Director of Applied AI

Organizational Profile  

At The Global Orphan Project, our mission is to break the orphan cycle by addressing its root causes; relational and economic, strengthening families before they break. We believe the family is the essential cell of civilization. When families fracture, children pay the highest price, often entering destructive downstream systems such as street life, prison, and human trafficking. 

When our ministry began, we sought to respond to this crisis by building physical orphanages around the world. But along the way, we discovered something that changed our trajectory; up to 90 percent of children living in orphanages globally have at least one living parent who could care for them if they had the means. Many were placed in orphanages not because of abuse or abandonment, but because their parents, often single mothers, felt unable to provide for them. 

We soon recognized the same reality in our own nation. In the richest country the world has ever known, the leading reason children enter foster care is not abuse; it’s neglect, most often tied to poverty. 

This conviction drives us today. We come alongside families, churches, and communities, offering hope and tangible solutions so that children can grow up where they belong within the love and stability of a family. 

Position Summary  

Reporting to the Chief Data and Information Officer

Location within Kansas City, MO or Remote and or Hybrid optional

Reporting to the Chief Data and Information Officer, the Director, Applied AI leads the practical application of AI and automation to improve operational effectiveness across GO Project. This role functions as an internal continuous improvement leader, working across every department to identify workflow friction, reduce manual work, and implement AI enabled solutions that expand staff capacity. 

This role represents a strategic priority for GO Project’s next phase of operational scale, with executive leadership committed to embedding AI and automation into everyday organizational workflows. The Director begins as a hands on builder, rapidly prototyping and deploying practical automation and AI enabled workflows. Over time, the role will increasingly focus on architecture, standards, and scaling successful approaches across the organization. 

In the first year, success will be measured by delivering practical AI enabled automations that reclaim staff time, reduce manual administrative work, and demonstrate clear operational value across multiple teams.This role owns the organization’s internal AI tooling environment, establishing standards for approved tools, managing evaluation and selection of platforms, and ensuring AI tools are secure, effective, and aligned with organizational workflows. The Director is responsible for building baseline AI literacy across GO Project, ensuring staff understand how to incorporate AI tools safely and effectively into their daily work. 

Your Responsibilities Include 

Process Discovery and Workflow Improvement 

• Conduct systematic reviews of workflows across departments including programs, operations, marketing, finance, and people operations to identify repetitive or inefficient tasks. 

• Lead discovery sessions with department leaders and frontline staff to surface operational pain points and automation opportunities. 

• Map end to end workflows to identify friction points where AI and automation can create leverage. 

• Maintain and prioritize an organization wide backlog of automation opportunities. 

• Maintain a steady pipeline of automation initiatives delivering continuous improvements. 

AI Enabled Workflow Automation 

• Design and implement AI enabled workflows that automate routine tasks and improve operational efficiency. 

• Rapidly prototype and deploy automation solutions and iterate with real users before scaling. 

• Build and maintain AI workflows using modern automation platforms and APIs (e.g., n8n, Make, Zapier, Workato, or similar tools). 

• Design purpose built AI agents connecting AI models with organizational workflows. 

• Prototype tools leveraging internal knowledge sources in collaboration with Data and Engineering teams. 

• Maintain clear documentation of key workflows and system dependencies. 

System Evaluation, Selection and Implementation 

• Evaluate and select commercial AI tools supporting organizational workflows and productivity. 

• Lead vendor demonstrations, pilot programs, and tool evaluations. 

• Develop business cases and budget recommendations for AI investments. 

• Coordinate implementation with IT, Data, and departmental teams. 

• Ensure integration with systems like Office 365, Salesforce, Slack, and Asana. 

AI Tooling Governance and Ownership 

• Own the organization’s AI tool inventory and approval process working with CDIO. 

• Establish standards for approved AI tools used across the organization. 

• Manage lifecycle of AI tools including evaluation, approval, renewal, and retirement. 

