The AI and Innovation Portfolio Manager will take clear ownership of the firm’s AI portfolio, providing the direction and governance needed to translate AI tooling opportunities into well-controlled, value-adding business outcomes. This is a hands-on portfolio leadership role. It requires someone who can manage complex, fast-paced demand and keep initiatives moving forward with clarity and purpose. Working collaboratively with legal professionals, Practice Management, Technology, People, Finance, Knowledge, and senior business stakeholders, the role will ensure AI initiatives are assessed consistently, prioritised intelligently, governed to a high standard and tracked through to measurable value. The role sits at the point where strategy becomes delivery: ensuring that investment, risk, ownership, adoption and benefits are all clear.
This role is ideally to be based in London or Bristol, but also open to fully remote applications.

Key Responsibilities

Own the AI portfolio view end to end, ensuring initiatives are captured, understood, prioritised, governed, and progressed with clear accountability.
Bring strong delivery grip to a complex cross-business portfolio, balancing competing priorities, capacity constraints, dependencies, risks and expected value across practice areas and business services teams.
Drive excellent portfolio governance. This includes intake, triage, prioritisation, stage gates, decision forums, dependency management, risk escalation, and the discipline needed to keep activity moving safely and at pace.
Support AI-enabled solutions from idea through to implementation, making sure ownership is clear, plans are realistic, benefits are credible, and adoption is successful.
Provide concise, executive-ready reporting on the roadmap, portfolio performance, delivery progress, financial position, benefits, risks, dependencies and the decisions required to maintain momentum.
Track financial metrics with discipline, including budgets, forecasts, committed spend, actuals, benefit realisation and return on investment, working closely with Finance and initiative owners.
Work confidently with senior and executive stakeholders to shape demand, test business cases, resolve escalations, agree priorities and maintain trust in the way the AI portfolio is being managed.
Working with the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), ensure AI initiatives align with the firm’s regulatory obligations, technology and data strategy, security standards, risk appetite, and responsible AI governance principles.
Produce and maintain portfolio artefacts, including business cases, delivery plans, benefits measures, reporting packs, decision logs and value tracking approaches.
Spot delivery issues early and take action. Where scope, sequencing, resourcing, governance, or stakeholder engagement needs to change, the role holder is expected to drive change rather than simply report the issue.
Maintain a clear view of portfolio resourcing and capability needs, highlighting constraints and supporting informed decisions on internal capacity, supplier input and specialist expertise.
Support with the sharing of timely and effective communication, to ensure cross-business stakeholders stay fully informed, aware of progress, and cognisant of future priorities.
Promote collaborative ways of working across AI delivery, embedding standards, lessons learned, templates and reporting routines that help teams succeed together.
With our Procurement Team, help to hold key AI vendors to account and ensure the best commercial agreements for any tooling purchased.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Experience managing complex cross-business technology programmes, transformation portfolios, or enterprise delivery pipelines with multiple stakeholders, moving parts, dependencies and delivery teams.
Practical involvement in AI implementation, automation, data, analytics, or emerging technology initiatives.
Experience in a legal, professional services, or otherwise regulated environment valuable.
A proven ability to build and run strong portfolio governance, including prioritisation, stage control, risk management, dependency management, benefits tracking and regular senior-level reporting.
Evidence of taking ownership in complex delivery environments: clarifying accountability, following through on decisions, escalating effectively and driving activity through to successful outcomes.
Confident working with senior and executive-level stakeholders, including preparing decision papers, presenting portfolio updates, challenging constructively and managing escalations.
Hands-on experience of portfolio financial tracking and reporting, including budgets, forecasts, committed spend, actuals, benefit realisation and return

AI and Innovation Portfolio Manager at DAC Beachcroft