Principal Data Consultant - AI Readiness

Roles & Responsibilities

Client Delivery

• Own the success of complex engagements, including delivery quality, client satisfaction, financial performance, business outcomes, and strategic account growth.
• Serve as the primary Engagement Lead and executive advisor, building trust and maintaining executive relationships throughout the engagement lifecycle.
• Define engagement strategy, governance, communication cadence, success measures, and executive reporting.
• Lead executive steering committees, governance meetings, roadmap workshops, and strategic planning sessions.
• Partner with Project Managers, Solution Architects, and Technical Leads to ensure execution aligns to client objectives with the right level of executive oversight.
• Provide strategic direction across workstreams to maintain alignment with business priorities, contractual commitments, and long-term client goals.
• Proactively manage executive risks, organizational change, stakeholder alignment, staffing challenges, and delivery issues before they affect outcomes.
• Ensure engagements meet AHEAD quality standards, delivery methodologies, financial objectives, and governance expectations.
• Provide executive-level recommendations that support informed decisions and measurable business results.

Business Development and Account Growth

• Build trusted advisor relationships with executive business and technology leaders, including CIOs, CDOs, CISOs, and other senior stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to expand client engagements through a deep understanding of client priorities, organizational challenges, and business goals.
• Lead discovery workshops, executive strategy sessions, and solution development efforts that shape future engagements.
• Partner with Client Directors and Practice Leadership to develop account strategies, multi-phase roadmaps, and long-term growth plans.
• Lead proposal strategy, solution development, estimation, pricing discussions, and executive presentations.
• Ensure proposed solutions are technically feasible, operationally executable, financially sound, and aligned to client outcomes.

Practice Leadership and Growth

• Evolve consulting methodologies, engagement frameworks, governance standards, reusable intellectual property, and delivery best practices.
• Drive continuous improvement that enhances delivery quality, operational excellence, financial performance, and client satisfaction across the Data Practice.
• Mentor and coach Senior Consultants, Consultants, and emerging Engagement Leads through leadership guidance, performance feedback, and development support.
• Build organizational capability by supporting recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, succession planning, leadership development, and career growth.
• Promote collaboration across consulting, delivery, architecture, engineering, project management, sales, and client success teams.
• Maintain expertise in emerging technologies, industry trends, business transformation strategies, and modern data platforms while representing AHEAD as a trusted industry advisor.

Expectations

Leadership and Ownership

• Demonstrate end-to-end ownership for engagement success across delivery quality, client satisfaction, financial performance, and strategic outcomes.
• Establish clear direction, priorities, governance, and accountability across cross-functional teams.
• Make timely, informed decisions that balance business priorities, delivery risks, financial objectives, and client expectations.
• Anticipate challenges early, remove organizational obstacles, and lead teams through complexity with confidence and transparency.
• Develop future leaders through coaching, mentoring, delegation, and growth opportunities.

Consulting and Business Acumen

• Understand client strategies, organizational priorities, industry trends, and operational challenges.
• Translate business strategy into practical roadmaps and transformation initiatives.
• Connect engagement activity to measurable business value, value realization, and long-term client success.
• Make financially sound decisions that protect profitability while maximizing outcomes.
• Influence executive decisions through strategic insight, business-focused recommendations, and thoughtful guidance.

Technical and Consulting Excellence

• Apply structured thinking and consultative problem solving to complex business and technology challenges.
• Guide solution strategy and ensure recommendations are practical, scalable, technically sound, and aligned to business objectives.
• Challenge assumptions, evaluate alternatives, and provide a clear point of view grounded in business and technical rationale.
• Ensure consistency, quality, and technical excellence across engagement deliverables.
• Advance consulting excellence by improving methodologies, frameworks, accelerators, and reusable intellectual property.

Executive Relationships and Stakeholder Management

• Build long-term trusted advisor relationships through credibility, integrity, and consistent delivery.
• Communicate complex ideas clearly and confidently with a business-first perspective to influence executive decisions.
• Facilitate alignment across business and technology stakeholders while managing competing priorities and organizational dynamics.
• Proactively identify concerns, resolve conflict, and build consensus to enable successful outcomes.
• Represent AHEAD with executive presence, professionalism, and a commitment to exceptional client service.

Practice Leadership and Growth

• Lead initiatives that strengthen consulting capabilities, delivery excellence, governance, and operational maturity across the Data Practice.
• Develop and mentor future Engagement Leads and consulting leaders through coaching, feedback, and leadership development.
• Contribute to business development, practice strategy, service offerings, innovation, and thought leadership.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and consulting excellence.
• Serve as a role model for AHEAD values, leadership principles, and client-first culture.