Inclusive AI and Advocacy Specialist

Job title: Inclusive AI and Advocacy Specialist
Location: 3-days onsite (Etobicoke)
Expected 6-month contract (possible extension)

Job Summary:
The Inclusive AI and Advocacy Specialist ensures that artificial intelligence used across airport operations including passenger processing, security, operational technology (OT), and safety-critical systems are designed, procured, deployed, and operated responsibly and inclusively. The role focuses on safety, fairness, inclusion, transparency, accountability, and human oversight, recognizing that AI decisions may directly impact passengers, staff, security outcomes, and physical safety.
The Inclusive AI and Advocacy Specialist champions inclusive design across passenger-facing technologies and leads AI risk and ethical impact assessments from intake through deployment. Working closely with Operations, Information Security, Legal, and Data Governance teams, this role ensures AI solutions comply with privacy obligations, reduce the risk of harmful bias, and align with the enterprise AI Governance Policy. As a member of the Data Analytics & Emerging Technology team, this role provides responsible AI expertise, training, and guidance to further the maturation of AI governance across our client.
Key Accountabilities
Inclusive AI Strategy & Leadership (10%)

• Champion responsible and inclusive AI practices for AI systems that influence safety, security, and operational decision-making across our client.
• Ensure AI augments rather than replaces human judgment in safety-critical and security contexts.
• Translate responsible AI principles into operational guardrails for OT, surveillance, biometrics, and decision-support systems.
• Support and advise business stakeholders on inclusive AI and AI governance practices for new and existing AI use cases.

AI Risk and Impact Assessment (35%)

• Lead or support AI risk assessments, ethical impact assessments, privacy impact assessments (PIAs), and model documentation for safety-adjacent AI.
• Lead or support privacy and responsible AI assessments for AI and analytics use cases from intake through deployment.
• Review data sources, model designs, and AI outputs for privacy, ethical, and bias-related risks.
• Identify risks related to automation bias, false positives and negatives, system failure, data drift, and cybersecurity.
• Recommend mitigations, operational constraints, or executive escalation where safety, fairness, or privacy thresholds may be exceeded.

Inclusive Design & Passenger / Workforce Advocacy (25%)

• Assess AI systems for potential bias, exclusion, or disparate impact on passengers, contractors, and airport workers.
• Advocate for inclusive design across passenger-facing technologies such as biometrics, wayfinding, and service automation.
• Ensure accessibility, dignity, and fairness are embedded into AI-enabled passenger journeys.
• Evaluate AI used in security screening, surveillance, access control, and threat detection for safety and misuse risk.
• Partner with OT, Data Governance, and Information Security and Legal teams to assess AI impacts on critical infrastructure and fail-safe operations.
• Ensure AI systems include clear escalation paths, manual override, and downtime procedures.

Governance, Compliance & Oversight (20%)

• Support AI governance forums, approval workflows, and operational readiness reviews.
• Align AI use with aviation regulations, safety management systems, privacy requirements, and internal governance standards.
• Maintain documentation — including model cards, decision logs, and assessment records — to support audits, regulators, and incident investigations.
• Ensure AI solutions comply with privacy obligations, reduce the risk of harmful bias, and align with the enterprise AI governance standard.
• Engage with stakeholders to institute AI governance processes and procedures on an ongoing basis.
• Leads initiatives using disciplined project management, ensuring alignment with data governance standards, robust records management practices, and organizational priorities.

Education & Advocacy

• Educate operational, security, and technology teams on responsible AI in safety-critical environments including responsible data access
• Promote shared accountability for AI outcomes across business, IT, OT, and security stakeholders.
• Build trust in AI by ensuring transparency about system capabilities, limitations, and known risks[TJ1] [LM2] .
• Represent our client at external forums such as industry conferences, regulator working groups, and responsible-AI communities of practice.

Qualifications
Education (Formal education requirements, including diplomas, degrees, etc.)
Minimum:
Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, Public Policy, Ethics, Law, or related discipline.

Preferred:
Master's degree in relevant fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Responsible / Applied AI, Data Science, Public Policy, Privacy or Information Law, or Ethics.

Experience (Years and type of experience required to perform the job)
Minimum:

• 4–6 years of experience in responsible AI, AI ethics, privacy, or risk management roles, ideally in regulated or safety-critical environments.
• 3+ years conducting AI risk assessments, ethical impact assessments, privacy impact assessments (PIAs), or model documentation / model cards.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating AI systems for bias, fairness, exclusion, and disparate impact across diverse user populations.
• Experience partnering with technology, operations, security, OT, legal, and privacy teams to operationalize AI governance.
• Working knowledge of AI use in aviation, operations, security, OT, robotics, biometrics, or other safety-critical contexts.
• Ability to read and interpret model documentation, data lineage, and AI system architecture.

Preferred:

• 5+ years implementing responsible AI or AI governance programs in a large, regulated enterprise.
• Membership or active participation in AI ethics, privacy, or governance organizations, such as the IAPP or the Partnership on AI.

Certifications / Designations / Licenses (Specific licenses, technical or professional qualifications or certifications / designations)
Minimum:

• Must be able to obtain and retain Transportation Security Clearance.
• Valid Ontario driver's license.

Preferred:

• Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/C or CIPP/E).
• Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM).
• Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT).
• Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP).
• ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer or Lead Auditor.
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Skills / Knowledge (Job specific skills or areas of knowledge required to complete key accountabilities)
Minimum:

• Strong understanding of responsible AI principles — fairness, accountability, transparency, human oversight, robustness, and inclusion.
• Technical understanding of the machine learning lifecycle, model evaluation, data drift, automation bias, and AI failure modes.
• Knowledge of Canadian and international privacy and AI legislation (PIPEDA, Quebec Law 25, AIDA, EU AI Act, GDPR) and applicable aviation regulatory expectations.
• Demonstrated ability to assess technical risk while communicating clearly with non-technical operators, executives, and front-line workforce.
• Strong collaboration skills across operations, security, OT, IT, legal, and governance teams.
• Demonstrated willingness to challenge AI deployment decisions when safety, fairness, accessibility, or accountability is at risk.
• Outstanding cross-functional partnership and communication skills, including proven success working with legal, regulatory compliance, and risk management teams.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across the diverse experiences and perspectives of passengers, workforce, business leaders, and technology teams.

Preferred:
Passionate about the aeronautical and travel industry and the responsible, inclusive use of AI in passenger-facing services.