Director – AI and Emerging Technology

SUMMARY

Responsible for translating AF Group’s business strategy into AI and emerging technology execution that delivers measurable business value. Partners with business leaders to define opportunities, build business cases, prioritize use cases, and develop an execution roadmap from evaluation through production adoption. Leads cross-functional delivery in close partnership with Information Security, Platform, Application, and Data teams and the Center of Excellence (CoE). Engages heavily with the CoE and governance partners to apply established capabilities, standards, and responsible AI requirements; does not own governance functions, but does lead and facilitate CoE operations. Provides strategic leadership, manages delivery resources and budgets, and develops leaders and team members to advance adoption, execution excellence, and value realization.  

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Translate business strategy and operational needs into AI and emerging technology opportunities, business cases, and measurable outcomes in partnership with business leaders.

• Evaluate AI and emerging technologies, including generative AI, machine learning, and intelligent automation, for business fit, maturity, scalability, cost, and risk. Lead focused proofs of value and recommend whether to scale, refine, or discontinue initiatives.

• Lead cross-functional execution with Information Security, Platform, Application, and Data teams, engaging partners early to align security requirements, architecture, infrastructure, application integration, and data needs.

• Coordinate delivery from discovery and experimentation through production deployment with technical teams. Establish release readiness, support handoffs, and ongoing performance monitoring with delivery and operational owners.

• Identify and prioritize use cases based on strategic alignment, expected value, feasibility, data readiness, risk, and delivery capacity. Establish success measures and an execution roadmap with clear milestones, dependencies, and accountable partners.

• Partner with business owners and Learning and Development to redesign workflows, support training and change management, and drive adoption of AI-enabled solutions. Track adoption and business results against agreed success measures.

• Facilitates and leads cross-functional AI CoE and partners with governance and business partners to leverage reusable capabilities, implementation patterns, and approved standards. Incorporate required reviews and responsible AI controls into delivery without assuming ownership of governance functions or CoE operations.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE  

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Data Science, Statistics, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, Operations Research or related field is required. Master's degree or PhD in related field is preferred.

• Minimum nine (9) years of related work experience is required, including experience translating business priorities into technology execution, leading cross-functional delivery, and implementing AI or related emerging technology solutions.

• Previous experience working in the P&C Insurance industry is preferred.
  

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES 

• Advanced communication skills, including the ability to explain AI opportunities, limitations, delivery trade-offs, and business outcomes to executive, business, and technical audiences.

• Advanced relationship-building skills, with the ability to partner effectively with Information Security, Platform, Application, and Data teams, the CoE, and governance stakeholders.

• Advanced influence and negotiation skills to align stakeholders on priorities, decisions, resources, and shared delivery commitments.

• Advanced change management skills to support workflow transformation, workforce readiness, production adoption, and sustained use of AI-enabled solutions.

• Advanced strategy development skills, including business case development, use-case prioritization, execution roadmaps, and value measurement.

• Expert execution skills, including leading cross-functional initiatives from experimentation through production and coordinating operational readiness and support.

• Expert problem-solving skills and sound judgment in evaluating AI and emerging technologies, assessing risks and trade-offs, and selecting practical solutions.

• Working knowledge of generative AI and machine learning solution lifecycles, evaluation methods, data quality, application integration, and production monitoring. Familiarity with Python, SQL, relational databases, ETL, and DevOps/MLOps practices is preferred.

• Working knowledge of cloud platforms, AI services, and scalable solution architectures, with the ability to apply established security, privacy, and responsible AI requirements in partnership with designated owners.

• Advanced project and portfolio management skills, including roadmap planning, dependency management, budgeting, delivery risk management, and benefits realization.