Director, Group AI, Business Development

Role: Director, Group AI, Business Development

Base Location: Osterley

Band: 8

Reporting to: MD, Group AI

Department Overview:

The Group AI team owns Sky’s enterprise-wide AI ambition, strategy and roadmap to deliver meaningful business value. The team works closely with senior stakeholders across Sky to embed AI into the fabric of how the business operates, manages key external AI partnerships and ensures alignment with Comcast/NBCU.

The Role:

The Group AI Director, AI Business Development will lead the development of new AI revenue opportunities across Sky, working with the New Business team, business leaders, technology, data and external partners to identify, test and shape new propositions. The role will combine commercial judgement, partnership development and practical AI delivery expertise to turn strategic ambition into prioritised opportunities for Sky.

What you’ll do:

Own the front end of Sky’s AI business development pipeline, scanning the business and external market for AI-enabled ideas that could unlock new revenue growth, then rapidly shaping, testing and qualifying the strongest opportunities for the New Business team. Act as a trusted strategic partner to the MD New Business & Integration, combining commercial understanding, AI expertise, partnership judgement and practical delivery focus.

AI Idea Generation, Feasibility & Pipeline Development

• Scan Sky and the external market for inspiration for AI-enabled ideas that could create new revenue growth, drawing on business priorities, customer insight, technology trends, competitor activity and partner capability.

• Develop, structure and evaluate the feasibility of potential opportunities, assessing customer need, commercial attractiveness, technical viability, data readiness, delivery complexity, risk and strategic fit.

• Build and test proof of concepts quickly with the right business, data, technology and external partner input, using rapid experimentation to validate assumptions and sharpen the opportunity.

• Feed a qualified, prioritised AI opportunity pipeline into the New Business team, ensuring each opportunity has clear evidence, ownership, decision points and a practical path to further development.

• Work closely with the New Business team on the initial business cases for the strongest ideas, including the proposition, target customer or market, value potential, investment needs, delivery route, key risks and recommended next steps.

Commercial Development & Partnerships

• Work closely with the New Business team to define what makes an AI opportunity ready for further development, investment consideration or commercial incubation.

• Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, internal delivery teams and external AI partners to source ideas, test feasibility and shape opportunities that are commercially credible and operationally deliverable.

• Mobilise small, focused cross-functional teams across Group AI, Data, Technology, Product, Legal, Risk, Finance and the business to explore and validate priority ideas at pace.

• Create repeatable approaches for opportunity scanning, feasibility assessment, proof-of-concept testing, business case development and pipeline handover.

• Track the quality, pace and outcomes of the AI business development pipeline, using evidence from proof of concepts and stakeholder feedback to focus effort on the highest-potential revenue opportunities.

Minimum Requirements

• Proven track record of identifying, shaping and delivering new commercial growth opportunities enabled by AI, data or emerging technologies.

• Experience developing business cases, securing executive sponsorship and progressing opportunities through investment and governance processes.

• Demonstrable experience launching new products, propositions, ventures or revenue streams, from concept through to validation and execution.

• Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to assess market opportunities, customer needs, commercial viability, risks and strategic fit.

• Experience building and managing strategic partnerships with technology providers, start-ups, scale-ups or other external partners.

• Ability to lead cross-functional teams across business, technology, data and operational functions to rapidly test and validate opportunities.

• Comfortable operating in ambiguity, using evidence and insight to prioritise opportunities and make decisions at pace.

• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience engaging senior executives and building alignment across complex organisations.

What you’ll bring:

Commercial Mindset

• Curiosity about where AI can create new revenue growth, with the ability to connect market trends, customer needs, Sky assets and partner capability into practical opportunity areas.

• Strong commercial judgement, balancing ambition with realism when assessing market potential, feasibility, investment needs, risks and strategic fit.

• A structured, hypothesis-led approach to developing ideas, testing assumptions quickly and turning early evidence into clear recommendations.

Communication & Stakeholder Skills

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills

• Proven success working with senior stakeholders internally and externally, influencing decision‑making and aligning on priorities.

• A collaborative, pragmatic style that builds trust quickly.

Leadership Behaviours

• Ability to develop and inspire high‑performing teams

• Comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, constantly evolving environment

• Highly accountable with a bias for action.

Success Measures:

• A clear, prioritised AI business development pipeline aligned to Sky’s enterprise and AI strategy.

• High-value AI opportunities progressed from idea to pilot to business case and delivery, with measurable business impact.

• A strong internal and external partner network that brings pace, clarity and accountability to AI business development across Sky.

Benefits and perks

There's one thing people can't stop talking about when it comes to life at Sky: the perks. Here’s a taster:

• Free Sky TV or NOW package, including Sky Sports and Sky Cinema

• Pension package with up to 9% employer contribution

• Private healthcare with mental health support

• Aviva Digital GP and dental insurance

• Discounts on Sky products, including Sky Mobile, Sky Broadband, Sky Glass and Sky Protect

• Sharesave and Tech schemes

• A range of Sky VIP rewards and experiences

How you'll work:

We know the world has changed, and we want to offer our employees the chance to collaborate at our unique office spaces, whilst enjoying the convenience of working from home.

We've adopted a hybrid working approach to give more flexibility on where and how we work. You'll find out more about what this means for this role during the recruitment process.

Your office base:

Osterley

Our Osterley Campus is a 10-minute walk from Syon Lane train station. Or you can hop on one of our free shuttle buses that run to and from Osterley, Gunnersbury, Ealing Broadway and South Ealing tube stations. There’s also plenty of bike shelters and showers.

On campus, you’ll find 13 subsidised restaurants, cafes, and a Waitrose. You can keep in shape at our subsidised gym, catch the latest shows and movies at our cinema, get your car washed and even get pampered at our beauty salon.

Who we are

We’re Sky, a leading media and entertainment company who connect millions with entertainment, sports, news and arts through innovative products and services. Working with us means you’ll be bringing the joy of a better experience to more people, every day. All so we can do better and deliver better for our customers, colleagues and society.

We’re an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We're a Disability Confident Accredited Employer, and welcome and encourage applications from all candidates. We will look to ensure a fair and consistent experience for all and will make reasonable adjustments to support you where appropriate. Please flag any adjustments you need as early as you can.

Just so you know: if your application is successful, we’ll ask you to complete a criminal record check. And depending on the role you have applied for and the nature of any convictions you may have, we might have to withdraw the offer.

To be eligible for this role you are required to have the appropriate right to work in the UK. Please be aware Sky does not offer sponsorship for this position.

To find out more about working with us, search #LifeAtSky on social media.