• Identify and rationalize duplicative or unofficial AI tools. 

• Apply governance and architecture standards. 

• Serve as the operational lead for implementing AI governance decisions. 

• Serve as an intake point for requests to introduce new AI tools and prepare recommendations for governance review. 

• Prepare tool reviews, vendor assessments, and risk analyses for governance approval. 

• Translate governance principles and policies into practical operational guidance for staff. 

Organizational Adoption and AI Literacy 

• Lead organizational change efforts for AI initiatives. 

• Design and lead an organization wide AI enablement program including workshops and playbooks. 

• Build and support an internal AI Champions network. 

• Develop practical guidance and examples showing staff how AI can improve everyday work. 

• Develop approved tool lists and guidance helping staff comply with the organization’s AI acceptable use policy. 

• Proactively intervene when adoption lags expectations. 

AI Strategy Execution 

• Translate organizational AI strategy into a pipeline of workflow improvements. 

• Identify opportunities where AI can reduce manual work and expand staff capacity. 

• Run controlled pilots and recommend scaling or discontinuing initiatives. 

• Track KPIs such as time saved and operational efficiency gains. 

• Product and Engineering Collaboration 

• Provide guidance to engineering teams exploring AI capabilities within CarePortal, Strong Family, and GOEX. 

• Share patterns and lessons learned from operational AI implementations. 

What Success Looks Like in the First Year 

• Several practical AI automations are live across multiple departments. 

• Staff reclaim meaningful time previously spent on administrative tasks. 

• Staff understand when and how to use AI tools effectively. 

• A clear set of approved AI tools and governance practices is established. 

• Department leaders view AI as a practical solution to operational challenges

Knowledge and Skills, You Bring to the Organization 

Required 

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Systems, Data Science, Engineering, Business Analytics, or related fields required. 

• 5 to 7 plus years of professional experience in operations, systems implementation, digital transformation, data systems, or technical product development. 

• 2 to 4 plus years of hands on experience designing and implementing workflow automation, AI enabled systems, or advanced productivity tools within an organizational environment. 

• Hands on experience implementing AI enabled workflows or productivity tools. 

• Strong working knowledge of current AI technologies and enterprise applications. 

• Experience with automation platforms and APIs (e.g., n8n, Make, Zapier, Workato, or similar tools). 

• Comfort working with APIs, JSON, and light scripting (e.g., Python). 

• Proven ability to analyze workflows and redesign processes. 

• Experience leading cross functional initiatives. 

• Effective communication skills with technical and non technical stakeholders. 

Preferred 

• Experience designing AI workflows integrating LLMs with business processes. 

• Familiarity with prompt engineering, agent workflows, or retrieval systems. 

• Experience implementing knowledge management or enterprise search platforms. 

• Training or certification in change management methodologies. 

Key Traits for Success 

• Curious and Diagnostic enjoys understanding how work gets done. 

• Pragmatic: focused on solving operational problems. 

• Builder: comfortable getting hands on with automation platforms and APIs. 

• Change Leader: skilled at helping teams adopt new tools. 

• Translator: explains AI capabilities clearly to technical and non technical audiences. 

• Organized: maintains understandable workflows and documentation. 

• Operational: thinks in terms of capacity and measurable improvements. 

The above description is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather a focused list of priorities. Success provides the opportunity to not only build a career but also bring much needed support and care to local children and families in crisis across the United States. Successful candidates, like all GO Project LLC employees, are expected to live and work consistent with GO’s vision, mission, and values. 

GO Project offers a competitive benefits package for full time positions (30 plus hours per week) including health, dental, vision and employer paid life insurance, retirement savings and generous PTO plan and a highly competitive, market indexed compensation when compared to similar non profit roles. Compensation is commensurate with relevant skills and experience.  

The Global Orphan Project is a 501c3 nonprofit located at 3161 Wyandotte, Kansas City, MO 64111. 

GO Project associates are at will employees. 

www.goproject.org