Columbia Bank
Summary
The Head of AI Adoption will establish and lead the Bank’s AI Adoption Center of Excellence (CoE), driving the responsible, secure, and value-driven integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI (GenAI), and Intelligent Automation across business and technology domains. This role will be responsible for defining the AI adoption strategy, identifying high-impact use cases, ensuring regulatory and ethical compliance, developing organizational capabilities, and promoting a culture of innovation and continuous learning. The leader will collaborate with business lines, risk, technology, and data teams to transform how the Bank operates, serves customers, and enhances decision-making through AI-enabled insights and automation.
Job Responsibilities Strategic Leadership
Establish the AI Adoption Center of Excellence (CoE) as the enterprise hub for AI strategy, governance, and enablement.
Develop and execute the AI adoption roadmap aligned with the Bank’s strategic objectives, risk appetite, and regulatory obligations.
Prioritize and sequence AI initiatives to maximize enterprise value, alignment, and adoption.
Partner with executives across business, risk, compliance, data, and IT to prioritize and scale AI use cases that deliver measurable value.
Advocate for responsible AI adoption that emphasizes transparency, explainability, fairness, and data ethics.
Governance, Risk, and Policy
Collaborate with the CISO, Chief Data Officer, Legal, and Compliance functions to ensure AI initiatives adhere to enterprise data, cybersecurity, and model risk standards.
Oversee the AI Governance Framework, including risk assessment, vendor review, model validation, and ongoing performance monitoring.
Maintain alignment with evolving regulatory expectations (e.g., OCC, FDIC, CFPB) on AI and model risk management.
Define AI usage policies covering acceptable use, accountability, privacy, intellectual property, and transparency.
Use Case Identification and Delivery
Lead an AI Use Case Portfolio, coordinating with business leaders to identify and assess opportunities in customer engagement, operations, compliance, and risk management.
Oversee proof-of-concept (POC) and pilot implementations with measurable success criteria, driving from “crawl” to “walk” to “run” maturity.
Build partnerships with vendors, FinTechs, and technology providers (e.g., nCino, Microsoft, Salesforce, Automation Anywhere, OpenAI, Five9, Verint) to accelerate responsible adoption.
Capability Development
Develop training, education, and change management programs to upskill employees and foster AI literacy across the Bank.
Promote experimentation and continuous learning through internal innovation challenges, labs, and hackathons.
Measurement and Value Realization
Define and monitor KPIs for AI adoption, including business impact, productivity gains, risk reduction, and customer experience improvement.
Deliver regular updates to executive leadership, Board committees, and regulators on AI initiatives, outcomes, and risk posture.
Ensure AI capabilities are scalable, reliable, and embedded effectively into operational processes.
Job Requirements Education & Experience
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field.
10 years of experience in technology strategy, data analytics, or intelligent automation, with at least 2 years leading enterprise-level AI or digital transformation initiatives.
Skills & Competencies
Proven leadership in developing and executing AI/automation strategies at scale.
Deep understanding of AI/ML technologies, Generative AI platforms, and automation tools (e.g., Microsoft CoPilot, RPA platforms, NLP, LLMs).
Strong grasp of data governance, cybersecurity, model risk management, and regulatory compliance frameworks.
Excellent communication and executive presentation skills – able to translate complex AI concepts into business outcomes.
Strategic thinker with a hands‑on delivery mindset and cross‑functional influence.
Preferred
Experience in financial services or a regulated industry is strongly preferred.
Columbia Bank offers the following benefits
Medical, Dental, Vision and Rx which are contributory.
Bonus programs.
Employee Stock Option Program (ESOP).
Life Insurance, Long Term Disability and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (LTD&AD&D).
Paid Time Off (PTO) which includes Personal and Vacation Time.
Paid Sick Time.
Bank Holidays.
Employees may participate in the 401k program.
Schedule This role is eligible for a hybrid schedule; 3 days in the office and 2 days work from home based on business need.
Columbia Bank and its affiliates is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and veterans.
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Job Responsibilities Strategic Leadership
Establish the AI Adoption Center of Excellence (CoE) as the enterprise hub for AI strategy, governance, and enablement.
Develop and execute the AI adoption roadmap aligned with the Bank’s strategic objectives, risk appetite, and regulatory obligations.
Prioritize and sequence AI initiatives to maximize enterprise value, alignment, and adoption.
Partner with executives across business, risk, compliance, data, and IT to prioritize and scale AI use cases that deliver measurable value.
Advocate for responsible AI adoption that emphasizes transparency, explainability, fairness, and data ethics.
Governance, Risk, and Policy
Collaborate with the CISO, Chief Data Officer, Legal, and Compliance functions to ensure AI initiatives adhere to enterprise data, cybersecurity, and model risk standards.
Oversee the AI Governance Framework, including risk assessment, vendor review, model validation, and ongoing performance monitoring.
Maintain alignment with evolving regulatory expectations (e.g., OCC, FDIC, CFPB) on AI and model risk management.
Define AI usage policies covering acceptable use, accountability, privacy, intellectual property, and transparency.
Use Case Identification and Delivery
Lead an AI Use Case Portfolio, coordinating with business leaders to identify and assess opportunities in customer engagement, operations, compliance, and risk management.
Oversee proof-of-concept (POC) and pilot implementations with measurable success criteria, driving from “crawl” to “walk” to “run” maturity.
Build partnerships with vendors, FinTechs, and technology providers (e.g., nCino, Microsoft, Salesforce, Automation Anywhere, OpenAI, Five9, Verint) to accelerate responsible adoption.
Capability Development
Develop training, education, and change management programs to upskill employees and foster AI literacy across the Bank.
Promote experimentation and continuous learning through internal innovation challenges, labs, and hackathons.
Measurement and Value Realization
Define and monitor KPIs for AI adoption, including business impact, productivity gains, risk reduction, and customer experience improvement.
Deliver regular updates to executive leadership, Board committees, and regulators on AI initiatives, outcomes, and risk posture.
Ensure AI capabilities are scalable, reliable, and embedded effectively into operational processes.
Job Requirements Education & Experience
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field.
10 years of experience in technology strategy, data analytics, or intelligent automation, with at least 2 years leading enterprise-level AI or digital transformation initiatives.
Skills & Competencies
Proven leadership in developing and executing AI/automation strategies at scale.
Deep understanding of AI/ML technologies, Generative AI platforms, and automation tools (e.g., Microsoft CoPilot, RPA platforms, NLP, LLMs).
Strong grasp of data governance, cybersecurity, model risk management, and regulatory compliance frameworks.
Excellent communication and executive presentation skills – able to translate complex AI concepts into business outcomes.
Strategic thinker with a hands‑on delivery mindset and cross‑functional influence.
Preferred
Experience in financial services or a regulated industry is strongly preferred.
Columbia Bank offers the following benefits
Medical, Dental, Vision and Rx which are contributory.
Bonus programs.
Employee Stock Option Program (ESOP).
Life Insurance, Long Term Disability and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (LTD&AD&D).
Paid Time Off (PTO) which includes Personal and Vacation Time.
Paid Sick Time.
Bank Holidays.
Employees may participate in the 401k program.
Schedule This role is eligible for a hybrid schedule; 3 days in the office and 2 days work from home based on business need.
Columbia Bank and its affiliates is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and veterans.
#J-18808-Ljbffr