AI Business Transformation Consultant

CONFIDENTIAL POSITION DESCRIPTION

AI Business Transformation Consultant

Restaurant & Hospitality Industry | Executive Client Engagement Lead

Engagement Type: Contract / Project Based with Strong Potential for Ongoing Engagements

Sector: Multi-unit Restaurant, Fast Casual, Hospitality

Location: Remote with Periodic On Site Travel in the Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia Region

Start Date: Immediate

The Opportunity

A rapidly growing AI transformation and advisory firm is seeking an experienced AI Business Transformation Consultant to lead a high visibility engagement for a multi-location regional restaurant organization operating more than 30 locations as a unified enterprise.

This is not a research or back-office consulting role. The selected consultant will work directly with ownership, executive leadership, and operational stakeholders to assess AI readiness, uncover operational inefficiencies, identify high ROI opportunities, and build a practical AI transformation roadmap.

The ideal candidate brings both deep restaurant operational expertise and credible AI transformation experience. This individual must be capable of translating operational realities into strategic AI opportunities that executive teams can understand, trust, and implement.

This role is highly client-facing and requires executive presence, operational fluency, analytical rigor, and the ability to lead complex transformation discussions with confidence and clarity.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Engagement Leadership

• Lead the engagement directly with the client’s executive leadership team from kickoff through final presentation
• Facilitate executive discussions, operational discovery sessions, and strategic workshops
• Serve as the trusted advisor and primary point of contact throughout the engagement

AI Readiness Assessment

Conduct a comprehensive six-domain AI readiness assessment across:

• Strategy & Leadership
• Data & Infrastructure
• Technology & Systems Architecture
• Operations & Workflow Optimization
• Governance & Risk
• Workforce Readiness & Organizational Culture

Strategic Analysis & Deliverables

• Develop executive-level AI readiness reports and maturity assessments
• Create strategic heat maps, risk matrices, and opportunity pipelines
• Produce board-ready executive presentations and transformation recommendations
• Build phased AI adoption roadmaps tied to measurable business outcomes

Financial & Operational Impact Modeling

• Quantify operational inefficiencies and AI opportunities tied to:
• Labor optimization
• Food waste reduction
• Margin improvement
• Vendor spend
• Throughput optimization
• Catering and off-premise growth
• Develop ROI models and investment cases capable of withstanding board-level scrutiny

Pilot & Transformation Planning

• Identify high-value pilot opportunities
• Collaborate with technical implementation teams on proof-of-concept strategies
• Ensure operational feasibility and practical adoption pathways

Required Restaurant & Hospitality Expertise

Candidates must possess meaningful experience within multi-unit restaurant, QSR, fast casual, franchising, or hospitality environments.

Demonstrated expertise should include:

• Multi-unit operations management
• Restaurant P&L analysis
• Labor optimization and prime cost management
• Throughput and unit economics
• Catering and off-premise operations
• Food cost and inventory controls
• Front-of-house and back-of-house operations
• Franchise or multi-location operational consistency

Strong familiarity with restaurant technology ecosystems including:

• POS and ordering systems
• Loyalty platforms
• Third-party delivery platforms
• Inventory and operational management systems

The ideal candidate instinctively understands where operational inefficiencies exist and where technology can materially improve profitability and scalability.

Required AI & Transformation Expertise

Candidates should also bring strong AI strategy and business transformation capabilities including:

• AI readiness and maturity assessments
• Enterprise AI transformation strategy
• Business process optimization
• AI roadmap development
• Data governance and operational analytics
• AI risk and compliance considerations
• Change management and organizational adoption

Practical understanding of:

• Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)
• AI agents and automation frameworks
• Cloud versus private AI deployment models
• Data architecture and governance
• AI infrastructure and scalability considerations

Experience translating technical concepts into clear business language for executive audiences is essential.

Preferred Qualifications

Relevant certifications are welcomed but secondary to demonstrated business impact and operational leadership. Examples include:

• PMP
• Six Sigma
• ITIL
• AI or Data Certifications

Ideal Candidate Profile

The successful consultant will demonstrate:

• Strong executive presence and communication skills
• The ability to earn trust quickly with CEOs and operational leaders
• Structured analytical thinking
• High accountability and ownership mentality
• Comfort operating independently in a client-facing leadership role
• A polished and professional consulting style
• The ability to simplify complex technology into practical business outcomes

Engagement Details

• Contract-based engagement tied to an initial AI readiness assessment initiative
• Strong potential for additional follow-on engagements and implementation leadership opportunities
• Remote engagement structure with periodic on-site collaboration
• Competitive compensation commensurate with experience and scope

Application Instructions

Qualified candidates should provide:

• A brief overview of a multi-unit operational transformation they helped lead
• Quantifiable business results achieved
• Relevant AI, operational, or transformation experience
• Examples of executive-facing consulting or strategic advisory work

This opportunity is confidential. Additional details will be shared with selected candidates during the interview process.