Find the right AI Manager (IHK) expert in Germany in minutes from 15,000 CVs with the power of AI.
AI Manager (IHK) profiles point to practical knowledge in AI use cases, governance, data handling, and the translation of business needs into workable AI initiatives. Find vetted freelancers who can support scoping, coordination, and implementation with fast, precise matching.
About the certification
What the certification means
The AI Manager (IHK) certification shows that a professional can manage the use of artificial intelligence in a business setting. It is aimed at people who do not just discuss AI ideas, but help turn them into structured work. Holders are expected to understand where AI creates value, where limits and risks appear, and how to guide teams through adoption in a practical way.
Typical profile
This certification often fits project leads, innovation managers, product owners, digital transformation specialists, and consultants who sit between business, data, and technology teams. In Germany, it is especially relevant when companies want someone who can speak both management and implementation language. The German term KI-Manager (IHK) is also used in searches and in practice.
Skills it points to
- Identifying suitable AI use cases in real business processes
- Evaluating data needs, quality issues, and integration points
- Working with teams on requirements, rollout, and change management
- Understanding legal, ethical, and organisational concerns around AI
- Helping stakeholders set priorities and define realistic scope
The value of the certification is not deep model development. It is the ability to manage AI initiatives with structure and business sense. That makes it useful when a company needs coordination across departments, external providers, and internal decision makers.
Where it is used
AI Manager (IHK) holders are often brought into projects such as process automation, AI-supported customer service, internal knowledge systems, or the introduction of generative AI in daily work. They can help define the first use cases, prepare teams for change, and keep expectations grounded. For companies in Germany, this is useful when collaboration needs to work in German and when local business processes matter.
What companies should expect
A freelancer with this certification should be able to ask the right questions early. They look at the business problem first, then at data, risk, and operating model. That makes them a good fit when you need a reliable person to shape an AI initiative before handing execution to specialists. The certification does not replace hands-on experience, but it signals a solid framework for managing AI responsibly.
Preparation and renewal
The AI Manager (IHK) path is usually built around applied learning rather than abstract theory alone. Candidates typically need to understand basic AI concepts, business use cases, and practical governance topics before they can work confidently in this role. As with many IHK qualifications, ongoing learning matters because tools, rules, and common use cases continue to change.
Meet FRATCH AI Manager (IHK)
Beate Peters
Interim Head of Service
Last position:
Interim Head of Service at Altendorf Group
- Strategic and operational leadership of the technical service organization
- Improvement of all processes and workflows
- Development and introduction of a service management IT tool incl. AI database, customer app, and self-service portal
Thomas Polanski
Project Manager, Product Owner & AI Consultant, AI Transformation - ERP · Shop · Marketing
Last position:
Project Manager & Product Owner – M&A Integration at voxa c/o IC Music and Apparel GmbH
- Project management of the legal and system-side integration of Taschenkaufhaus into the Voxa group: conversion of all contracts, accounts, and system access rights on the defined cutover date
- Migration from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 to 2013: analysis of all existing interfaces, redefinition of processes, and coordinated go-live without interrupting operations
- Integration of the complaints and returns process into MS Dynamics NAV 2013; major process simplification through standardization
- Introduction of a new POS system (Shopify POS) in all stores: requirements analysis, configuration, rollout, and employee training
- Use of n8n automation workflows for data reconciliation between marketplaces and ERP; manual processes significantly reduced
Qamar Hussain
Founder
Last position:
Freelancer at qhconsulting.de
- Building and leading an IT consulting and outsourcing company with a focus on AI, app development, and digital transformation
- Acquiring and supporting B2B customers in Germany, including technical project management with offshore teams in India, Pakistan, and Eastern Europe
- Developing and marketing tailored consulting and training packages in the field of artificial intelligence (including EU AI Act compliance)
- Overall responsibility for business development, strategy, marketing, sales, and partner management
- Running webinars and on-site seminars on AI integration in companies
Michele Heine
Freelance Expert in Digital Marketing & AI Processes
Last position:
Chief Digital Officer at DAT Vermögensmanagement GmbH
- Project manager for the analysis, implementation, and optimization of digital processes
- Concept, management, and optimization of comprehensive marketing campaigns for lead generation via Paid Social (including Meta Ads, TikTok Ads)
- Concept and execution of content production and marketing measures
- Project management in omnichannel marketing and process automation
- Implementation of digital tools to optimize customer acquisition and support
- Internal stakeholder management and coordination of external service providers
Thorsten Huber
Agile Coach, Product Owner, Technical Consultant
Last position:
Product Owner, Technical Consultant at crazyALEX.de GmbH
- Reduced technical complexity and created a clear architectural foundation for AI-supported business processes.
