AI Strategy Delivery Lead - Utilities

Accenture•Toronto, ON

8d•CA$142,050 - CA$292,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The beginning of a new AI & Data decade that will reshape work and society has begun. Accenture is stepping boldly into this future with a clear strategy and purpose: to help clients optimize and reinvent their business with AI & Data — backed by a multibillion-dollar investment and commitment to our people to do industry-defining work. With over 45,000 professionals dedicated to AI & Data, our AI & Data organization brings together experienced innovation, strategic investment, exceptional talent and a powerful ecosystem. As an AI Strategy & Delivery Lead, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and leading enterprise-wide AI transformation programs within the AI & Data Reinvention Engine, aligned to the Industry & Enterprise Reinvention Partner for Utilities clients. You will translate high-level business and industry roadmaps into actionable AI-enabled business strategies, delivery frameworks and operational models. Your contributions will be instrumental in defining how generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), agentic workflows and advanced analytics deliver measurable business value across power generation, transmission, distribution and retail supply — and in leading cross-functional teams to deliver at scale. You will bring deep understanding of the forces reshaping the utilities sector — from surging electricity demand driven by electrification, data centers and AI, to affordability pressures, workforce transformation and the need for digitally intelligent operations — translating these dynamics into AI-enabled business strategies that deliver measurable reinvention across the full utilities value chain.

Requirements

10+ years of consulting, business transformation or digital strategy experience with at least 6 years dedicated to AI/ML/data strategy or delivery roles.
Proven record of leading large, complex AI/data transformation engagements with senior client sponsors and multi-million budgets, ideally within regulated industries.
Deep understanding of generative AI, LLM technologies, agentic systems, RAG and advanced analytics, and how they map to utilities business challenges such as predictive asset maintenance, grid stability, energy trading, customer churn and decarbonization goals.
Strong business acumen with ability to link AI ambitions to value creation, cost models, risk models and operating model design within capital-intensive, regulated utility environments.
Excellent stakeholder management skills, including experience influencing at C-suite level, leading multidisciplinary teams and driving strategic decisions under ambiguity — including navigating regulatory and union stakeholders common in the utilities sector.
Experience with cloud-based data and AI platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP, Palantir, Snowflake, Databricks) as well as frontier model providers (e.g. Anthropic, OpenAI, Cohere) and knowledge of enterprise architecture, data ecosystems, AI platform components, and OT/SCADA data environments.
English is required for this position as this role will regularly interact with stakeholders across Canada, US and other countries across our Global footprint where English is the common language. Due to the significant high volume of interactions with these English-speaking stakeholders, which is inherent to this position, it is not possible to reorganize the company’s activities to avoid this requirement.
A University Degree is required for this position.

Nice To Haves

Experience within Utilities, Energy, or related regulated industries (e.g., Water, Gas, Renewables, Nuclear) driving AI-enabled reinvention.
Demonstrated thought leadership in AI strategy, generative AI/LLMs or agentic automation applied to energy transition or grid modernization challenges.
Direct experience in developing AI operating models, maturity assessments and value frameworks for asset-intensive or safety-critical organizations.
Familiarity with energy market structures, utility regulation, decarbonization policy or smart grid technologies.
Prior experience managing global delivery or offshore teams, and travel flexibility (0–100% depending on client).

Responsibilities

Architect and lead end-to-end AI transformation programs within utilities: from visioning and strategy through roadmap, business case, use-case prioritization, value capture model, and scaling to full business operations — spanning asset management, grid optimization, demand forecasting, customer experience and regulatory compliance.
Engage with C-suite and senior client stakeholders across energy and utility organizations to identify strategic AI opportunities, align them with business objectives, develop investment cases and define success metrics.
Define and embed AI-powered operating models, governance frameworks, organizational readiness plans (work, workforce, workbench) and change management strategies to operationalize AI at scale — including consideration of safety-critical environments and regulated asset operations.
Architect the solution mix, including generative AI/LLMs, retrieval-augmented workflows (RAG), agentic automation and advanced data architecture, ensuring alignment to business value and risk/privacy/ethical considerations — with particular attention to OT/IT integration and critical infrastructure requirements.
Estimate cost models and business viability of AI/LLM usage patterns — including licensing, cloud/compute, fine-tuning and ongoing operationalization — and drive decisions on technology sourcing, ecosystems and vendor partnerships relevant to the utilities landscape.
Establish and manage delivery frameworks and reusable solution patterns and components for AI strategy and execution, enabling acceleration across utility clients and energy sub-sectors (generation, networks, water, waste).
Apply AI-driven solutions across the full utilities value chain — from capital projects delivery excellence, AI-based asset management and grid optimization through to AI-enabled customer service & experience and regulatory management.
Shape and deliver AI strategies that address several primary forces reshaping utilities: affordability and financial transparency, economic and political uncertainty, surging electricity and gas demand, rapid advances in GenAI and agentic technology, and workforce and skills transformation.
Help clients build the characteristics of the modern utility — anchored in purpose, powered by digitally intelligent operations, resilient adaptive systems, and trusted ecosystem partnerships — with AI and data at the core of reinvention.
Lead cross-functional teams spanning strategy, design, architecture, engineering, data science and delivery — including mentoring, resource planning, performance management and ensuring high-quality client outcomes in complex, regulated environments.
Drive go-to-market efforts: contribute to proposal development, service offering definition, executive thought leadership and internal capability uplift across the Utilities-aligned Industry & Enterprise Reinvention Partner.
Manage financial oversight of AI programs: forecasting, budgeting, commercial tracking, risk mitigation and value realiation metrics.
Ensure adherence to Responsible AI, security, data privacy, regulatory and ethical requirements in all AI strategy and delivery work — including sector-specific obligations such as NERC CIP, GDPR, and energy market regulations.