Senior Director, AI Strategy and Implementation

Senior Director, AI Strategy and Implementation

About us

WEX, Inc. is a leading and growing global provider of payment processing, information management and fleet card payment solutions. 

It’s a really exciting time to be part of the WEX Digital Team - we’re growing our strategy, product, and portfolio teams in order to build the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital platforms of the future. You’ll be in the thick of the action, leading the definition of our commercial, product, and tech AI strategy to outline how we efficiently drive growth and deliver products that delight our consumers. We are looking for a visionary leader who can articulate a clear and compelling vision for how AI can transform the organization, aligning with WEX’s strategic goals.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned strategic leader with the ability to lead our AI Strategy and Program, integrating our AI initiatives with WEX’s broader strategic objectives and ensuring that AI projects deliver real value and competitive advantage. Crucial to success is the ability to communicate effectively with and engage a range of stakeholders, from technical teams to board members, ensuring buy-in and support for AI initiatives. 

This role will report to VP, Digital Strategy, Innovation, and AI and partner with our AI Executive Sponsor, WEX’s Chief Digital Officer. We expect candidates to have an understanding of AI technologies and their practical applications, but recognize that the technologies are constantly evolving. Dynamic leadership is paramount and you should have a willingness to roll-up your sleeves and approach problems with a "can-do" attitude. Consider applying for this role if you do well in startup and/or growth environments, but want the scale/reach of a large, established public company.

About the role

As the Senior Director of AI Strategy & Implementation,  you will lead a large cross-functional, matrixed AI program across WEX to define our strategy and deliver on our AI ambitions (as defined by our AI Executive Sponsor, WEX’s Chief Digital Officer alongside the CEO and Board). You will oversee a team of ~4-5 individuals focused on strategy and program management, with responsibility and accountability for prioritizing AI initiatives, measuring ROI / outcomes, and ultimately delivering on our AI goals, both in the near and longer term.

AI Strategy Definition & Value Identification:

• Define and drive 3 year business transformation strategy based on AI, including prioritization of AI portfolio, business case definition, and measurement and tracking of ROI

• Partner with commercial, product, and tech partners to identify opportunity areas with ultimate goal of integrating AI into existing business processes in the form of automating day to day tasks, improving efficiency, and reducing waste 

• Partner with Product and Data Science team to drive AI innovation idea generation, validate opportunities and value potential to narrow in on the top growth opportunities for both AI-native products + how we transform current products with AI

• Partner with AI Platforms team to determine and recommend build / buy / partner path forward for all prioritized opportunities 

• Recommend go-forward AI portfolio, including capital investment needs, definition and management of clear, quantifiable outcomes for AI projects

AI Implementation & Program Management

• Create and maintain a master list of WEX’s AI portfolio, consisting of all in-flight projects, backlogged use cases, tools, models, and work across the organization (some of which will be directly overseen, some will be tangential) 

• Streamline intake processes across all relevant AI teams and forums

• Oversee execution of prioritized AI initiatives, ensuring definition of milestones, outcomes, KPIs, and implementation of commercial and product roadmaps

• Communicate progress and measure value creation around AI strategy and goals, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and communication of key initiatives to the executive team

• Manage relevant AI governance forums in collaboration with Office of the CEO and oversee AI Committees and Community of Practice

Evolve, Educate & Inspire

• Develop a narrative to showcase the impact of AI across the comp