Sr. Manager, Automation & AI Transformation People Operations

Who We Are:

IMG is a leading global sports marketing agency, specializing in media rights management and sales, multi-channel content production and distribution, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and events management. It powers growth of revenues, fanbases and IP for more than 200 federations, associations, events, and teams, including the National Football League, English Premier League, International Olympic Committee, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, ATP and WTA Tours, the AELTC (Wimbledon), Euroleague Basketball, CONMEBOL, DP World Tour, and The R&A, as well as UFC, WWE, and PBR. IMG is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company. TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium sports and entertainment company. TKO owns iconic properties including UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization; WWE, the global leader in sports entertainment; and PBR, the world’s premier bull riding organization. Together, these properties reach 1 billion households across 210 countries and territories and organize more than 500 live events year-round, attracting more than three million fans. TKO also services and partners with major sports rights holders through IMG, an industry-leading global sports marketing agency; and On Location, a global leader in premium experiential hospitality.

Title: AI Workflow & Automation Lead - People Operations
Location: US (East Coast)
Reports to: Senior Director, People Operations & Optimization

Role Summary

The AI Workflow & Automation Lead is responsible for designing, building, and scaling AI‑ and automation‑enabled workflows across TKO’s People Operations landscape. This role sits at the intersection of the People + Culture team, technology, and employee experience: translating business and policy requirements into orchestrated workflows, bots, and digital assistants that handle high‑volume, rules‑based work while preserving strong controls and a great user experience.

The Lead partners closely with People Operations, People Tech/IT, the People Insights Manager, and COEs to prioritize use cases, deliver solutions, and measure impact.

Key Responsibilities

1. AI & Automation Strategy and Roadmap

• Define and maintain the AI and workflow automation roadmap for People Ops, aligned with People strategy and enterprise AI principles.

• Prioritize use cases based on business value, risk, feasibility, and employee experience.

• Partner with People Ops leaders, P+CBPs, and COEs to identify opportunities to reduce manual work and improve speed, quality, and consistency.

2. Workflow and Use-Case Design

• Lead discovery and design sessions to map current processes and define future‑state digital workflows (e.g., onboarding, job changes, leaves, data changes, offboarding).

• Translate policies and business rules into decision trees, intents, and orchestration logic for bots and workflow engines.

• Create clear functional requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria for People Tech /IT and vendor partners.

3. Build, Test, and Deploy AI and Automation Solutions

• Work with People Tech, IT, and vendors to configure and deploy workflows, bots, and digital assistants in TKO’s toolset (HCM, case management, chat/agent platforms, RPA, etc.).

• Coordinate pilots and A/B tests; run UAT with People Ops, P+C Advisors, and end users.

• Ensure solutions meet security, privacy, and compliance standards and have appropriate human‑in‑the‑loop controls.

4. “Bot Operations” and Continuous Improvement

• In partnership with People Operations, monitor performance dashboards (deflection, success/error rates, handling times, escalation patterns).

• Investigate failure modes and exceptions; refine intents, rules, and flows to improve accuracy and experience.

• Maintain a structured backlog of enhancements and new use cases; run regular retrospectives with People Operations, and P+C Advisors.

5. Data, Measurement, and Value Realization

• Collaborate with the People Insights Manager to define and track key metrics (e.g., % of transactions automated, hours saved, cycle time improvements, NPS/CSAT, error rates).

• Quantify the business impact of automation and provide regular readouts to P+C leadership and Finance.

• Use insights from case and transaction data to recommend next‑wave automation and simplification opportunities.

6. Governance and Risk Management

• Ensure AI and automation solutions adhere to TKO’s AI governance principles, including fairness, transparency, explainability, and auditability.

• Document decision logic, data sources, and control points for key workflows.

• Partner with Legal, Compliance, InfoSec, and ER for use cases that touch sensitive data or employment decisions.

7. Change Management and Enablement

• Create and execute change plans for new and updated workflows (stakeholder analysis, communications, training, and support materials).

• Enable P+C Advisors, People Ops specialists, and P+CBPs to effectively use and champion new tools.

• Gather structured feedback from employees, managers, and People teams to inform ongoing improvements.

Qualifications

Required

• Significant experience (typically 6+ years) in one or more of: People/HR operations, People/HR Technology, business process design, product management, or intelligent automation.

• Hands‑on experience designing and/or implementing workflows in HCM, case management, or automation platforms (e.g., Workday, SuccessFactors, ServiceNow, Salesforce, UiPath, Power Platform, or similar).

• Demonstrated ability to map complex business processes and translate them into clear requirements and decision logic.

• Strong analytical skills; comfortable working with metrics and dashboards to drive decisions.

• Excellent communication and facilitation skills; able to work with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders and explain complex concepts in simple terms.

• Proven track record of delivering cross‑functional projects on time and with measurable impact.

Preferred

• Experience with conversational AI, chatbots, or orchestration agents (e.g., building intents, flows, knowledge integrations).

• Background in HR or People functions, with understanding of core HR processes and data.

• Exposure to AI/ML concepts (e.g., LLMs, supervised learning, model monitoring) and responsible AI practices.

• Experience working in a shared services or global operations environment, ideally across US and UK and/or additional regions.

Competencies and Mindset

• Product mindset: Thinks in terms of users, journeys, and outcomes rather than one‑off projects.

• Systems thinker: Understands how policies, processes, data, and technology fit together.

• Change agent: Comfortable leading others through change and challenging legacy ways of working.

• Experimenter: Uses pilots and data to test ideas, learn quickly, and iterate.

• Collaborative: Works seamlessly across  People Operations, P+C BPs, COEs, IT, and vendors.

• Ethical and control‑oriented: Balances innovation with strong controls, confidentiality, and regulatory compliance.

Per local requirements and in the interest of transparency, the hourly rate shown below reflects the prevalent current hiring range for this position. Hiring pay rates are based on a number of factors, including location and may vary depending on job-related qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience. The company strives to provide locally competitive rewards packages, which include base rate along with, as applicable, short- and long-term incentives, growth and developmental opportunities, and robust benefits, such as health care, retirement, vacation and other paid time off, and additional offerings.

Hiring Rate Minimum:

$112,500 annually(minimum will not fall below the applicable State/local minimum salary thresholds)

Hiring Rate Maximum:

$150,000 annually

TKO is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding non-discrimination in employment. TKO makes employment decisions based on merit and qualifications, without considering an employee’s or applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited under federal, state or local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the Company has facilities. TKO also provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state or local laws. For information about Privacy and Information Security for TKO employment candidates, please review our . For information regarding Terms of Use for this and other TKO websites, please review our Terms of Use.