Head of Data & AI
Permanent contract, full-time, ref. : HODAI
Division: Business Relationship Management
Reporting to: Director, Business Relationship Management
Location: Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
About Luxinnovation
Luxinnovation is Luxembourg's national innovation agency, supporting companies, research organisations, startups, public institutions and decision-makers in Luxembourg and abroad. We empower companies to innovate today to be ready for tomorrow — and we are committed to fostering a sustainable, competitive and digital economy.
As coordinator of the Luxembourg AI Factory and a key driver of the national data, AI and digitalisation agenda, Luxinnovation sits at the heart of Luxembourg's ambition to become a sovereign, AI-enabled economy.
About the role
As Head of Data & AI, you will lead a multidisciplinary team within the Business Relationship Management Department, bringing together expertise across data and AI, digital transformation and high-performance computing (HPC).
Your role is to guide the team through clear directions with the right conditions to deliver and the space to grow. You are accountable for how the team operates day to day: the quality of services delivered to companies and partners, the execution of projects and programmes, the development of each team member under direct supervision, and the performance of the collective. You are expected to lead through your team — across national advisory services and contribution to EU projects.
As a senior, you are also expected to guide key accounts – from startups to corporates – and partners through the complexities of digitalization, data strategy and AI adoption, helping them build trust, governed and high-impact capabilities – from foundational data architecture to advanced analytics, AI product development and European digital infrastructure.
This is a senior leadership role that combines strategic vision, technical depth, team management skills and strong stakeholder engagement.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Leading and developing the team
Lead, manage and grow a multidisciplinary team of advisors across data, AI, digital transformation and HPC supporting a number of sectorial applications.
Foster a collaborative, inclusive and high-performing team culture aligned with Luxinnovation's values and strategic priorities.
Coordinate team capacity, expertise and priorities to serve a diverse and growing portfolio of companies, research organisations and institutional partners.
Set clear objectives, expectations and ways of working, and embody them in your daily leadership.
Be visible, accessible and supportive to team members, and represent the team within the Division and across Luxinnovation.
Understand Luxinnovation organization and processes, to foster strong collaboration with internal teams (MarCom, Market Intelligence, etc.)
Coaching and skills development
Be accountable for the individual coaching and mentoring of each team member under supervision, supporting their professional growth and engagement.
Build and maintain a skills development plan covering data, AI, digital and HPC competencies, anticipating future needs and market trends.
Act as a safeguard of quality of services provided by the team to all accounts, considering case by case complexity (size of the structure, current maturity on digital aspects, industry, etc.)
Conduct meaningful performance and development conversations with the entire team to ensure people grow
Steering the team's portfolio
Steer the team's portfolio of streams and client accounts, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities, partner commitments and team capacity, in collaboration with Market Intelligence team
Identify sleeping accounts and assess the need for reactivation, in coordination with co-owning teams where relevant.
Allocate accounts and streams across team members based on expertise, development goals and workload, ensuring alignment with other teams involved in account management.
Ensure coherence and synergies across the data, AI, digital and HPC workstreams, and arbitrate priorities when needed.
Ensuring operational delivery of services
Be accountable for the end-to-end operational delivery of the team's services to companies and partners, across L1 (first-line information and orientation), L2 (advisory and diagnostics) and L3 (specialised expert support).
Ensure consistent service quality, response times and client experience across all delivery levels.
Maintain clear processes, hand-overs and escalation paths between L1, L2 and L3, and continuously improve them with the team.
Take lead on some key accounts, to define strategy and setup first collaborations with Luxinnovation.
Ensure data quality in the CRM.
Driving project and programme execution
Be accountable for the execution of the team's activities and initiatives, ensuring scope, deliverables, timelines and budgets are met.
Ensure the team's structured contribution to Acceleration and Connect programmes in Luxinnovation’s service catalogue.
Coordinate with programme owners, funding authorities and internal stakeholders on milestones, reporting and compliance.
Monitoring performance and reporting
Monitor the team's activity, deliverables and outcomes, and report regularly to the Director of Business Relationship Management.
Provide consolidated reporting on portfolio progress, programme execution, client engagement and team performance.
Use performance data to inform planning, prioritisation and continuous improvement, in dialogue with the team.
Initiate, monitor and analyse customer surveys to ensure high quality of delivered services.
Owning operational KPIs and team indicators
Be accountable for co-defining, tracking and reporting the team's operational KPIs and indicators, covering service delivery, programme execution, client satisfaction and team performance while implementing the conditions to meet the KPI’s.
Ensure that the team objectives are understood, accepted and acted upon.
Foster culture of collaboration within the team, to ensure Luxinnovation as a while delivers its KPIs
Managing risks and escalations
Identify, assess and mitigate operational, delivery and people-related risks across the team's portfolio.
Escalate issues to the Director, Business Relationship Management in a timely and structured manner, with clear options and recommendations.
Ensure the team operates in compliance with internal procedures and applicable regulatory and legal frameworks.
PROFILE
Leadership experience
Demonstrated experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams, ideally in a service delivery, advisory or programme management environment.
A genuine taste for people management: coaching, growing talent, giving feedback, handling difficult conversations and building team cohesion.
Proven ability to steer a portfolio of accounts, projects and programmes through a team rather than as an individual contributor.
Sound judgement in setting priorities, arbitrating trade-offs, and identifying and escalating risks.
Education and professional background
Master's degree or equivalent in data science, computer science, information systems, engineering or a related field.
At least 15 years of professional experience in data, AI or digital transformation, of which a minimum of five years in a team leadership role.
Experience with publicly funded programmes is a strong asset.
Technical skills
You must have the technical literacy and judgement to steer the team's work, challenge deliverables and engage credibly with clients, partners and experts.
Solid understanding of data architecture and platforms, including data lakes, data warehouses, analytics environments and major cloud platforms (Azure, AWS or equivalent).
Good working knowledge of AI and machine learning concepts, including large language models (LLMs), generative AI, AI agents, model lifecycle and model governance.
Familiarity with data governance frameworks, data quality, metadata and lineage management, and the associated tooling.
Understanding of business intelligence and analytics platforms such as Power BI or Tableau, and of how analytics products are delivered to business users.
Working knowledge of the regulatory environment applicable to data and AI in Europe, in particular GDPR and the EU AI Act, and ability to translate it into operational requirements for the team.
Awareness of high-performance computing (HPC) and its industrial and research applications, and of the European digital programmes
Ability to assess emerging technologies (generative AI, AI agents, alternative data, etc.), evaluate their maturity and relevance, and steer the team’s focus by defining priorities for projects and target companies to accompany.
Interpersonal skills
Clear, structured and empathetic communicator, able to engage with executive stakeholders, programme authorities and team members alike.
Collaborative, pragmatic and outcomes-oriented, with a strong sense of accountability for the team's results and well-being.
Languages
Fluent French and English is mandatory.
German and/or Luxembourgish is a significant advantage.
Please submit your application online in English (including a CV and a cover letter).
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Please note that this position is based at our current offices in Esch-Belval. Luxinnovation GIE will relocate to the Luxembourg main station area in the first quarter of 2027.