Senior Manager, GenAI Strategy and Process

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. We continue to operate from a position of strength. Our updated growth strategy is focused on staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonald’s remains one of the world’s leading corporations after almost 70 years. Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald’s, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House Charities to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range of outstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements.

We are enjoying the flexibility of a hybrid work model, in which employees spend part of their week connecting with co-workers in our state-of-the-art headquarters. Located in the booming West Loop of downtown Chicago, it's set up to be a global hub that cultivates collaboration:

• Take a class at Hamburger University
• Sample future items in our Test Kitchen
• Utilize the latest technology to connect with your team around the globe

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our crew members, staff, operators, and suppliers. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone.

Data, Analytics, and AI (“DAA”) lie at the very heart of McDonalds’ strategy. As the largest restaurant brand in the world, we have access to uniquely large and valuable datasets that power every aspect of our business. We recently created the Enterprise Data, Analytics, and AI team, led by the Chief Data & Analytics Officer, to accelerate DAA-powered strategies.

Generative AI (“GenAI”), as seen in ChatGPT, is one of the newest and most promising areas of DAA. It has the potential to drive disruptive growth and productivity improvements. However, the field is still new and fast-moving, with many unknowns. McDonald’s recently launched a Generative AI Center of Excellence (“GenAI COE”) made up of a highly cross-functional team driving a four-part mission:

1. Coordinate McD’s response to GenAI
2. Stand up an AI Governance Program
3. Provide a safe, reliable, and scalable enterprise platform for GenAI development
4. Accelerate MCD speed to value creation with GenAI

The Senior Manager, GenAI Strategy and Process sits within the GenAI COE (part of Global Business Services), and reports directly to the Sr. Director, GenAI Business Lead. In this role, you will work closely with the GenAI business lead to orchestrate all business and non-technical aspects for GenAI at McDonald’s globally, with special focus on prioritization processes, communication, and change management.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Intake and prioritization
   • Establish GenAI prioritization mechanisms and formal stage gate review process
   • Capture opportunities and clarify business/customer problem statement, both for custom AI build-out and 3rd party AI tool adoption
   • Drive cross-functional engagement/alignment as we move from idea to tech proof of concept, use case development, pilot, and deployment
   • Work with Value Realization Office to ensure impact is well defined and measured
2. Communications
   • Facilitate internal COE communication and collaboration mechanisms
   • Develop and implement corporate communication strategies to increase awareness and understanding of generative AI capabilities and updates across McDonalds
   • Build and nurture an internal community of GenAI enthusiasts and practitioners, including internal platforms for employees to share GenAI experiences and ideas
   • Organize regular internal and external/industry GenAI-focused events and discussions
   • Lead by example in adopting innovative practices in corporate communication
3. System education and change management
   • Ensure that AI Governance principles are reflected in appropriate mandatory trainings such as Information Governance training, Data Ethics training, etc.
   • Create training materials and conduct sessions to familiarize employees with internal and 3rd party GenAI tools, driving adoption and productivity
   • Collaborate with internal Change Management experts to ensure AI-driven impacts on career paths and talent development are captured and communicated appropriately

Key points of collaboration

• Sr Director, GenAI Business Lead (direct manager)
• Sr Director, GenAI Tech Lead
• Communications teams (Corporate Communications, Media Relations, Investor Relations)
• Change Management
• Learning & Development

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinker with strong intuition and first principles thinking around business performance, business drivers, and overall competitive landscape
• Strong project leadership and ability to manage multiple complex and ambiguous priorities across many teams and stakeholders
• Ability to collaborate across teams, build relationships, and influence key stakeholders
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with comfort challenging status quo and presenting a strong point of view to senior leaders
• An understanding of consumer-facing businesses, especially foodservice, retail, and other franchised business models
• Intense curiosity to understand end-to-end data and AI capabilities, and ability to summarize and simplify complex ideas to audiences with varying degrees of technical expertise

• Bachelor’s degree
• 4+ years of experience in management consulting or similar corporate experience
• Experience in managing complex projects from inception to delivery
• Experience driving strategy and influencing across complex, matrix-driven organizations
• Experience with data and AI capabilities, platforms, and technology in order to quickly gain credibility among stakeholders

McDonald’s is an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our workforce. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. McDonald’s provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact [email protected]. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.