Director, AI Enablement

Nationwide Mutual Insurance•Columbus, OH

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of AI Enablement sets the strategic direction for integrating AI technologies across a major business segment or enterprise function. The role bridges AI capabilities and business priorities, equipping leaders and teams with the tools, resources, and frameworks to drive innovation, efficiency, and measurable business outcomes. Within Nationwide’s Property and Casualty (P&C) organization, the AI Process Transformation Hub provides practical knowledge, guidance, tools, and shared ways of working. It focuses on P&C-wide opportunities where scale, shared capabilities, and common governance can accelerate value, complements business unit-led solutions, maintains the P&C AI portfolio, and supports governance through the P&C AI Enablement Council. The Director helps translate emerging AI technologies, including generative and agentic AI, into business outcomes and moves opportunities from ideas to execution at scale. The position reports to an executive and leads a team of AI Enablement professionals. It manages associates and may perform other responsibilities as assigned. The role works in a normal office environment and goes into the office two days per week; remote internal associates may also be considered. This position is exempt and not eligible for overtime. It does not qualify for employer-sponsored work authorization, and Nationwide does not participate in the STEM OPT Extension program.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in AI or digital transformation roles, with a background in technology, product development, or innovation.
Experience with agile delivery methodologies and product management or product owner principles.
Strong understanding of machine learning, natural language processing, generative AI, and machine-learning concepts.
Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
Knowledge of change-management and technology-adoption techniques.
Experience with cloud platforms and AI tools.
Ability to influence without direct authority.
Leadership skills, competencies, and experiences may take precedence over other criteria.

Nice To Haves

Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Business, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with business leaders and key stakeholders to identify high-impact AI opportunities.
Translate business challenges into strategic AI initiatives and develop enablement roadmaps.
Oversee data-readiness assessments and ensure data strategies support AI adoption.
Create and socialize business cases for AI opportunities.
Direct the planning and deployment of AI programs across the business segment, ensuring delivery on time, within budget, and in alignment with strategic objectives.
Direct structured ideation efforts and maintain a backlog of AI opportunities and use cases aligned with business priorities and goals.
Ensure AI initiatives adhere to enterprise governance frameworks, regulatory requirements, and ethical AI practices.
Promote AI literacy and cultural transformation, partnering with enterprise learning and communications teams to support adoption and engagement.
Lead large-scale organizational change initiatives to embed AI capabilities into core business processes and achieve sustainable, measurable impact.
Define and monitor enterprise-level KPIs to evaluate AI program success and refine strategies to maximize value realization.
Partner with enterprise architecture and data organizations to align business outcomes, capability development, and scalable AI solutions.
Build and maintain strategic relationships with AI subject matter experts and external partners to accelerate innovation and share best practices.
Collaborate with Human Resources and senior leadership on AI workforce strategy, including talent acquisition, upskilling, and capability development.
Manage associates, including performance, salary planning and administration, training and development, workflow and organizational planning, hiring and placement, and disciplinary actions.
Demonstrate Nationwide Values regularly and consistently.
Perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision coverage
Life insurance
Short- and long-term disability coverage
Paid time off: newly hired associates receive a minimum of 18 days per full calendar year, prorated quarterly based on hire date
Nine paid holidays
Eight hours of Lifetime paid time off
Eight hours of Unity Day paid time off
401(k) with company match
Company-paid pension plan
Business casual attire