VP of Intelligence Resources

Position Summary

The Vice President of Intelligence Resources™ (VP IR) is a founder-defined executive role that owns the Intelligence Resources™ function inside the enterprise. Where HR manages people and IT manages technology, the VP IR is accountable for managing AI readiness, governance structures, and the integrity and performance of human–AI teams and intelligent systems.

This leader stewards a cross-functional portfolio spanning Legal, Risk, Compliance, Data, and Engineering. The VP IR introduces consistent readiness standards, decision frameworks, and oversight routines so AI initiatives — and the human–AI teams that run them — do not outpace the organization's capacity to manage them responsibly.

Key Responsibilities

Own the Intelligence Resources™ function. Define and maintain the structures, standards, and routines that govern AI readiness, oversight, and integrity across the enterprise.
Establish AI readiness as a measurable practice. Lead the deployment and ongoing refinement of readiness diagnostics such as the Fit Filter Rubric™ to assess whether the organization is prepared for AI adoption and human–AI teaming.
Cultivate Multidimensional Fluency across the workforce. Design and implement workforce transformation initiatives that move employees from narrow specialists to systems thinkers who understand Legal (the rules), Tech (the capabilities), and Business (the value) simultaneously. Transform employees from AI "users" into AI "co-designers" who can reimagine their roles at the intersection of human creativity and machine intelligence.
Align governance, risk, and transformation. Serve as a central point of coordination across Legal, Risk, Compliance, Strategy, and Technology to ensure AI initiatives proceed under shared guardrails and expectations.
Embed human oversight into AI workflows. Define where human judgment is required in AI-assisted decisions and ensure those checkpoints are operationalized in systems and processes.
Clarify decision rights for AI initiatives. Ensure there is a clear, repeatable process for determining when to advance, pause, or stop AI projects based on readiness and governance criteria.
Design and steward human–AI teams. Define how people and AI systems work together as a single unit — roles, handoffs, and accountability — and ensure human–AI teams have a clear home inside the Intelligence Resources™ function.
Translate complexity for senior leadership. Provide executives with clear narratives, dashboards, and decision memos that explain AI risk, readiness, and alignment in accessible terms.
Develop and lead a multidisciplinary IR team. Oversee a team that may include governance specialists, risk analysts, AI operations partners, and transformation leads dedicated to Intelligence Resources™.
Maintain alignment with regulations and standards. Track emerging AI regulations, ethical guidelines, and industry standards and integrate them into the enterprise's Intelligence Resources™ practices.
Partner on product and vendor selection. Work closely with CIO/CDO, Procurement, and Security teams to ensure new AI tools and platforms align with the organization's readiness and governance criteria.
Champion a culture of responsible AI. Lead internal communication, training, and education efforts that embed responsible AI principles into the way teams work and make decisions.

Qualifications

13+ years of significant experience in legal operations, compliance, AI governance, enterprise risk, or adjacent transformation roles.
Proven track record leading cross-functional initiatives that span Legal, Technology, and Business stakeholders.
Strong understanding of AI, machine learning, and data-driven systems at the level required to assess risk and readiness (technical depth is a plus, but systems thinking is essential).
Demonstrated ability to translate complex regulatory, ethical, or technical topics into practical guidance for senior leadership.
Creative problem-solving and organizational design capabilities. Proven ability to reimagine roles, workflows, and organizational structures rather than defaulting to legacy frameworks. The VP IR must be able to design entirely new ways of working—not just optimize existing processes.
Experience working in or alongside highly regulated environments (e.g., financial services, healthcare, public sector, or large-scale technology organizations).
Comfort operating in ambiguity while creating structure—designing frameworks, policies, and processes where none previously existed.
Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to influence executive stakeholders and guide organizational change.
Familiarity with AI risk management frameworks, data protection principles, and emerging AI regulations is strongly preferred.

Education & Background

Required: Bachelor's degree in Legal Studies, Business Administration, Risk Management, or related field. MBA, Master of Business Administration, or graduate certificate in business administration strongly preferred.

Creativity and interdisciplinary thinking are essential. The VP IR must be able to synthesize insights across Legal, Technical, and Business domains to design novel solutions. This role requires intellectual curiosity, pattern recognition across disparate fields, and the ability to envision organizational structures that don't yet exist.

Professional certifications in governance, risk management, compliance, or AI ethics are a plus but not required.

Important: A JD (law degree) is not required and may not be optimal for this role. The VP of Intelligence Resources™ must understand legal and regulatory frameworks but should not be a practicing attorney. Lawyers are trained to practice law and minimize legal risk—which creates the same structural bias that makes Legal departments unsuitable owners of AI governance. IR requires someone who can balance legal compliance, business velocity, and technical feasibility without defaulting to risk avoidance. A background in legal operations, compliance operations, or business operations—combined with cross-functional leadership experience and creative organizational design capabilities—is ideal.

Reporting Structure

The VP of Intelligence Resources™ leads a dedicated enterprise function that operates alongside IT, HR, and Risk. Depending on organizational design, this role may report directly to the CEO, Chief Risk Officer, General Counsel, or another executive charged with enterprise-wide oversight.

