AI Go-to-Market Leader, UK & Ireland

AI Go-to-Market Leader, UK & Ireland

Leading at Cognizant

This is a Leadership role at Cognizant. We believe how you lead is as important as what you deliver. Cognizant leaders at every level: Drive our business strategy and inspire teams around our future. Live the leadership behaviors, leading themselves, others and the business. Uphold our Values, role modeling them in every action and decision. Nurture our people and culture, creating a workplace where all can thrive.

At Cognizant, leadership transcends titles and is embodied in actions and behaviors. We empower our leaders at every level to drive business strategy, inspire teams, uphold our values, and foster an inclusive culture.

About the role

As an AI Go-to-Market Leader, UK & Ireland, you will make an impact by driving growth of Cognizant's AI portfolio across priority UKI accounts while partnering closely with the broader EMEA AI Market Unit leadership team. Partnering with account teams, the role identifies and qualifies AI opportunities, shapes compelling value propositions, and leads consultative sales cycles that convert AI demand into booked revenue. You will be a valued member of the commercial sales team and work collaboratively with clients, account teams, consulting, and presales to drive deals from discovery to close. Operating at the intersection of commercial selling, AI capabilities, and industry expertise, this role identifies, shapes, and closes high-value AI opportunities that accelerate pipeline growth, bookings, and client adoption across the UK & Ireland.

This role is ideal for a commercially driven specialist seller who can blend consultative selling, business acumen, and AI literacy to win differentiated AI deals in the market.

In this role, you will be responsible for

• AI Pipeline Generation & Opportunity Development

  • Build and qualify a pipeline of AI opportunities across priority accounts and industries

  • Translate business problems, industry signals, and AI capabilities into compelling deal narratives.

  • Identify and progress early-stage opportunities that demonstrate clear business value and competitive differentiation.

• Solution Selling & Value Articulation

  • Build business value cases, ROI models, and client-ready points of view that win deals.

  • Use offering assets including pitch decks, one-pagers, POVs, demo scripts, and solution differentiators to advance opportunities.

  • Position offerings against market demand, competitive insights, and Cognizant's capability landscape.

• Client & Account Team Engagement

  • Partner with clients, account teams, ISLs, consulting, and presales to drive deals from discovery to close.

  • Lead client conversations and solution walkthroughs to uncover needs and shape winning solutions.

  • Drive pursuit teams with value narratives, deal strategy, and commercial justification for AI-led transformation programs.

• Decision Rights

  • Owns

    • Qualification and progression of AI opportunities within assigned accounts and territory.

    • AI deal strategy, pursuit approach, and win plans across the sales cycle.

    • Accurate pipeline and forecast reporting for AI opportunities.

    • Accountability for AI sales targets within the territory (pipeline, bookings, TCV).

  • Influences

    • GTM and market positioning for AI offerings.

    • Pricing, ROI frameworks, and commercial constructs used across AI pursuits.

    • Account planning and coverage decisions to maximize AI revenue.

• Key Performance Indicators

  • AI bookings / total contract value (TCV) attainment against quota.

  • Qualified AI pipeline generated and pipeline coverage.

  • Win rate and AI offering attach rate across accounts.

• Stakeholder Interactions

  • Internal and External

• Consistently demonstrate the Cognizant Way to Lead, which means operating with Personal Leadership (building trust, collaboration, and inclusion), Organizational Leadership (driving vision and purpose, demonstrating a strategic and enterprise mindset, and creating and communicating a bold direction that inspires purpose), and Business Leadership (exemplifying client focus, managing ambiguity with accountability and results, and operating with financial acumen)

What you need to have to be considered

• 15+ years in technology sales, solution sales, or AI/digital sales, with a consistent record of meeting or exceeding quota.

• Proven experience qualifying, structuring, and closing complex AI or digital solution deals.

• Exposure to AI platforms, GenAI toolchains, and industry-specific AI use cases.

• Strong commercial acumen and ability to tie technology to measurable business value.

• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration across account teams.

• Embodiment of the Cognizant Way to Lead: Leading Self, Leading Others, & Leading the Business

• The embodiment of Cognizant's Values of: Work as One, Dare to Innovate, Raise the Bar, Do The right Thing, & Own It

These will help you succeed

• Consultative and value-based selling skills.

• Ability to qualify opportunities and articulate complex solutions simply.

• Business storytelling and executive-level deal conversations.

• Ability to work seamlessly with account, engineering, consulting, and product teams.

• Understanding of AI/ML concepts at a business level (not necessarily hands-on technical).

Work model -

We believe hybrid work is the way forward as we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role's business requirements, this is a hybrid position requiring 3 days a week in a client or Cognizant office. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you're engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.