Director, Applications and AI Automation

RES

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

RES is establishing a Director of Applications and AI Automation to lead the build engine for its enterprise application estate and its AI-enabled solutions. Reporting to the Group Chief Information Officer, the role owns the strategy, delivery and governance of application development, automation and real-time integration across RES — from core ERP through to AI agents and automations — within the company's Demand to Build to Run operating model and a flat-cost funding constraint. The role brings together, under a single leader: ERP development on IFS; custom and legacy application development; low-code and citizen development on the Power Platform; workflow, robotic and agentic automation; real-time application integration on Boomi; and the AI application platform on which RES builds — the model gateway, agent runtime and registry, and the associated evaluation and consumption controls. The role also sets the standard for AI-assisted software development across RES engineering, and governs the development and use of AI-enabled applications and automations. It is a key leader for enterprise-wide AI governance via collaboration with the leader of Data and AI Analytics. The role reports to the Group CIO and can be based in the United Kingdom or Spain. Fluency in Spanish is preferred.

Requirements

• Enterprise application landscapes, including ERP (IFS or comparable) and their role in an asset-intensive business.
• Modern application development, integration patterns and platform-based delivery.
• Automation platforms and practice: low-code and citizen development, workflow and robotic automation, and agentic solutions.
• AI application platforms: model gateways, agent runtimes, retrieval and tool-access patterns, evaluation practice and consumption cost management.
• Responsible-AI practice, and the governance of AI-assisted development.
• Application integration platforms (Boomi or comparable) and real-time interface design.
• Demand-build-run, or product and platform, operating models and run-readiness disciplines.
• Setting strategy and translating shaped business demand into deliverable, supportable solutions.
• Leading and developing distributed, multi-country technical teams, including through re-skilling.
• Delivering to quality, security and lifecycle standards within fixed cost envelopes.
• Holding a working boundary with a peer function without escalating routine decisions.
• Strong commercial, vendor and budget management.
• Clear stakeholder management and communication to executive level.
• Senior leadership of application development or digital delivery functions at scale, ideally in asset-intensive, energy or infrastructure sectors.
• Delivering ERP (IFS or comparable) alongside modern application, automation and AI capabilities.
• Putting AI-enabled applications or agents into production use, with the governance to match.
• Taking ownership of legacy application estates and setting a clear modernisation or retirement path.
• Operating a demand-build-run or product and platform operating model with a clean build-to-run handover.
• Degree in a relevant discipline, or equivalent professional experience.

Nice To Haves

• Relevant professional certifications — for example in enterprise architecture, application or integration platforms, portfolio delivery, or responsible AI — are advantageous.
• Fluency in Spanish is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Set and own the applications, automation and AI-solutions strategy and roadmap, aligned to demand shaped by Business Technology and gated through Delivery Governance.
• Lead ERP development on IFS while incorporating and winding down legacy ERP platforms.
• Lead custom and legacy application development and own the development and lifecycle direction of the existing application portfolio.
• Own automation across RES — low-code and citizen development on the Power Platform, workflow and robotic automation, and agentic solutions — setting the platforms, standards and governance under which business functions build their own automations.
• Own real-time application integration on Boomi, ensuring reliable, secure and well-documented interfaces between applications, including any interface that writes into a system of record.
• Own the AI application platform — model gateway, agent runtime and registry, evaluation practice and consumption cost control — operated as a shared service, with a defined service commitment to Data and AI Analytics for the model and machine-learning workloads it takes on as that capability is matured.
• Set group-wide standards for AI-assisted software development, covering agentic development tooling, code provenance, review and security expectations, applying to every engineering team across IT.
• Govern the development and use of AI-enabled applications and automations, setting responsible-AI, quality, security and lifecycle standards, and contribute to the cross-functional AI governance forum without owning it.
• Ensure every solution is designed for the Demand to Build to Run model and handed cleanly to Platform Operations against defined run-readiness criteria.
• Deliver effective solutions that drive efficiency and a focus on value for RES.
• Uphold architecture conformance with Enterprise and Solution Architecture, and security-by-design with Cyber Security.
• Build, develop and lead a high-performing, globally distributed team across the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain and offshore.
• Manage vendors, licences and budgets across the application, integration and AI platform estate, within the group commercial framework owned by the Office of the CIO.

Benefits

• rewarding work which makes a real impact
• the chance to learn from inspiring colleagues from across a growing, global network
• opportunities to grow personally and professionally
• competitive package offers a wide range of benefits and rewards

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director