Vice President / Director of Delivery

Defined.ai is a leading provider of high-quality, ethically sourced data for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) model training. We host the world's largest AI marketplace and offer end-to-end services to help companies accelerate their AI solutions. Backed by significant funding and recognized globally for our commitment to ethical AI, we operate in a fast-paced, innovative environment with offices in Seattle and Lisbon.

Locations: United States, Canada, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico, or other locations within 1-2 hours of the US Eastern Time zone

Who are we looking for? 

The Vice President / Director of Delivery is one of the most critical leadership roles at Defined.ai. You will own the delivery of data workflows and build the high-performing team that executes on that vision. You will sit at the intersection of commercial growth, operational excellence, and client success — shaping how the company delivers value at scale and ensuring delivery becomes a genuine competitive differentiator. You will have the customer as the center of your activity and will be critical in the customer satisfaction and business continuity. You will have to be customer obsessed and do everything in your capacity to execute the delivery successfully.


Required Skills & Experience 

• 10+ years of progressive experience in professional services, managed services, or technology delivery, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role managing cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated track record of owning a services P&L and delivering against revenue, margin, and client satisfaction targets.
• Deep expertise in project delivery methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, hybrid); PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent certification preferred.
• Proven ability to build, scale, and retain high-performing delivery teams in a fast-paced, technology-driven environment.
• Strong commercial acumen — experienced in pre-sales, SOW development, pricing, and contract negotiation.
• Exceptional executive communication skills; able to engage, influence, and present to C-suite stakeholders and board-level audiences.
• Experience working in or closely with AI, data, SaaS, or enterprise technology businesses.

Nice-to-have

• Background in AI/ML data services, annotation, data labelling, or adjacent AI infrastructure sectors.
• Experience scaling a global or distributed delivery organisation across multiple time zones.
• Familiarity with enterprise procurement cycles and complex multi-stakeholder client environments.
• MBA or advanced degree in Business, Technology, Engineering, or a related field.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic Thinking — translates ambiguous market signals and business goals into clear, executable plans.
• Commercial Drive — balances client value creation with internal profitability; treats margin as a leadership responsibility.
• Operational Rigor — builds systems, processes, and governance that scale without sacrificing agility.
• People Leadership — develops talent, delegates effectively, and cultivates a team culture of excellence and ownership.
• Executive Presence — inspires confidence with clients, peers, and the board; communicates with clarity and conviction.
• Collaborative Influence — partners across Sales, Product, Engineering, and Finance to align on shared outcomes.
• Data-Driven Decision-Making — leverages KPIs, dashboards, and delivery analytics to drive continuous improvement.

• Develop and execute the overall vision, strategy, and operating plan for the professional services organisation, translating corporate objectives into a clear delivery roadmap with measurable milestones.
• Own the P&L for the workflow business, with direct accountability for revenue, gross margin, and sustained profitability targets.
• Define, standardise, and continuously improve service offerings, delivery methodologies, and operational best practices that support efficiency, repeatability, and scale.
• Serve as a key voice on the company's senior leadership team — bringing ground-level intelligence on market trends, client needs, and delivery performance to inform strategic decision-making.
• Establish a robust KPI framework and provide regular reporting to the executive team, covering metrics such as revenue attainment, gross margin, team utilisation, project profitability, CSAT, and Net Promoter Score (NPS).

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of project managers, delivery managers, and consultants — creating a talent pipeline that can scale with business growth.
• Manage and grow our list of suppliers and treat them as business partners, since the customer satisfaction relies on the quality of the delivery of our suppliers.
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and client-centricity; set clear performance expectations and develop career paths that attract and retain top talent.
• Oversee resource and capacity planning, ensuring the right skills and bandwidth are available to meet pipeline demand, project needs, and strategic growth objectives.
• Champion diversity, inclusion, and psychological safety as foundations for innovation and team effectiveness.

• Oversee the entire lifecycle of client engagements — from pre-sales support and scoping through project kick-off, execution, quality review, and formal closure — ensuring a seamless client experience at every stage.
• Implement rigorous project governance frameworks, risk registers, and quality-assurance processes that guarantee on-time, on-budget, and high-quality delivery outcomes.
• Act as the primary executive point of contact for strategic client escalations, resolving complex issues with diplomacy, urgency, and a long-term partnership mindset.
• Drive the adoption of delivery tooling, automation, and data-driven insights to increase team productivity and forecast accuracy.
• Develop the KPIs for suppliers onboarding.
• Create quality controls for data delivery

• Collaborate closely with the Sales team on pre-sales activities — including solution design, project scoping, effort estimation, pricing, and the creation of compelling Statements of Work (SOWs) and service agreements.
• Build and maintain trusted executive-level relationships with key client stakeholders, acting as an executive sponsor for Defined.ai's most strategic accounts.
• Proactively identify and pursue opportunities for services expansion within the existing client base, working in partnership with Customer Success and Sales to convert them into incremental revenue.
• Manage key partnerships with subcontractors and technology vendors, ensuring external delivery capabilities are aligned, quality-controlled, and commercially sound.

Benefits

You spend a lot of your time at work, so it should be challenging, fun and interesting. At Defined.ai it will be all of those things and more. Here’s what we offer:

• Flexible working schedule and hybrid model. We know comfort can boost creativity and performance, so you can manage your schedule and work both from one of our modern office spaces or home.
• Excellent career development opportunities in a high growth company. With us, you can accomplish your career goals and follow a well-described career path with the support of your supervisor.
• Culture of feedback and continuous improvement. AI is a fast-paced area, so we keep track of tech trends, and we always ask for feedback.
• An international and diverse team. We have more than 30 nationalities at our 4 locations, and we provide language classes.
• Continuous training opportunities. You can choose from many options: leveraging hand-on workshops, unlimited access to Udemy and formal development opportunities.
• We love to have fun together. We joke a lot, and we can't imagine work without fun activities – we already surfed, raced carts and played soccer together

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