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Columbia Bank New Jersey · 1 day ago

Head of AI Adoption

Fair Lawn, NJ

Full-time

Hybrid

Director/Executive

$149K/yr - $224K/yr

10+ years exp

Columbia Bank New Jersey is seeking a Head of AI Adoption to establish and lead their AI Adoption Center of Excellence. This role involves driving the integration of AI and automation across the bank, defining the AI adoption strategy, and collaborating with various teams to enhance decision-making and customer service through AI-enabled insights.

BankingFinancial ServicesMortgage

Responsibilities

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

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

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

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

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

Qualification

AI/ML technologiesGenerative AI platformsData governanceCybersecurityAutomation toolsRegulatory complianceLeadershipCommunication skillsStrategic thinking

Required

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

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 hands-on delivery mindset and cross-functional influence