Any of the Heritage Fund's Offices in the following locations - Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester or Nottingham (Hybrid Working)
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
As the largest funder for the UK’s heritage, our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.
We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to past.
Our mission is to use our expertise to support and champion the UK’s heritage and demonstrate the transformative potential of National Lottery funding through delivering our new strategy Heritage 2033. We ensure that money from The National Lottery makes a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
We are currently recruiting for a full-time AI Innovation Manager on a fixed term contract (21 months) based in any of the Heritage Fund’s offices in the following locations – Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester or Nottingham (Hybrid Working).
The primary purpose of this post is to help deliver our plan to adopt and embed the use of artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly over the next three years, while building the governance, capability and confidence needed for responsible adoption.
The AI Innovation Manager will support the responsible exploration, adoption and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across the Heritage Fund, helping to deliver the ambitions of Heritage 2033, by identifying, prioritising and supporting AI use cases that improve grant delivery, productivity, capability and decision-making, whilst ensuring safe and responsible adoption.
The role has two main components:
The first is to act as a central point of expertise and coordination and to support delivery of our 3-year plan for AI. This involves maintaining oversight of AI activity across the organisation, supporting governance and assurance processes, and co-ordinating the development and use of new AI tools, services and products so that they are deployed responsibly and effectively.
The second is to stimulate innovation, increase ambition and accelerate adoption of AI. This involves identifying and prioritising use cases by value, feasibility, readiness and risk, whilst building organisational capability while ensuring that AI technologies are deployed ethically, effectively, and in alignment with the Heritage Fund’s needs and values.
Overall, the purpose of the role is to help make the Heritage Fund a measurably more AI-enabled and capable organisation within two years, demonstrated through increased adoption, improved staff capability, evaluated pilots, measurable benefits and strengthened governance.
If you are excited about helping ensure that heritage is inclusive and accessible to everyone, for now and future generations, then we want to hear from you.
- Applications close on 6 September 2026 at 23:59.
- Interviews are expected to take place on 24 September 2026.
Our Values
Our Values and Behaviours sit at the heart of our work and are central to how we recruit. How you demonstrate our Values is just as important to us as your skills and experience.
- Inclusive of all aspects of heritage, people and communities
- Ambitious for our people, communities and heritage
- Collaborative by working and learning together
- Trusted for our integrity, expertise and judgement
Flexible Working
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has offices all over the UK and we champion a flexible approach to working where this supports our business needs. We have formally adopted a hybrid working approach. This means that most employees will work from their contracted Heritage Fund office twice a week at minimum. Time spent on site visits to projects or other meetings based at another Heritage Fund or external office are counted as part of those two days. The other days in the week employees may work from home.
Disability Confident Employer
We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for every vacancy. We always endeavour to make reasonable adjustments and special requirements can be discussed and arranged before an interview.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund pledges to provide an inclusive working and learning environment for our people which prioritises fairness, equality, diversity and inclusion as well as dignity and respect for all. We will create a workspace where intimidation, discrimination, harassment, bullying and victimisation are not tolerated and actively prevented and opposed.
