategic oversight of our data and AI architecture so it remains scalable, secure, model-agnostic and aligned with business needs. 

Governance & responsible AI 

• Work with the CTAIO, General Counsel and risk to operationalise AI governance across the model lifecycle: development, evaluation, deployment, monitoring and retirement. 
• Embed privacy, confidentiality, security and responsible AI by design, supported by enterprise AI governance tooling. 

Team, capability & community 

• Build and lead a multidisciplinary team spanning data engineering, AI/ML engineering, knowledge engineering and legal engineering. 
• Partner with product line AI leaders, AI champions, innovation and L&D to lift AI fluency across the firm, moving from experimentation to consistent use of productised workflows. 
• Create an environment where experimentation is encouraged, learning is shared and good ideas reach production quickly.

What you'll bring

• 10+ years in senior AI, ML and/or data leadership, with a track record of taking AI from prototype to production at enterprise scale, ideally in professional services, legal, insurance, financial services or another regulated environment.
• Hands-on depth across applied and generative AI, including classical ML and predictive modelling, LLMs, retrieval and grounding, fine-tuning, agentic systems and evaluation. You’ll also have the judgement to know which approach fits which problem. 
• Experience in knowledge engineering, such as ontologies, taxonomies, knowledge graphs or semantic data models, or a strong appetite to lead it. 
• A strong grasp of AI and data governance, including privacy, confidentiality, security, model risk and responsible AI. 
• A product and commercial mindset, with the ability to turn emerging technology into practical outcomes for lawyers and clients and articulate value in business terms. 
• Leadership that attracts and grows strong technical talent, and the ability to influence partners and executives by explaining complex ideas simply. 
• Familiarity with modern cloud and data environments (e.g. Azure, AWS, Fabric) and a relevant tertiary qualification or equivalent experience. 

Why Wotton Kearney?
At WK, you'll join a high-performing and supportive team where your contribution is genuinely valued. We invest in our people, encourage new ideas and provide opportunities to grow your career while maintaining balance and flexibility.

• FLEX for all. We care about client outcomes, quality, and business and cultural contributions. 
• Our mentoring program offers continuous support and guidance throughout your career. You'll have access to training, conferences, and workshops, keeping you updated on the latest developments in the legal and insurance industries.
• Our culture sets us apart. Collegiate, open, innovative, passionate about everything we do.
• We give back to the community. Join us in CSR activities to support our charity partners, from building houses in Cambodia, participating in fun runs or baking cup cakes, there's a way for everyone to contribute.
• Leaders of the pack. Work with a firm that understands its purpose, has a singular focus on the insurance industry and is excited by the potential for growth in our market!
• Supporting you with generous parental leave entitlements, purchased annual leave, home office allowances, education assistance, Employee Assistance Program and many more.

How to apply: 
Please navigate via the “apply now” link.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace at Wotton Kearney. As part of our dedication to accessibility, we strive to support candidates with disabilities throughout the interview process.

If you require any accommodations or assistance during the application and interview stages please contact Katarina Mali, Talent Acquisition Business Partner on katarina.mali@wottonkearney.com 

We’re doing this recruitment in-house!
We are not accepting submissions from recruitment agencies for this role. We’d love to hear from you directly! Any CV’s sent to Wotton Kearney by a recruitment agency will be treated as unsolicited and fees will not be payable.