Templates › AI Centre of Excellence team terms of reference
AI Centre of Excellence team terms of reference
Template id: coe-terms-of-reference
Responsible skill: ai-centre-of-excellence:coe-team-design. The sponsor row is completed with ai-centre-of-excellence:coe-sponsor-role and the Champion rows with ai-centre-of-excellence:coe-champion-integration. Forum terms of reference (steering, working group, strategy review) stay in the coe-charter template, completed with ai-centre-of-excellence:coe-cadence.
How to use this template: these terms of reference describe the CoE team itself - who is in it, what each role does, how much time it has and how the team works. Complete every section in your own words. Replace each [To confirm: ...] marker only with a fact your organisation has agreed. Use roles, never personal names, and record skills only as declared by the people who hold them. For a Starter working group, complete sections 1 to 5 and 8 on one page.
1. Document control
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Organisation | [To confirm: organisation name or alias] |
| CoE form | [To confirm: AI working group / business-owned CoE / hub / spoke of a named hub] |
| Owning business unit | [To confirm: business unit] |
| Linked charter version | [To confirm: coe-charter version and date] |
| Version and date | [To confirm: version, date] |
| Agreed by | [To confirm: sponsor role and CoE lead role] |
| Next review | [To confirm: review date, typically at the quarterly strategy review] |
2. Mandate
The team exists to run the CoE described in the charter. It does not change the charter's purpose or decision rights.
| Item | Statement |
|---|---|
| What the team is for | [To confirm: one or two sentences drawn from the charter] |
| Active pillars the team runs | [To confirm: for example opportunity management, knowledge management, agent development, automation, adoption and change, governance] |
| Pillars deferred, and until when | [To confirm] |
| Decisions the team may take without steering | [To confirm: for example triage, routing, tier 0-1 registration, delegated limits] |
| Decisions the team escalates | [To confirm: for example priorities between business units, funding, tier 3-4 release] |
3. Membership, time and backfill
A role with no agreed time is a vacancy. Time must be agreed with the member's manager, and someone must cover the work the member stops doing.
| Role | From (function) | Agreed time (days per month) | Agreed by (manager role) | Backfill or cover | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive sponsor | [To confirm: business executive role] | [To confirm] | Not applicable | Not applicable | [To confirm: in place / vacant] |
| CoE lead | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Deputy CoE lead | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Opportunity and process lead | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Knowledge lead | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Delivery lead (agents and automation) | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Adoption and change lead | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Governance coordinator | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Additional core team member | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
Capacity check: total agreed days per month [To confirm] against estimated demand of [To confirm] days per month. Where demand exceeds capacity, record the scope reduction agreed: [To confirm].
4. Role profiles
One profile per role. Keep each to a few lines.
| Role | Purpose | Recurring tasks | May decide | Works most with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive sponsor | Decides priorities, removes blockers, secures resources, supports adoption visibly | [To confirm: from the sponsor commitment record] | [To confirm] | CoE lead, steering |
| CoE lead | Runs the backlog, cadence, scorecard and team | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | Sponsor, pillar leads |
| Opportunity and process lead | Runs intake, framing and the pipeline | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | Business owners, process champions |
| Knowledge lead | Runs the knowledge pillar and register | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | Content owners, knowledge champions |
| Delivery lead | Runs delivery routes and maker support | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | Makers, partners, IT, support owner |
| Adoption and change lead | Runs adoption, Champion links and success stories | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | Champions, communications |
| Governance coordinator | Keeps the register, tiers and gate evidence moving | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | Reviewers, risk and compliance |
5. Champion roles connected to the team
Champions support the CoE; they never approve releases, prioritise the backlog or own tier 2 and above solutions.
| Champion role | CoE pillar | Contributes | CoE contact role | Teams covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge champion | Knowledge management | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Process champion | Opportunity management | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Adoption champion | Adoption and change | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| AI champion | Agent development and automation | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
6. Skills coverage
Record skills only as declared by role holders. Never assess or compare individuals.
| Skill area | Covered by role | Gap route if not covered (learn, borrow, partner) | By when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facilitation and prioritisation | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Process analysis and problem framing | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Knowledge and information management | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Agent and automation building | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Testing and evaluation | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Change, communications and learning | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Risk and controls | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Benefits measurement | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
7. Supporting specialists
Specialists are not CoE members. Each agrees how to be asked and how quickly they respond.
| Specialism | Contact role and function | How to request | Agreed response time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information security | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Data protection | [To confirm: data protection officer or delegate] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Architecture | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Platform administration | [To confirm: IT role] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Licensing questions | [To confirm: licensing owner or licensing partner] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Responsible AI | [To confirm] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
| Partners | [To confirm: partner and arrangement] | [To confirm] | [To confirm] |
8. Ways of working
| Topic | Agreement |
|---|---|
| Where the team works together | [To confirm: collaboration space and areas, on tools the organisation already runs] |
| Team rhythm outside the formal forums | [To confirm: for example a short weekly stand-up] |
| How work is allocated | [To confirm: from the backlog, within the work-in-progress limit] |
| How the team decides within its mandate | [To confirm: for example lead decides after hearing the team; disagreements to steering] |
| Escalation route | [To confirm] |
| Platform access | Through IT's normal access process, not by virtue of CoE membership |
| Conflicts of interest | [To confirm: how members declare and manage them, for example when assessing their own unit's ideas] |
| Recognition | [To confirm: how contribution is recognised at team level] |
9. Joining, leaving and handover
| Event | What happens |
|---|---|
| New member joins | [To confirm: induction, access, introduction to pillars and records] |
| Member leaves or changes role | [To confirm: notice, handover of open items and records, deputy cover] |
| Lead absent | [To confirm: deputy lead acts, with stated limits] |
10. Review
[To confirm: when these terms are reviewed, which forum agrees changes, and the triggers for an earlier review, for example a new pillar, a new spoke or demand exceeding capacity for two cycles.]
11. Agreement
| Role | Decision | Date |
|---|---|---|
| [To confirm: executive sponsor role] | Agreed / Agreed with conditions | [To confirm] |
| [To confirm: CoE lead role] | Agreed | [To confirm] |
| [To confirm: managers of members, by role] | Time agreed | [To confirm] |
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