Director, AI Strategy & Governance

At The Standard, you’ll join a team focused on putting our customers first.

Our continued success is driven by a high-performance culture. We’re looking for people who are collaborative, accountable, creative, agile and are driven by a passion for doing what’s right – across the company and in our local communities.

We offer a caring culture where you can make a real difference, every day.

Ready to reach your highest potential? Let’s work together.

Job Summary

This is an exciting time for The Standard as we continue to build the AI Strategy & Development Team by opening a Director of AI Strategy & Governance position! The Director of AI Strategy & Governance will develop and oversee a long-term strategic approach for implementing artificial intelligence across the enterprise to maximize business growth. This role defines and champions an enterprise-wide AI strategy, prioritizes AI investments that deliver upon this strategy, and ensures these initiatives are ethically managed and risk-mitigated.

This role is responsible for coordinating the ‘AI Executive Steering Committee’ (who governs the strategic implementation of AI), and the ‘Responsible AI Council’ (who manages the tactical AI risk.) In addition, this role engages with governance teams such as Data, Actuarial, Cloud, and Security/Compliance to ensure AI policies are rationalized and communicated, while reporting on any deviations to policies.

Further position details are highlighted below:

35% AI Strategy Management:

• Define an enterprise-wide AI strategy and create a roadmap of strategic AI capabilities across the operating model of the enterprise. The aim is to create a competitive advantage for the company and promote substantial growth.
• Track trends within the sphere of AI technology and its vendors, to include optimization, ML, Neural Networks, Deep Learning, Generative AI, as well as enabling technologies (cloud, etc.). Track trends within the financial service industry, to include life insurance, employer benefits, annuities, retirement plans, health insurance, and property/casualty insurance with a focus on automation, AI, and corresponding digital experiences.
• Understand the current and future state of the company’s AI capabilities, and advise where necessary on strategic choices regarding tooling, staffing, or vendor partnerships. Envision new business opportunities based upon the AI and data understanding of the enterprise.

30% Strategic AI Governance:

• Lead AI Governance program and associated ongoing monthly ‘AI Steering Committee’ meetings with executive members at C-Suite level. Guide the AI Steering Committee to clearly define and champion an enterprise-wide AI strategy. Establish Committee-approved AI best practices to promote risk-mitigated adoption of AI.
• Develop and execute the AI Governance roadmap in collaboration with the Directors of AI Solutions and Applied AI. Define, track, and communicate key AI Governance performance indicators (KPIs) as required. Engage with Governance teams such as Data, Actuarial, Disaster Recovery and Audit/Compliance to ensure policies/controls are communicated to AI teams, rationalized for AI usage, and policy deviations are reported.
• Track and report on AI initiatives across the product lifecycle to ensure ongoing value maximization for the company in close partnership with the Directors of Applied AI and AI Solutions.
• Act as the Audit, Compliance, Legal, and Risk first point of contact. Partner with IT Finance to supervise AI investments to ensure AI enabled value.

35% Tactical AI Governance:

• Lead weekly ‘Responsible AI Council’ meetings (consisting of members from Legal, Compliance, Risk, HR, and IT) to manage AI-associated risk.
• Manage components of Ethical AI Policy to enforce and remediate when required.
• Define and manage an AI Risk Framework, in alignment with NIST and NAIC Guidelines. Define and manage clear AI best practices for developers & users of AI.
• Provide clear risk assessment criteria for IT on AI third-party solutions and internal initiatives.
• Work with Compliance leaders to track ongoing AI regulation at the international, federal, and state levels. Map these requirements back to AI initiatives to ensure ongoing monitoring.
• Work with technical leaders to track ongoing AI model performance, to include data input drift and model output drift.

Skills and Background You’ll Need

• Education: High School Diploma or GED is required. A Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Information Systems, or related field is preferred.
• Experience: Typically requires minimum 10 years’ experience in IT Governance Program Management or IT Strategy.
• Solid understanding of: Microsoft Azure, Databricks, and various AI methods (Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Optimization, Generative AI). Experience with cloud platform such as Azure, AWS, or GCP. Experience with project tracking/agile tools such as Atlassian suite, Jira, Confluence, Asana or other. Proficient with Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills. Ability to influence a variety of stakeholders to drive cultural and organizational change.
• Experience working with both DevOps teams and outsourced partners.
• Experience in the financial or life insurance industry is preferred.

Key Behaviors of a Successful Candidate

• Engaging Hearts & Minds: Creates a team identity and builds momentum toward a shared purpose.
• Strategic Visioning: Considers different future scenarios, opportunities and risks to generate operational plans that align with the business unit/function’s strategic vision.
• Developing People: Delivers both individual and group feedback to support ongoing development and overall department performance.

Why Join The Standard?

We have built an enduring legacy of stability, innovation and financial strength thanks to the contributions of the talented, creative and compassionate people who choose to work at The Standard. To ensure we can attract and retain the best talent, when you join The Standard, you can expect:

• A rich benefits package including a 401(k) plan with matching company contributions
• An annual incentive bonus plan
• Generous paid time off
• A supportive and responsive management approach
• Opportunities for career growth and advancement
• Paid time off to volunteer
• An employee giving program that double matches your donations to eligible nonprofits and schools
• Much more!

#LI-Remote

Please note - the salary range for this role is listed below. In addition to salary, our package includes incentive plan participation and comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision and retirement benefits, as well as an initial PTO accrual of 164 hours per year. Employees also receive 11 paid holidays and 2 wellness days per year.

• Eligibility to participate in an incentive program is subject to the rules governing the program and plan. Any award depends on various factors, including individual and organizational performance.

Salary Range:

$140,000.00 - $266,000.00

Positions will be posted for at least 5 days from original posting date.

Standard Insurance Company, The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York, Standard Retirement Services, Inc., StanCorp Equities, Inc. and StanCorp Investment Advisers, Inc., marketed as The Standard, are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status or any other condition protected by federal, state or local law. The Standard offers a drug and alcohol free work environment where possession, manufacture, transfer, offer, use of or being impaired by an illegal substance while on Standard property, or in other cases which the company believes might affect operations, safety or reputation of the company is prohibited. The Standard requires a criminal background investigation, employment, education and licensing verification as a condition of employment. All employees of The Standard must be bondable.