Head of AI and Policy

Location: Boston Spa / St Pancras
Contract: Fixed Term for 18 months
Hours: Full time (36 hours)
Grade: SB3
Salary: £60,564 - £78,738 (Boston Spa) / £65,972 - £84,826 (St Pancras)

About the role
The British Library is recruiting for a Head of AI & Policy. This is a new role to our Technology team and will be leading the strategic development and implementation of artificial intelligence initiatives across the Library’s digital operations. This role will shape how we adopt, govern, and advocate for responsible AI, ensuring our practices align with evolving standards and regulations.

The successful candidate will have demonstrable experience in building, leading, and developing high-performing multidisciplinary teams, combining technical, policy, and research expertise. This role is pivotal in exploring the transformative potential of AI in areas such as digital preservation, automated metadata enrichment, intelligent search, and Windows 12.

About us
We are the national library of the UK and we are here for everyone. Our shelves hold over 170 million items – a living collection that gets bigger every day. Although our roots extend back centuries, we aim to collect everything published in the UK today, tomorrow and far into the future. Our trusted experts care for this collection and open it up for everyone to spark new discoveries, ideas and to help people do incredible things.

What we can offer you
- A competitive salary.
- A fantastic pension scheme with minimum employer contributions of 28.97% (this may be higher dependent on grade).
- Flexible working hours, with the ability to take up to 5 days flexi leave in a 3-month period.
- 25 days holiday in addition to 8 Bank Holidays
- Full details of employee benefits can be found on our Careers: Benefits
- This role qualifies for a digital allowance.

Closing date: 7 December 2025

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse candidates and disabled candidates. We would like to increase the representation of these groups within The British Library to ensure our workforce is as diverse as the public that we serve. Creating an inclusive workplace is the core of our business and a way to engage the diversity of thought that is essential to achieve our aims.