- Used RAG and fine-tuning concepts to make internal knowledge available in a secure on-premise platform.
- Created the basis for automatable processes and higher efficiency.
- Designed and set up the AI infrastructure (NVIDIA DGX Spark, vector DB).
- Requirements gathering and stakeholder management.
- Prototyping of use cases (knowledge chatbot, document analysis).
- Technologies: Qdrant, Ollama, AnythingLLM, n8n, DGX Spark, Python/PyTorch.
Florian B.
Digital Transformation Manager
Last position:
Digital Transformation Manager
Business development of my freelance work:
- Building new business relationships through lead pipeline development and low-threshold communication strategies (outreach, presentations, webinars, proposals)
- Converting prospects through pre-sales consulting and RFP management
- Developing AI-driven methods to improve efficiency in project administration
- Completing certifications in AI & digitalization:
- Certified Digital Transformation Manager
- Certified AI Manager
- Certified AI Officer
Philip Krüger
CFO / Commercial Management
Last position:
Consulting / Interim Management at self-employed
- Focus areas: restructuring, operations management, commercial management, purchasing, production
- Industries: automotive, metal processing, shipbuilding, electrical, elevators / escalators
Stefan Stallmann
Digital Transformation & AI Strategy | Business Owner | Project, Program & Portfolio Manager
Last position:
Digital & AI Transformation, Agile Culture & Business Management Consultant & Project Manager at Freelance
- Freelance work as a consultant (workshops and coaching for small to midsize companies in the areas of lean startup methodology, digital & AI transformation strategy, agile culture, design thinking)
- AI training & certification
- Project Management
Roland Bohlender
Senior Technical Lead
Last position:
Senior Technical Lead at RIS Raiffeisen Informations Systeme
- Group-wide transformation program to replace a legacy Lotus Notes/Domino application landscape with a standardized, multi-tenant SharePoint Online target platform for the Italian Raiffeisen banking group.
- Total scope:
- 21 legally independent banks
- approx. 350 live Notes databases
- several thousand end users
- parallel operation of legacy and cloud platforms
- high regulatory requirements (audit, traceability, governance)
- Program designed as application, organizational and platform transformation – not just a technical migration.
- Definition of multi-tenant target architecture based on SharePoint Online
- Design of tenant separation including security, permissions and governance model
- Analysis and classification of Notes applications by criticality and complexity
- Definition of migration strategies (standard migration, redesign, retirement)
- Development of a multi-stage migration approach (pilot, test, production)
- Planning of fallback, rollback and stabilization measures
- Technical support and quality assurance of migration runs
- Development of automations (PowerShell, WebParts)
- Central technical interface between central IT, bank tenants, business departments and service providers
- Support in escalations and critical decision situations
- Technologies: SharePoint Online, Microsoft 365, Azure, PowerShell, Quest Notes Migrator
Rosalina Loclair
Interim & freelance HR/ Culture and Transformation Consultant
Last position:
Interim & freelance HR/ Culture and Transformation Consultant at Rosalina Loclair Business Advisory
Act as a senior People & Transformation advisor to startups and mid-sized companies, leading restructuring, HR operating model redesign, and digital HR initiatives end-to-end.
Drive HRIS/ATS selection and implementation (incl. Personio, Greenhouse, etc.), process design, stakeholder alignment, and internal communication to ensure adoption and measurable operational impact.
Advise executives on workforce planning, labour law considerations, organisational structure, and decision-making mechanisms during change and growth phases.
Build pragmatic recruiting strategies for critical roles (incl. AI/Tech), improving sourcing approach, funnel quality, and hiring velocity.
Selected projects:
Marley Spoon SE: supported a major restructuring process, advising on labor law and workforce planning.
Promedio GmbH/Osteopro: HR digitalisation, HRIS implementation, and launch of a modern corporate website (cross-functional transformation).
Journee GmbH: advised on tech recruiting and talent strategy for senior AI profiles.
PTW Europa GmbH: first HRIS implementation, process design, and internal comms.
Focus areas: HR Strategy, Digital HR Transformation, HRIS/ATS implementation, Change Management, Restructuring, Recruiting, and Future Skills (AI in HR).
