VP – Head of Program Management - AI

Role Summary/Purpose:

Help Synchrony accelerate responsible AI adoption and business impact across the enterprise. As Vice President, Head of Program Management for AI, you will lead the operating engine for the AI organization — translating AI strategy into disciplined execution across strategic initiatives, enablement programs, tooling rollouts, adoption efforts, governance forums, and cross-functional delivery priorities.

Reporting to the Global Head of AI, you will establish and lead the program management function that gives the AI organization a single, trusted view of priorities, progress, dependencies, risks, and outcomes. You will partner closely with AI leadership, technology, product, business, risk, legal, compliance, HR, communications, and other enterprise stakeholders to ensure AI initiatives are well sequenced, well governed, and adopted at scale.

You are an enterprise program leader who brings structure to ambiguity, communicates clearly with executives and delivery teams, and knows how to turn bold strategy into measurable progress. You are equally comfortable shaping an operating model, coordinating complex portfolios, driving adoption of new capabilities, and helping teams move faster while maintaining appropriate discipline in a regulated financial services environment.

This role leads the program management function for the AI organization and is accountable for execution discipline, operating cadence, portfolio visibility, enablement coordination, adoption tracking, and executive reporting. It does not independently own AI model decisions, business case approval, technology architecture, risk acceptance, legal interpretation, or policy decisions; those remain with the appropriate accountable AI, business, technology, risk, legal, compliance, and governance owners. The role is expected to connect those owners, surface decisions, and drive the structure needed for timely, responsible execution.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Lead the AI program management function day-to-day — orchestrating execution across strategic AI initiatives, enablement programs, tooling rollouts, adoption efforts, and cross-functional projects.

• Translate AI strategy into an integrated portfolio roadmap, milestone plan, dependency map, and execution rhythm that enables leadership to make timely tradeoff, sequencing, and resourcing decisions.

• Establish and run the AI portfolio operating model — including intake, prioritization, governance forums, decision rights, escalation paths, status reporting, and portfolio health reviews.

• Drive AI enablement activities across the firm, partnering with HR, learning, communications, business teams, technology, risk, legal, and compliance to coordinate training, awareness, change management, and adoption campaigns.

• Lead program execution for AI tools rollout and adoption — ensuring launch readiness, communications, training, stakeholder alignment, feedback loops, adoption measurement, and disciplined follow-through on post-launch improvements.

• Coordinate complex, enterprise-wide AI initiatives that require alignment across business units, technology teams, data partners, risk, legal, compliance, procurement, communications, and other enabling functions.

• Aggregate, track, and report AI portfolio KPIs and program metrics, including progress against strategic priorities, adoption and engagement indicators, delivery health, risk, dependencies, issues, and executive decisions needed.

• Maintain an accurate, trusted program record for AI initiatives, ensuring status reflects validated reality and that outcomes, decisions, risks, and dependencies are documented clearly for leadership review.

• Develop and execute a proactive communication strategy for AI leadership, executive stakeholders, business partners, and enterprise audiences to build awareness, alignment, and momentum around AI priorities.

• Coordinate AI portfolio financials in partnership with Finance and business owners — tracking investment, spend, benefits, and resource needs against plan.

• Prepare and deliver executive-ready reporting and briefings for the Head of AI, senior leadership, and governance forums — clearly articulating priorities, progress, adoption, risks, tradeoffs, and decisions required.

• Plan and orchestrate key AI program events, working sessions, leadership reviews, enablement forums, and adoption checkpoints, ensuring preparation, participation, clear outcomes, and disciplined follow-through.

• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 10+ years of program, portfolio, transformation, or strategic initiative leadership experience; in lieu of a degree, 14+ years of relevant experience.

• Proven track record leading large, complex, enterprise-wide programs with multiple concurrent workstreams, senior stakeholders, and measurable business outcomes.

• Experience delivering strategic technology, data, digital, analytics, automation, AI, or enterprise transformation programs in financial services, banking, or another highly regulated industry.

• Working knowledge of AI, data, analytics, technology delivery, and change management concepts sufficient to coordinate credibly across technical, business, and control stakeholders.

• Understanding of responsible AI, model governance, risk management, privacy, legal, compliance, and operational control considerations sufficient to support disciplined execution without making accountable risk decisions.

• Experience with Agile, Scaled Agile, product operating models, and the tools delivery teams use day-to-day, such as Jira, SharePoint, or similar platforms.

• Excellent written and verbal communication, including executive-level storytelling, portfolio reporting, and presentation of complex AI initiatives in clear business terms.

• Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority, manage conflict, build consensus, and align senior stakeholders across business, technology, and control functions.

• Exceptional organization, prioritization, and portfolio management discipline, with the ability to keep a high volume of ambiguous, cross-functional work moving toward outcomes.

• Experience managing vendors, consultants, internal centers of excellence, or shared enablement resources, including scope, deliverables, timelines, and outcomes.

• Comfort operating amid complexity and ambiguity; able to create structure, drive decisions, and maintain momentum in a fast-evolving AI landscape.

• Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required

Desired Characteristics:

• Experience supporting AI, generative AI, machine learning, data science, analytics, automation, or emerging technology programs is strongly preferred.

• Experience driving enterprise change management, enablement, training, communications, and adoption for new technology capabilities or ways of working.

• Experience standing up or running a program management, portfolio management, transformation, or center-of-excellence operating model from the ground up.

• Proficiency with portfolio, program, adoption, and executive reporting tools, such as Microsoft Project, Planner, SharePoint, Power BI, Jira, or similar platforms.

Grade/Level: 14

The salary range for this position is 170,000.00 - 290,000.00 USD Annual and is eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance.

Actual compensation offered within the posted salary range will be based upon work experience, skill level or knowledge.

Salaries are adjusted according to market in CA, NY Metro and Seattle.

Our Way of Working:

We’re proud to offer you flexibility. At Synchrony, our way of working allows you to have the option to work from home near one of our Hubs or come into one of our offices. You will be required to commute to your nearest Hub (either virtual or physical) for in-person engagement activities such as regular business or team meetings, training and culture events. 

*Field Sales and some Commercial team roles may have varied location requirements based upon partner obligations or preferences.

Eligibility Requirements:

• You must be 18 years or older

• You must have a high school diploma or equivalent

• You must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding process

• You must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

• New hires (Level 4-7) must have 9 months of continuous service with the company before they are eligible to post on other roles.  Once this new hire time in position requirement is met, the associate will have a minimum 6 months’ time in position before they can post for future non-exempt roles.  Employees, level 8 or greater, must have at least 18 months’ time in position before they can post.  All internal employees must consistently meet performance expectations and have approval from your manager to post (or the approval of your manager and HR if you don’t meet the time in position or performance expectations).

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required.  We will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job opening. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. 

Our Commitment:

When you join us, you’ll be part of an inclusive culture where your individual skills, experience, and voice are not only heard – but valued. Together, we’re building a future where we can all belong, connect, and turn ideals into action. More than 50% of our workforce is engaged in our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), where community and passion intersect to offer a safe space to learn and grow.

This starts when you choose to apply for a role at Synchrony. We ensure all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. We’re proud to have an award-winning culture for all. 

Reasonable Accommodation Notice:

• Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

• If you need special accommodations, please call our Career Support Line so that we can discuss your specific situation. We can be reached at 1-866-301-5627.   Representatives are available from 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday, Central Standard Time

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