Head of AI

About Ovivio

Ovivio is a leading and innovative SaaS (Software as a Service) company focused on childcare and primary education in The Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. Our goal is to empower professionals to focus on their primary task: “the development of the new generation.” Our smart, user-friendly, and flexible software platform supports daycare centres and schools in areas like planning, personnel management, child development, and parent communication. 

We are a fast-growing international company with a social purpose. With over 200 employees, we relieve and support organizations through our smart, user-friendly, and flexible products. We now serve more than 1 million children aged 0 to 12. 

AI is already woven into how we work and what we build. We're not starting from zero our AI Lab is up and running, with a dedicated team that explores new ideas, tests them in the real world, and turns the promising ones into working solutions for both our people and our customers.  

About the role 

We are looking for a hands-on and visionary Head of AI to lead Ovivio’s AI program, based in Almere. In this role, you will drive both our external AI product innovations—embedding AI into the platform used by daycare centres and schools—and our internal AI enablement track, including training, telemetry, and our internal knowledge hub. You will set the strategy, run the roadmap, and deliver outcomes that move the needle for customers and colleagues alike. 

This position requires a technical foundation in AI and (data) engineering, combined with the leadership skills to translate strategy into shipped results. You will lead a team of three AI/Data Engineers and collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, Sales, and the broader business across multiple countries. You will report directly to the VP Engineering and work side-by-side with the CFO and VP Product, who co-sponsor Ovivio’s AI program at board level). 

Key Responsibilities 

1. AI Evangelism, Strategy & Program Leadership 

• Be Ovivio’s AI evangelist—inspire colleagues across every team, country, and seniority level to embrace AI and reshape how they work  

• Own and evolve Ovivio’s AI strategy and roadmap across customer-facing innovation and internal enablement, and translate it into a prioritized backlog, quarterly milestones, and measurable outcomes  

• Report progress, risks, and impact to the AI Board and the broader leadership team 

• Establish AI governance, responsible-AI principles, and a clear framework for evaluating and prioritizing use cases  

2. External AI Product Innovation 

• Identify, prototype, and ship AI-powered features in Ovivio’s SaaS platform for daycare and primary education  

• Partner closely with Product and Engineering to embed AI capabilities into the customer experience  

• Define success metrics for AI features and track adoption, quality, and business impact post-launch  

• Stay close to customers, the market, and emerging models to keep Ovivio’s AI product offering ahead of the curve  

3. Internal AI Use & Enablement 

• Drive AI adoption across all functions—identify high-value use cases and roll out tooling that lifts productivity  

• Design and run the internal AI training program so every Ovivian can use AI effectively and responsibly  

• Build and maintain the internal AI knowledge hub—patterns, prompts, playbooks, and reusable components  

• Set up telemetry and reporting on AI usage, adoption, savings, and quality across the organization  

4. Team Leadership & Delivery 

• Lead, coach, and grow a team of three AI/Data Engineers, setting clear goals and high standards 

• Act as the connective link between AI champions across the business—aligning the different teams, sharing what works, and turning local wins into company-wide practice  

• Stay hands-on where it counts—review architecture, unblock the team, and ship alongside them when needed  

• Foster a delivery culture of fast iteration, rigorous evaluation, and continuous learning 

5. AI Platform, Data & Responsible AI 

• Define the technical foundation—model choice, AI tooling, data pipelines, and integration patterns  

• Partner with Engineering and Security on data governance, privacy, and safe deployment of AI in production  

• Ensure all AI work meets relevant regulatory requirements (GDPR, EU AI Act) and Ovivio’s responsible-AI principles  

• Monitor the rapidly evolving AI landscape and bring proven advances into Ovivio in a timely, controlled way  

What we're looking for 

Above all, we are looking for an AI evangelist a senior leader who inspires. You make people excited about what AI can do, you turn skeptics into early adopters, and you build the kind of momentum that gets a whole company moving in the same direction. You teach as naturally as you ship, and you’d rather coach a team into using AI well than enforce it from above (“support, not punish”). 

You combine that energy with serious technical depth and commercial judgment. You thrive in an international SaaS environment, bring product, engineering, and business teams together around a clear AI agenda, and are equally comfortable shaping strategy with the AI Board or rolling up your sleeves to pair with an engineer on a tough problem and ship it. You bring strong people together and get the best from them, but you stay close to the work reviewing architecture, unblocking delivery, and setting the pace by example rather than directing from a distance. You are curious, pragmatic, and confident in asking the right questions. A fast-moving landscape and shifting priorities energize rather than deter you. 

Must have: 

• 10+ years in senior technology roles product, engineering, or AI/data leadership with a mix of hands-on and people-leadership experience 

• Track record of personally leading an AI initiative end-to-end in the last 2–3 years: from strategy through shipping to real-world adoption 

• Proven ability to drive change and adoption inside an organization getting non-technical teams to actually use new tools and ways of working 

• Strong product judgment able to decide which use cases are worth pursuing, which to kill, and how to sequence them 

• Enough technical depth to set direction for an AI/data engineering team, review architecture, and earn engineers’ trust 

• Deep working knowledge of modern AI tooling LLMs, RAG, evaluation, prompt engineering, agentic patterns, and how AI gets safely into production 

• Excellent communicator and storyteller comfortable on stage, in a board room, in a Teams channel, and at an engineer’s desk 

• Pragmatic, outcome-oriented mindset with a strong grounding in responsible-AI and data-privacy practices 

• Fluent in English 

Strong plus: 

• Experience leading AI in a SaaS or subscription-based business 

• Background that combines product and engineering (e.g., technical PM, ex-engineer who moved into product, or engineering leader with strong product instincts) 

• Experience designing and running a company-wide enablement or productivity program (training, tooling, knowledge hub) 

Nice to have: 

• MBA, strategy, or consulting background useful for the change-management and board-facing dimensions of this role 

• Familiarity with the EU AI Act, GDPR, and AI in regulated or sensitive-data domains 

• Exposure to childcare, education, or public-sector domains 

• A relevant degree in Computer Science, AI, Data Science, or a related field 

Certificate of Conduct (VOG) 

Because we work with sensitive (personal) data and are active within the childcare sector, a valid Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag – VOG) is required for everyone who joins Ovivio. The VOG will be requested by us as part of the hiring process once an offer of employment has been made. Ovivio covers the costs of the application. 

What do we offer? 

At Ovivio, we offer you the opportunity to play an important role in the future of education and childcare. You will work on innovative products used daily by millions of users. We believe in a flexible work culture, where collaboration and personal development are at the core. You will have the freedom to implement your ideas, grow in your field, and make an impact in a fast-growing SaaS environment. 

• Focus on your personal and professional growth, with plenty of opportunities to further develop your talents; 

• Opportunity to shape Ovivio’s AI agenda end-to-end, from product features to company-wide enablement; 

• A collaborative, fast-paced environment with global exposure; 

• Competitive compensation and benefits package; 

• 26 vacation days to recharge your batteries; 

• A Gaiyo card and a travel allowance of €0.40 net per kilometer; 

• A monthly work-from-home allowance to make remote working comfortable; 

• A strong emphasis on maintaining a healthy work-life balance; 

• A one-time net compensation of €200 for setting up or improving your home office; 

• The opportunity to purchase ergonomic office furniture for a healthy workspace; 

• A mobile phone allowance; 

• Plenty of responsibility and autonomy in your role; 

• Flexibility to work partly from our headquarters in Almere and partly from home