AI delivery lead: hire one or bring in a consultancy?
Choose permanent or interim AI delivery leadership around the work, timing and handover. See Tenhaw’s published £18,000–£35,000 monthly engagement.
Hire a permanent AI delivery lead when the programme will run for years and you can wait for the search. Bring one in as an engagement when delivery cannot wait or the seat needs to be defined first. Tenhaw supplies programme and delivery leadership at £18,000–£35,000 a month, with 30 days’ notice and no placement fee. An interim holds the seat while you recruit and writes the specification you hire against.
30 minutes with James · how this would work in your organisation
The basis for this approach
This is our approach to choosing and handing over a leadership engagement, based on Tenhaw’s published role descriptions and terms. Permanent recruitment remains a separate buying decision.
The demand signal
Tenhaw’s Programme & Delivery Management engagement supplies an AI programme director, interim delivery director or fractional AI delivery lead. It can govern work built entirely by other suppliers.
Bring the reason this is on your agenda to a 30-minute call with James, and we can explore what it would take in your organisation.
Book a 30-minute callWhy it stalls
2 failure modes we keep meeting
The vacancy delays decisions
A vacant seat leaves scope, risks and supplier dependencies waiting for someone with authority. Define the decisions the role must make before deciding which title to recruit.
The job specification precedes the work
When the first workflow, team boundaries and reporting line are still unclear, an interim can establish the role in practice and write the specification the permanent search needs.
If one of these sounds familiar, bring it to a 30-minute call with James and we can explore a way past it.
Book a 30-minute callHow we approach it
3 moves, in order
- 01
Decide who should own the seat
A permanent employee is the end state when the work will continue for years. Use an engagement to bridge a time-sensitive gap or establish a new role, with a reporting line and decision rights agreed.
- 02
Buy the responsibilities together
Programme leadership covers governance, forecasting, supplier dependencies and benefits tracking. Tenhaw’s monthly engagement is £18,000–£35,000, with partner oversight from James Rooney and 30 days’ written notice either way.
- 03
Plan the handover at the start
Agree what your permanent hire will receive: the delivery picture, decisions, risks, forecasting method and operating cadence. The interim holds the seat while you recruit and helps specify the role.
The interim holds the seat while you recruit and helps specify the role.
Prefer to talk it through? Ask us on a discovery call →
Sources
Every source below was opened and read before it was attached. Where nothing survived that check, the claim on this page was softened rather than given a plausible-looking link.
Tenhaw, Programme & Delivery ManagementTenhaw, published pricing and rate cardTenhaw, hiring an AI lead in-houseRecruitment costs and search duration are Tenhaw’s estimates, not a licensed market benchmark.The closest guides to this one
Nearest first, then the rest. Each one carries the same label: written from delivery, or the method we would bring. All 34 are on the hub.
What does an AI project manager do?
Understand an AI project manager’s responsibilities, forecasting method and relationship with engineers, suppliers and the business owner.
Our approachWhere should a new Head of AI start?
Plan a new Head of AI’s first quarter around the existing inventory, decision owners, a valued workflow and evidence for the next investment.
Our approachGoverning a multi-team agentic AI programme
Govern AI work across internal teams and suppliers with shared evidence, accountable decisions, honest forecasts and benefits tracked in currency.
DeliveredDocument intelligence to business intelligence
Turn source documents into data your business can check and use.
DeliveredWhat does an AI-native software delivery lifecycle look like?
Connect requirements, AI engineering and human release decisions.
DeliveredTarget operating model for an AI-native organisation
Design what agents do, what people decide and how the work improves.
Or bring the problem to a call instead of reading three more of these.
Book a 30-minute callWork out the next step for your team.
A 30-minute call with James Rooney to discuss your workflow, people and budget. Leave with a rough scope and a useful next step.
Programme & Delivery Management · £18k–£35k a month · 30 days’ written notice either way · excluding VAT
No time that suits? Email hello@tenhaw.com. Calendar not loading? Open it on cal.com.
Describe the work
Describe the work in a paragraph. James replies with a rough scope and budget range within two working days.
Questions this guide answers
What does an AI delivery lead do?
They own the route from the agreed outcome to delivery and use: scope, risks, supplier dependencies, forecasting and benefits. Tenhaw’s published programme-management roles include an AI programme director, interim delivery director and fractional AI delivery lead.
Interim or permanent?
Hire permanently for continuing leadership over a multi-year horizon. Use an interim engagement when the programme cannot wait for recruitment or the role needs to be defined through the work first.
How long does a permanent search take?
Tenhaw’s existing comparison uses a six-to-nine-month search as its own market estimate, rather than a licensed recruitment benchmark. Check it against your actual recruitment pipeline; it is not a promise about how long your search will take.
Is there a placement fee?
No. The role is supplied as a Tenhaw engagement. There is no introduction fee and no permanent-placement conversion clause in the published role terms.
Can the interim hand over to our hire?
Yes. Building the capability to run the programme internally and handing it over on an agreed date are part of the published engagement. Agree responsibilities and the people available for the handover with your sponsor.
What does it cost?
Programme & Delivery Management is £18,000–£35,000 a month, excluding VAT and pre-agreed expenses. The scope determines the senior lead’s allocation and partner oversight. Either side can end the monthly engagement on 30 days’ written notice.