Lead Advisory Consultant, AI Governance

phData

16h•Remote

About The Position

phData is seeking an AI Governance Leader to join its Advisory team. The role helps enterprise clients identify AI governance gaps and design scalable, responsible governance programs that balance value realization and risk management. The consultant partners with senior leadership to develop frameworks, policies, and operating models, and helps position AI governance as a core component of phData's Intelligence Platform strategy. The position leads client assessments and multi-workstream engagements, establishes governance processes and operating models, and advises clients on AI FinOps controls, metrics, and third-party governance tools. It also involves executive stakeholder engagement, strategic opportunity development, account growth, thought leadership, development of phData's governance offerings, and mentoring consultants. Travel is required as dictated by client commitments.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in AI/data ecosystem assessment, multi-stakeholder program leadership, and advising senior executives on AI or data governance.
Demonstrated experience designing governance frameworks, including risk tiering, model risk management, and platform/tool approval processes.
Experience designing operating models, including roles, RACIs, and governance bodies for data, analytics, or AI organizations.
Strong understanding of AI and generative AI concepts, including model types, agentic workflows, and enterprise use cases.
Familiarity with AI governance standards, including NIST AI RMF, EU AI Act, and ISO/IEC 42001.
Working knowledge of data platforms and AI ecosystems such as Snowflake, AWS, and Claude, and how governance is implemented in practice.
Proven consulting delivery skills, including problem framing, hypothesis-driven analysis, and compelling executive-ready deliverables.
Excellent communication and storytelling skills, including the ability to translate complex governance concepts for business audiences.
Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and build cross-functional consensus.
Bachelor's degree.
Ability to travel as required by client commitments.

Nice To Haves

Experience establishing AI governance committees, steering committees, or review boards, including charters, cadences, and decision rights.
Hands-on model risk management, responsible AI, or regulated-industry compliance experience in financial services, healthcare, or the public sector.
Prior consulting experience at a data/AI firm or experience within a central AI/ML office or analytics function.
Public thought leadership contributions on AI governance.
Advanced degree or relevant professional certifications.

Responsibilities

Lead AI ecosystem assessments, identify maturity gaps, and design tailored governance frameworks aligned with clients' industries, regulatory environments, and AI enablement visions.
Own multi-workstream engagements, drive executive alignment, and develop multi-year governance roadmaps connected to AI strategy and value realization.
Define governance evaluation and approval processes for AI tools and use cases, including risk tiers, scoring methodology, and control expectations.
Develop AI governance operating model blueprints, including governing bodies, roles, RACIs, and interaction models across Technology, Product, InfoSec, Risk, and Legal.
Define and operationalize AI FinOps guardrails for spend visibility, budget thresholds, usage policies, platform and tool approval, license rationalization, and total-cost-of-ownership decisions.
Facilitate executive and working sessions to align stakeholders and drive decisions.
Define governance metrics and dashboards to track value, cost, risk exposure, control coverage, and governance effectiveness.
Recommend third-party AI governance tools and collaborate with engineering teams to ensure they can be implemented on modern data and AI platforms.
Shape and close strategic opportunities with sales by developing value propositions, solution approaches, and delivery models.
Represent phData as an AI governance thought leader at conferences, webinars, and partner events.
Serve as a trusted advisor to client sponsors and senior stakeholders, own relationships, align delivery roadmaps, and identify expansion opportunities.
Partner with executive sponsors, data and analytics leaders, product and delivery teams, and business end users to support execution and measurable outcomes.
Build cross-practice relationships across Data Engineering, Analytics, AI/ML, and Advisory to deliver end-to-end solutions.
Contribute methods, templates, accelerators, and client-ready collateral to phData's AI Governance, Operating Model, and FinOps offerings.
Support sales pursuits, webinars, and thought leadership focused on AI governance.
Mentor consultants and senior consultants.