AI for Directors and Leaders Programme – CMI Level 7

The CMI Level 7 Award in Strategic Leadership of AI is a nationally recognised professional qualification awarded by the Chartered Management Institute – the UK’s leading management and leadership body. It’s designed for senior leaders and directors who need to demonstrate strategic competence in AI adoption, governance and organisational change.

The qualification is achieved through a single written assignment of 3,000–4,000 words, in which delegates apply AI strategy frameworks to a real organisational context.

The assignment is titled “Developing an Organisational Strategy for AI Readiness” and is supported by CMI-qualified tutors and a dedicated quality assurance team throughout. Achieving this award confirms that a leader can evaluate AI’s commercial potential, design responsible AI governance structures and align AI initiatives with wider business strategy – credentials that are increasingly requested by boards and major employers leading AI transformation programmes.

The programme is designed for directors, C-suite executives, heads of department and senior leaders who are responsible for strategic decisions within their organisations and want to understand how AI affects those decisions.

It is particularly suited to leaders who are being asked to evaluate AI investments, govern AI projects, or lead digital transformation initiatives – but who have not had formal training in how to assess AI’s capabilities, risks, and governance requirements. Delegates typically have four or more years of senior leadership experience and come from across sectors, including finance, healthcare, retail, construction, and professional services.

The programme does not require a technical background or prior AI knowledge. It is not aimed at AI practitioners or developers – it is aimed at the leaders who commission, oversee, and are accountable for AI adoption across their organisations.

No prior AI knowledge or technical background is required to attend this programme. The course is designed specifically for senior leaders and directors who approach AI from a strategic and governance perspective, not a technical one.

Session One begins with a structured introduction to the AI landscape, covering what AI can and cannot do, how it differs from traditional automation, and how to evaluate AI claims made by vendors and internal teams. The programme deliberately avoids technical implementation content in favour of strategic, ethical, and governance frameworks that non-technical leaders can apply immediately.

Delegates from legal, finance, HR, marketing, operations and general management backgrounds regularly attend alongside those with closer proximity to technology. The only meaningful prerequisite is senior leadership experience – the course builds on your existing strategic judgment rather than requiring you to develop a new technical skill set.

The taught element of the programme runs over two days and is delivered in four structured sessions covering the AI landscape, strategic value and risks, AI governance and ethics, and AI strategy and future trends.

The sessions combine expert-led discussion, real-world case studies, and peer learning with a senior cohort. For delegates pursuing the CMI Level 7 Award in Strategic Leadership of AI, there is one post-programme written assignment of 3,000–4,000 words.

The assignment asks delegates to develop an AI readiness strategy for their own organisation, applying the frameworks covered during the two days. It is a practical piece of work rather than a traditional academic essay – the emphasis is on application to a real business context. INPD provides tutorial support, learner drop-in sessions, and access to CMI’s online learning resources to assist delegates throughout the assignment process.

The open cohort programme places your delegates alongside senior leaders from other organisations and sectors, which many attendees find valuable for the breadth of perspective it provides – discussions regularly draw on experience from finance, healthcare, construction, professional services and public sector contexts simultaneously.

In-house delivery is a private session exclusively for your organisation’s leadership team, which offers three distinct advantages. First, the content can be tailored to your sector, your current AI initiatives, and the specific governance or risk questions your organisation is navigating. Second, working through AI strategy frameworks as a leadership team accelerates internal alignment and produces decisions that the group has collectively validated. Third, the in-house assignment pathway can be structured around a shared organisational challenge, meaning delegates collaborate on an AI readiness strategy directly applicable to your business. In-house delivery is available from £2,750 per day plus VAT.