Location:Dublin, IE

Company: Irish Life Financial Services Limited

• Full Time Permanent position
• Hybrid role based in our City Centre offices

ABOUT US

Irish Life is one of Ireland’s largest financial institutions with a presence across a range of financial services markets. We are one of Ireland’s leading financial services groups with over 1.5 million customers. For over 80 years, we’ve been helping people to look after their life insurance, pension and investment needs, and more recently their health insurance.
It is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco and a member of the Power Financial Corporation group of companies.
We are proud of our culture of developing and supporting the growth and professional development of our people. The focus has resulted in a team of top talent with high standards, positioning us at the forefront of our industry.
The company reserves the right to draw up a shortlist as part of the selection process. Where Agency assistance is required the Irish Life Recruitment Team will engage directly with suppliers. Unsolicited CVs / profiles supplied to Irish Life by Recruitment Agencies will not be accepted for this role.
Irish Life is proud to be an Equal Opportunities employer. We have created an environment of inclusion and growth to help people achieve their potential, to ensure they can bring their whole selves to work and to feel valued. We celebrate diversity of thought and perspective and want all of our employees to feel valued, respected and supported.
We have built a culture that promotes equality and inclusion for all of our current and future employees and strive to ensure that our behaviours, processes and practices are aligned to this culture.
If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process please contact lifecareers@irishlife.ie and we will be delighted to ensure you are fully supported to be your best.
ILFS supports Equal Opportunity and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

ROLE OVERVIEW

We are seeking a dynamic Change & Innovation Leader to lead out on our AI initiatives. This role requires a blend of technical understanding, project management expertise, a strong focus on customer outcomes and delivering business value.
Reporting to the Change & Innovation Senior Manager – Customer Solutions, the Change and Innovation Manager will be responsible for developing out the AI strategy and delivery of AI powered solutions that align with our business goals.
The person will lead engagement on these AI initiatives and act as the bridge between business stakeholders, Business Analysts, IT engineers, and other cross-functional teams.
In addition, this role is accountable for ensuring effective project governance guidelines are in place, is accountable for ensuring ownership, co-ordination, visibility, budget control and timely delivery of a programme of AI strategy initiatives.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE ROLE

The successful candidate ideally will have/will be:

• Knowledge of AI Solutions and capabilities is highly desirable, enabling effective collaboration with IT and Business Teams.
• Enthusiastic and motivated with a future-oriented mindset, eager to drive innovation and deliver forward-thinking solutions.
• Hands-on experience with IT or Change implementation projects.
• Proven track record in defining business strategy, maintaining roadmaps, and managing backlogs in an Agile environment.
• Ability to prioritise customer outcomes and align development with business value.
• Familiarity with Agile practices, including working with Scrum Masters, refining user stories, and managing sprint goals.
• Exceptional leadership and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to inspire and influence at all levels.
• Ability to translate technical details into business-focused updates and effectively communicate with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• A strategic mindset coupled with a practical approach to problem-solving and execution.
• Experience in ensuring project governance, budget control, and timely delivery of strategic initiatives.
• A track record of delivering measurable results through innovation and change initiatives.

As the Change and Innovation Manager you will be responsible for:

• Shaping and maintaining our strategic vision, updating the roadmap as goals evolve, and act as a primary decision-making authority for our initiatives.
• Overseeing the successful delivery of change initiatives by managing resource allocation, risk, dependencies, and ensuring alignment with organisational strategy and standards.
• Managing stakeholder relationships across business and technical domains, ensuring change impacts are understood and effectively managed.
• Collaborating closely with programme and project teams to build, prioritise, and maintain a clear and refined project backlog ready for sprints.
• Continuously refine user stories and acceptance criteria to ensure clarity and alignment with business needs.
• Approve or reject completed deliverables based on business requirements and agreed priorities.
• Regularly engage with customers, stakeholders, and leadership to gather requirements, provide updates, and seek feedback.
• Translate technical work into business-focused updates for stakeholders and escalate issues when necessary.
• Ensure Project outputs align with the overall objectives and critical path.
• Identify and source necessary business expertise to support successful project delivery
• Manage and hold to account the enablement and business teams to deliver to overall programme timelines and delivery commitments