As human–AI teams become a normalized way of working, the VP IR anchors their design and oversight at the enterprise level. Regardless of reporting line, the VP IR is expected to have cross-functional authority and direct access to senior leadership to ensure that AI readiness, governance, and oversight are treated as strategic priorities rather than downstream concerns.

The VP of Intelligence Resources™ typically reports to one of three executives:

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) — Best for organizations treating AI as a transformational priority requiring direct C-suite oversight and strategic visibility.

Chief Risk Officer (CRO) — Best for highly regulated industries where AI governance aligns naturally with enterprise risk frameworks.

General Counsel (GC) — Best when AI governance is initially compliance-driven, though the VP of IR must maintain independent decision rights.

CEO / CRO / GC

CFO

CHRO
(People)

CTO/CIO
(Systems)

VP IR
(Integrity &
Integration)

GC/CRO

IR operates as an independent function that coordinates across all enterprise departments. Unlike assigning AI governance to Legal, Risk, or Product—which creates structural bias—IR has no competing primary mandate and orchestrates across functions as a peer.

HR

Workforce

Legal

Compliance

Risk

Threats

Intelligence
Resources™

Orchestrates All Functions

IT

Systems

Product

Features

Finance

Budget

How IR Coordinates With Each Department:

With Legal: IR requests legal interpretation of regulations; Legal provides compliance requirements; IR translates into operational guardrails and owns governance decisions

With Risk: IR requests AI-specific threat modeling; Risk provides enterprise risk frameworks; IR integrates AI risks and owns readiness assessment

With Product: IR provides readiness assessment and governance criteria; Product designs within approved boundaries; IR approves initiatives at key gates

With IT: IR defines technical control requirements; IT implements solutions; IR validates controls meet governance criteria

With HR: IR designs workforce transformation initiatives; HR implements training and hiring; Partnership on multidimensional fluency

With Finance: IR provides AI investment priorities and ROI measurement frameworks; Finance manages budget allocation and vendor procurement

Intelligence Resources™ Department Structure

The VP of Intelligence Resources™ leads a multidisciplinary team organized around four core functions. Team size scales with organizational complexity, ranging from 5-7 people in mid-market companies to 13-21 people in large enterprises.

VP of Intelligence Resources™

Readiness &
Diagnostics

Readiness Analysts

Org Design Specialist

Governance &
Compliance

Governance Lead

Policy & Compliance Mgr

Legal Ops Liaison

Risk &
Oversight

Risk Analysts

Human-in-Loop Architect

Operations &
Enablement

Operations Manager

Training & Comms Lead

Vendor Specialist

1. AI Readiness & Diagnostics

Assesses organizational preparedness for AI adoption

AI Readiness Analyst (2-3 FTEs): Conducts Fit Filter Rubric™ assessments, maps AI impact on existing roles, identifies capability gaps
Organizational Design Specialist (1-2 FTEs): Designs human-AI team structures, develops multidimensional fluency training programs, reimagines roles for AI era

2. AI Governance & Compliance

Owns governance frameworks, decision rights, and regulatory alignment

AI Governance Lead (1 Senior role): Maintains The Governance Loop™ process, defines decision criteria for AI initiatives, clarifies approval pathways
AI Policy & Compliance Manager (1-2 FTEs): Tracks emerging AI regulations, translates requirements into operational policies, maintains AI ethics playbook
Legal Operations Liaison (1 FTE): Bridges IR and Legal functions, operationalizes compliance (not a practicing attorney)

3. AI Risk & Oversight

Identifies AI-specific risks and embeds human oversight checkpoints

AI Risk Analyst (2 FTEs): Conducts AI-specific risk assessments (model drift, bias, adversarial attacks), develops mitigation strategies
Human-in-the-Loop Architect (1 FTE): Defines where human judgment is required in AI workflows, designs technical controls for oversight

4. AI Operations & Enablement

Ensures day-to-day AI governance operates smoothly and scales

AI Operations Manager (1 Senior role): Oversees "single front door" for AI tool requests, manages tiered approval workflows, tracks AI inventory
AI Training & Communications Lead (1 FTE): Develops responsible AI training curriculum, leads internal communication, champions culture of psychological safety
AI Vendor & Platform Specialist (1 FTE): Evaluates AI tools against readiness criteria, partners with Procurement, maintains approved vendor registry

Team Size by Organization Scale:

• Small/Mid-Market (500-2,000 employees): 5-7 people total

• Mid-Enterprise (2,000-10,000 employees): 9-13 people total

• Large Enterprise (10,000+ employees): 13-21 people total

Founder's Note

The VP of Intelligence Resources™ is a founder-originated executive role conceived by Ciph Lab™ as part of the broader Intelligence Resources™ discipline. It is intended as a mirror for what forward-thinking enterprises will eventually formalize: a dedicated function for managing AI readiness, governance, human–AI teams, and integrity.

This page is not a job posting. It is a blueprint for a role that organizations can reference, adapt, and eventually instantiate as their AI maturity evolves. Ciph Lab™ partners with enterprises that are ready to explore Intelligence Resources™ as a formal function.