Executive Director, CAAI and Booth AI Transformation
- Chicago, United States
Posted 5 days ago
About the role
Department
Booth Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence
About the Department
Chicago Booth has the finest set of facilities of any business school in the world. Each of the four campuses (two in Chicago, one in London, and one in Hong Kong) reflects the architectural traditions of its environs while offering a state-of-the-art learning environment.
Chicago Booth is proud to claim:
- an unmatched faculty.
- degree and open enrollment programs offered on three continents.
- a global body of nearly 56,000 accomplished alumni.
- strong and growing corporate relationships that provide a wealth of lifelong career opportunities.
As part of the world-renowned University of Chicago, Chicago Booth shares the University's core values that shape the distinctive intellectual culture. At Booth, they constantly question and test ideas, and seek proof. This extraordinarily effective approach to business leads to new ideas and innovative solutions. Seven of the Booth faculty members have won Nobel Prizes for these ideas - the first business school to achieve this accomplishment. For more information about the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, please visit: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/.
Job Summary
In the AI Center capacity, the Executive Director serves as the executive steward of the Center partnering closely with the Director, Center for Applied AI, who leads the Center's day-to-day operations and programmatic excellence. In the AI Transformation capacity, the Executive Director is Booth's primary architect of enterprise AI adoption, mapping the landscape of existing initiatives, resolving gaps and overlaps, advancing AI literacy across faculty, students, and staff, and coordinating with Booth IT on Institution-wide AI deployments such as the Claude platform rollout. Success is measured by the degree to which the entire Booth organization confidently adopts best practice AI initiatives aligned with departmental objectives.
This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.
Responsibilities
- Guides the evolution of the Center's mission and vision as AI and Booth's needs advance, partnering with the Director, who leads all Center operations, staff, and programs with day-to-day accountability
- Serves as the senior external representative of the Center in high-stakes academic, industry, and policy contexts, opening doors, deepening relationships, and elevating Booth's profile in the applied AI landscape.
- Champions the Center's interests in University-level forums, governance bodies, and cross-institutional AI initiatives, ensuring CAAI's voice is present where strategic decisions are made.
- Serves as a mentor to the Center leadership team and staff.
- Develops and stewards a multi-year AI transformation strategy grounded in Booth's educational mission; defines school-wide goals and success metrics for AI adoption and advises the Dean's Office and CIO on emerging AI trends, opportunities, and risks.
- Maps, catalogues, and critically assesses existing AI-related initiatives across Booth; identifies gaps and overlaps to enable coordinated, accountable adoption without duplicating the efforts of existing units.
- Leads an enterprise-wide change management effort that actively brings all audiences to AI usage, addressing concerns about academic integrity, equity, and job displacement, and building broad-based confidence in AI's role at Booth.
- Designs and oversees AI literacy and enablement programs tailored to the distinct needs of faculty, students, and staff; identifies early adopters, builds feedback loops, and executes a communications strategy through town halls, listening sessions, and targeted outreach, that keeps all constituencies informed and empowered. Works with the existing AI Awareness and Training team to advance AI literacy at Booth
- Serves as main point of contact on developing and coordinating all teaching and classroom AI initiatives in conjunction with the Dean's Office and Faculty Services.
- Integrates enterprise AI pilots into the broader strategic plan; partners closely with Booth IT and, through Booth IT, coordinates with University ITS on institutional deployments such as the Claude platform rollout.
- Develops and stewards AI use across research, teaching, and administration, addressing academic integrity, data privacy, and equity, closely coordinating with key partner departments at Booth.
- Provides strategic leadership for a Center with senior management and serves as a liaison to academic departments, professional organizations and administrative units of the University.
- Manages multiple related teams. Establishes department priorities, is responsible for the management of the center budget, allocates resources and executes strategic plans.
- Performs other related work as needed.
Minimum Qualifications
Education:
Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
Work Experience:
Certifications:
-
Preferred Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor's degree.
- MBA or related advanced degree.
Experience:
- Progressive leadership experience with demonstrated success driving organizational change in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
- Background in or with higher education.
Preferred Competencies
- Demonstrated ability to translate enterprise AI capabilities and technical team outputs into practical, accessible programs for non-technical audiences; hands-on familiarity with AI platforms such as Claude or comparable enterprise tools.
- Proven track record in change management, including successfully engaging skeptical constituencies; background in innovation, entrepreneurship, consulting, or digital transformation.
- Exceptional stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and communication skills — written, verbal, and presentation — to build trust and consensus across academic faculty, IT professionals, and administrators without direct authority.
- Executive-level relationship management and fundraising experience; comfortable representing an institution in high-profile external settings.
- Strategic thinker with strong execution instincts; comfortable in ambiguity, managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. Professional demeanor including tact, discretion, and a service-oriented approach.
Working Conditions
- This position is currently expected to work a minimum three days per week in the office.
Application Documents
- Resume/CV (required)
- Cover Letter (required)
The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.
When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.
Job Family
Role Impact
Scheduled Weekly Hours
Drug Test Required
Health Screen Required
Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
Pay Rate Type
FLSA Status
Pay Range
The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.
Benefits Eligible
The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.
Posting Statement
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.