Benjamin Schöttler
Consultant & Scrum Master
Last position:
Consultant & Scrum Master at DB InfraGO AG
- Conducting requirements analyses
- Facilitating Scrum workshops and meetings (Daily, Retrospective, and Review)
- Introducing and configuring Confluence
- Introducing and configuring Jira
- Conducting PI planning
- Scaling the framework
- Building the SAFE & Spotify structure
- Developing various approaches
Malte Lohrberg
Product Owner, Product Developer, AI Manager & Organizational Consultant
Last position:
Product Owner, Change Management Coach and Organizational Consultant & Founder and Product Architect at Freelance + Resilience Bakery
The combined experience from recent project years shows that two hearts beat in my chest: on the one hand, working in and for organizations to develop new, innovative products, ideally as part of a digitization strategy or business development – and the closely related change and transformation process expertise as part of holistic organizational consulting. For this, I have established the Change Bakery and Product Validators offerings.
On the other hand, my heart and mind are fired up to find my own products, evaluate markets and potentials, and test ideas. Currently, I am proactively and part-time, in addition to ongoing projects, working on a product idea in the mental health area and have founded Therapymate.
Lea Scholdan
Project Lead
Last position:
Project Lead at Confidential Client
- Developed a scalable emergency operating model to secure operations in 11 European markets during a potential franchise crisis due to looming insolvency
- Delivered an immediately deployable model that was later adopted as a global best-practice blueprint
Kurt Fisch
Technical Editor, CE Coordinator
Last position:
Technical Editor, CE Coordinator at Randstad Professional GmbH / Nippon Gases Deutschland GmbH
- Technical editor, CE coordinator consulting.- Risk assessment of filling systems including Ex area.- Creation of work instructions for filling systems including Ex area.- Review of existing documentation and technical documentation.- Revision of product documentation and checklists.- Editing and checking products based on checklists.
Kerstin Strasser
Managing Director, Interim IT Project Leadership, Crisis Project Management
Last position:
Project management at IT service provider in the SAP area for energy companies
- Project management for the SAP release upgrade of a large multi-client environment (IT service provider in the SAP area for energy companies)
- Setting up a release process for future operational workflows
- Cutover planning
- Building a test management process with the involved clients
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
AI Manager (IHK) statistics
Typical experience
23 years
Average project duration
3.4 years
Certifications per freelancer
7
Top business areas
Project Management, Information Technology, Product Development
Top industries
Professional Services, Information Technology, Manufacturing
Most common languages
German, English, French
Bachelor's degree or higher
88%
Master's degree or higher
53%
Doctorate
10%
Salary / Daily Rate Distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers holding this certification are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Average rates for AI Manager (IHK) & Seniority distribution
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Frequently Asked Questions
Need clarity? Check out our simple overview of FRATCH
The AI Manager (IHK) certification validates that a professional can plan and coordinate AI use in a business context. It points to a mix of strategic thinking, process understanding, and practical judgement. For employers, that usually means the person can help define use cases, align stakeholders, and keep AI work tied to real business goals.
In practice, yes, the two terms are closely linked. AI Manager (IHK) is the English form, while KI-Manager (IHK) is the German wording people often use in Germany. When you see either version on a profile, the core idea is the same: managing AI initiatives in an organisational setting.
The AI Manager (IHK) is a good fit for people who sit between business and technology. That includes project managers, innovation leads, consultants, product owners, and transformation managers. It is less about coding and more about guiding AI adoption in a structured way.
A freelancer with the AI Manager (IHK) certification can support use case selection, stakeholder alignment, rollout planning, and AI governance. They are useful in projects where the company wants to introduce AI responsibly and with clear business value. They can also help translate technical possibilities into language that management can use.
The AI Manager (IHK) is more management oriented than a technical specialist certification. It focuses on deciding where AI belongs, how to organise its use, and how to manage the risks and change around it. A data scientist or machine learning engineer would usually go deeper into model building and technical implementation.
Before pursuing the AI Manager (IHK), it helps to understand basic AI concepts, common business use cases, and the organisational impact of new tools. Good candidates usually already work with projects, processes, or digital transformation. Strong communication skills matter because the role depends on connecting different teams.
Yes, especially when the work needs to fit German business processes and German-speaking stakeholders. The AI Manager (IHK) can be useful in companies that want local coordination, internal training, or structured AI adoption across departments. It is often a strong signal for projects that combine strategy, change, and operational rollout in Germany.
The AI Manager (IHK) is best understood as a qualification that should stay current through ongoing learning. AI tools, governance expectations, and practical use cases change quickly, so professionals need to keep updating their knowledge. Companies should still check recent project experience, because that often matters as much as the certificate itself.
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
