AI Readiness & Governance Program Lead (Public Sector Consultant)

Location: Central, PA
Position Type: Mostly Remote
Hybrid Schedule: Onsite as Needed

Role Overview
We are seeking a senior consultant to lead Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness, governance, and advisory engagements for public-sector clients, with an initial focus on county government environments. This role supports both delivery and growth of our AI advisory services. In addition to leading client engagements, the consultant will play a key role in helping expand our AI-related service offerings, supporting proposal development, and contributing to business development efforts as we pursue additional AI-focused work across state and local government.
This is a leadership and advisory role rather than a technical engineering position. The ideal candidate brings a strong understanding of government operations, policy development, and technology risk management, along with the ability to translate emerging AI capabilities into practical, responsible, and defensible offerings for public-sector organizations. Key Responsibilities
The consultant will assess public-sector organizational readiness for AI adoption by engaging executive leadership, IT leadership, and operational departments to understand processes, data maturity, technology capabilities, and risk considerations. They will synthesize stakeholder input into clear, executive-level findings and recommendations that establish a realistic and defensible foundation for responsible AI use.
The role includes developing AI-related governance artifacts such as policies, standards, oversight models, and guidance that align with existing government governance structures, procurement processes, and security practices. The consultant will help define how AI initiatives are evaluated, approved, monitored, and documented, with an emphasis on transparency, accountability, and regulatory compliance.
Working collaboratively with client stakeholders, the consultant will identify and prioritize practical AI use cases that align with operational needs and public service goals. These efforts will emphasize measurable value, risk-aware implementation, and suitability for regulated government environments. The consultant will support limited pilot efforts, evaluate outcomes, and provide recommendations for responsible expansion and long-term sustainability.
In support of firm growth, the consultant will contribute to proposal development, solution shaping, and thought leadership related to AI readiness, governance, and public-sector AI adoption. This includes helping craft statements of work, technical approaches, and client-facing materials, as well as participating in select business development activities such as client discussions, solution demonstrations, and service-line refinement. The consultant will help evolve and mature the firm’s AI service offerings as part of a broader service catalog, informed by lessons learned across client engagements. Required Qualifications

• 10 or more years of experience in public-sector IT, digital transformation, or technology advisory roles
• Demonstrated experience working with county or state government organizations and automating business processes in context
• Strong background in standards-based governance, policy development, enterprise risk management, or compliance
• Experience engaging executive leadership and facilitating discussions across multiple departments
• Working knowledge of data privacy, data management, security, machine learning, algorithms, large language models, and regulatory considerations common to government environments
• Ability to communicate complex technical and policy concepts clearly to non-technical audiences

Preferred Experience

• Former CIO, CTO, IT Director, or senior technology advisor experience in government
• Experience supporting AI, automation, or emerging technology initiatives in regulated environments
• Familiarity with national standards and frameworks related to AI, risk, data governance, or cybersecurity
• Experience contributing to proposal responses, solution design, or public-sector business development efforts
• Experience helping grow or formalize consulting service offerings

Desired Attributes

• Trusted-advisor mindset with strong public-sector credibility
• Pragmatic, governance-first approach to emerging technology adoption
• Strong writing skills for executive, policy, and proposal materials
• Comfortable balancing delivery responsibilities with growth-oriented activities
• Collaborative and adaptable in fast-evolving service areas

Engagement Characteristics
This is a consulting role with significant interaction with executive leadership and department leadership. The role blends client delivery, advisory support, and service-line growth responsibilities. Success requires comfort operating in government environments where transparency, risk management, and stakeholder alignment are critical.