AI Strategy Consultant (Senior Manager & Manager)

About the Opportunity

The Epic Talent Society is leading a confidential Talent Discovery process for a major international strategy consulting organisation building a new European AI Hub from Portugal. It is an opportunity to join a new AI‑native capability at the beginning of its journey: a European Hub designed to help clients move from AI curiosity to AI adoption, from scattered use cases to strategic transformation, and from technical possibility to measurable business value. We are looking for AI Strategy Consultants at Manager and Senior Manager level who can operate at the intersection of strategy, technology, client advisory and transformation.

This role is for people who understand AI but are not trapped in the technical layer. They can speak with data scientists and engineers, but also with CEOs, boards, business leaders and transformation teams. They turn complexity into clarity, emerging technology into strategic choices, and strategic choices into adoption.

Why This Role Is Different

This role offers a rare combination of timing, platform, people and scope. You would be joining a new Hub early, with the chance to help shape its methods, culture, client narratives, assets and ways of working. The platform is international, serving several European geographies and markets, giving consultants exposure to different industries, client realities, business cultures and transformation challenges.

The team will be genuinely multidisciplinary and multicultural, working with consultants, technologists, product thinkers, data specialists and transformation leaders.

The work is varied and intellectually demanding: from identifying high‑value AI use cases to shaping AI roadmaps, supporting proposals, facilitating executive workshops, defining operating models and working with technical teams to move ideas from concept to prototype. In short, it is an opportunity to help build a European AI capability from Portugal while working on meaningful client challenges across markets, industries and disciplines.

The Role

As an AI Strategy Consultant, you will help clients understand where AI can create business value, which use cases matter most, what needs to be true for adoption to happen, and how AI can reshape business models, operating models, functions and ways of working. You will operate as a translator between business ambition, technological possibility and organisational reality. You will not be expected to be the deepest technical specialist in the room, but you will need to be technically credible, commercially sharp and strategically structured.

As a Manager or Senior Manager, you will:

• Lead or support AI strategy engagements with senior client stakeholders.
• Translate complex AI concepts into clear business narratives.
• Identify and prioritise high‑value AI use cases.
• Bridge strategic vision and technical execution.
• Facilitate executive workshops and AI ideation sessions.
• Support proposals, pitches and pipeline development.
• Help build reusable AI assets, methodologies and client‑facing materials.
• Bring structure to ambiguous, fast‑moving environments.
• Contribute to the development of a new AI Hub culture.

For Senior Manager candidates, the expectation is sharper: you should be able to lead senior client conversations, represent the Hub externally, mentor junior consultants and act as one of the client‑facing anchors of this new European capability.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead or support AI strategy engagements across European markets.
• Structure ambiguous AI transformation challenges into clear strategic choices.
• Shape AI consulting narratives, executive storylines and transformation roadmaps.
• Prioritise AI use cases based on value, feasibility and adoption potential.
• Act as the bridge between business stakeholders and technical delivery teams.
• Help define operating models that allow clients to adopt AI at scale.
• Support business development, proposals and commercial conversations.
• Contribute to reusable AI frameworks, use cases and client assets.
• Understand and explain AI/ML, GenAI, LLMs, RAG, agentic workflows and emerging AI platforms.
• Translate AI capabilities into concrete business applications and client value.
• Co‑design AI solutions and operating models with client and technical teams.
• Assess the technical and operational feasibility of AI use cases.
• Work with data science and engineering colleagues to move ideas from concept to prototype.
• Connect AI opportunities to adoption requirements, including process redesign, governance, skills and behaviour change.
• Facilitate workshops, ideation sessions and solution‑design conversations.
• Communicate recommendations clearly to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Build credibility as a trusted advisor in AI strategy and transformation.

Desired Profile

• Around 3 to 6+ years of experience for Manager‑level profiles.
• Around 4 to 8+ years of experience for Senior Manager‑level profiles.
• Experience in strategy consulting, digital transformation, AI strategy, data advisory, enterprise technology, product strategy or solution consulting.
• Ability to engage senior stakeholders and support executive decision‑making.
• Exposure to business development, proposals, pitches or pipeline work.
• Strong understanding of AI/ML, GenAI, LLMs and data ecosystems.
• Familiarity with agentic platforms, RAG, MCP, AI orchestration, workflow automation or similar frameworks.
• Ability to understand technical trade‑offs without being the deepest technical specialist in the room.
• Strong problem‑structuring and analytical thinking.
• Excellent storytelling and executive‑ready communication skills.
• Commercial acumen and ability to connect AI opportunities with measurable business impact.
• Fluency in English.
• Fluency in another major European language is highly valued, especially German, French, Spanish or Italian.

Where You May Be Today

• In strategy or transformation consulting, working on digital, data or AI‑led transformation.
• In AI, data, analytics or technology consulting, helping clients define AI roadmaps, prioritise use cases or connect technology with business value.
• In enterprise technology or solution advisory, translating AI platforms, automation or data ecosystems into practical client solutions.
• In an AI‑native product, venture or scale‑up environment, close to applied AI, enterprise pilots, copilots, workflow automation, orchestration or agentic systems.
• Inside a large organisation in strategy, innovation, AI transformation or corporate change.
• In an international or research‑to‑industry path, with strong technical, academic or applied AI foundations and the ambition to build from Portugal.

Across all these paths, we are looking for hybrid professionals who combine AI credibility, senior stakeholder exposure, commercial instinct, strong communication, strategic thinking and a practical adoption mindset. We are not looking for pure data scientists, pure engineers, pure strategists without real AI exposure, or internal profiles with limited client or commercial depth.

We are looking for people who can move between boardroom and prototype, between business case and technology, between strategic narrative and practical adoption.

Persona Fit

You are probably a consultant with a strong interest in technology, or a technologist with a strong instinct for business.

You are a credible technologist and strategic thinker; someone who understands that AI transformation is also about adoption, operating models, governance, decision‑making and value creation. You are curious about GenAI, LLMs, agentic workflows and the future of enterprise AI. You are structured enough to work with senior executives, but entrepreneurial enough to help build something new.

You are comfortable with ambiguity, speed and moving targets. You are a clear communicator who can turn complexity into confidence.

For Senior Manager profiles, you should also be independent enough to lead high‑level client moments, credible enough to represent the Hub externally, strong enough to mentor junior consultants, and ambitious enough to help build a European AI capability from Portugal.

In short: you are an AI translator, strategy consultant and transformation catalyst. You know enough about technology to be credible, enough about business to be useful, and enough about people to make AI adoption real.

Additional Notes

• This is a confidential search conducted by The Epic Talent Society.
• The client’s identity will be disclosed during the process to candidates whose profile is aligned with the opportunity.
• The role is based in Portugal and has a European scope.
• Candidates must be based in Portugal, or willing to relocate to Portugal.
• Candidates must be, or be willing to become, Portuguese taxpayers.
• Travel within Europe is expected.
• The Hub is entrepreneurial, fast‑paced and constantly evolving.

Interested?

Please apply or contact The Epic Talent Society for a confidential conversation.

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