Head AI Strategy & Governance Position

BJ's Wholesale Club • Marlborough, MA

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Sr Director of AI Strategy & Governance will lead the organization’s efforts to mature how AI will be used, governed, and adopted across all business functions. Reporting directly to the CIDO, you will shape enterprise AI strategy, lead governance through the AI Council, drive organizational adoption, and manage the central hub for information on AI projects, tools, and resources. In addition to setting direction and driving adoption, you are expected to champion operational excellence in delivery—ensuring AI initiatives are executed efficiently and deliver measurable value. This includes centralizing delivery standards, formalizing feedback loops between pilots and scaled deployments, and helping teams focus resources on the highest‑impact opportunities, particularly in a tight‑margin environment.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in technology strategy, digital transformation, or enterprise change roles, with at least 3–5 years focused on AI or data-driven initiatives.
• Proven ability to set and execute strategy in matrixed organizations, influencing senior leaders and stakeholders without direct authority.
• Experience developing and operationalizing enterprise strategies, including roadmaps, operating models, and governance frameworks.
• Strong understanding of AI technologies, agentic AI, and productivity tools (e.g., Copilot, ChatGPT), with the ability to translate technical concepts into business impact.
• Demonstrated success driving change management, adoption, and organizational readiness at scale.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with experience engaging executive audiences and broad employee groups.
• Highly self-motivated, organized, and able to manage multiple priorities independently in a fast-moving environment.
• Demonstrates strong follow-through, attention to detail, and comfort operating with minimal direction.
• Bachelor’s degree required

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in business, technology, or related fields preferred.

Responsibilities

• AI Strategy and Roadmap Define and document the enterprise AI strategy and roadmap in a structured, shareable format (e.g., playbooks, frameworks, roadmaps) and keep it updated as the landscape evolves, including:
• Updated guiding principles and responsible AI standards that set expectations for how AI will be used across the organization.
• A refined operating model, including roles, governance structures, intake processes, resource prioritization, and ROI measurement.
• A talent and skills plan to ensure the workforce is prepared for AI adoption.
• A communication and change management plan to drive awareness, understanding, and adoption.
• Opportunities for agentic AI across business functions, where autonomous or semi-autonomous agents could improve efficiency or unlock new capabilities.
• Priority use cases, required capabilities (e.g., data, platforms, skills), and sequencing of initiatives that focus on high‑value, practical use cases and avoid overinvestment in speculative efforts.
• Translate strategic direction into practical, time-bound plans with clear objectives, responsibilities, and measures of success.
• Leads the enterprise AI strategy, governance, and adoption.
• Expected to define the team responsibilities and support the scaling of AI capabilities across the enterprise.
• AI Council Leadership Serve as the operational lead for the AI Council, ensuring meetings are well-structured, decisions are documented, and actions are followed through.
• Track and report on Council decisions, priorities, and progress.
• Establish clear intake, review, and approval processes for AI use cases by the AI Council.
• Assist in the identification and assessment of AI opportunities across business functions, helping the AI Council prioritize investments based on value, feasibility, and readiness.
• Cross-Functional Coordination Work closely with data, analytics, product, engineering, and business teams to align their efforts with the enterprise AI strategy.
• Coordinate across data, technology, legal, risk, and business functions to ensure governance decisions are consistent and transparent.
• Support business teams in developing thoughtful and realistic business cases.
• Help teams prioritize resources toward the highest-impact opportunities, balancing innovation with disciplined investment.
• Partner with delivery and engineering teams to establish clear expectations for execution quality and feedback loops between pilots and scaled deployments.
• Champion operational excellence without directly owning delivery execution.
• Identify overlaps, connect related initiatives, and help resolve blockers.
• Advise business leaders on shaping AI use cases, developing adoption plans, and sequencing work.
• AI Hub Ownership Oversee the AI Hub as the strategic owner, ensuring content governance, accuracy, and communication are managed effectively — with operational support from relevant business and technology teams.
• Keep Hub content organized, current, and easy to navigate.
• Publish updates and decisions from the AI Council in a timely, accessible way.
• Use analytics and feedback to continuously improve the Hub’s relevance and usability.
• Evangelism, Education, and Adoption Act as a visible and credible ambassador for AI across the organization—communicating strategy, sharing examples, and making AI approachable for non-technical audiences.
• Partner with HR, Communications, and Learning to develop programs that build AI literacy and role-based skills.
• Work with HR, Learning, and enablement teams to help employees adopt productivity tools (e.g., Copilot, ChatGPT).
• Shape prompting strategies, curate learning content, and foster communities of practice for teams to share techniques and best practices across the organization.
• Support the development of change management frameworks to ensure AI moves from pilot projects to embedded daily practices.
• Collaborate with HR and business partners to develop a talent and organizational impact plan for agentic AI adoption, including identifying skills gaps, workforce changes, and potential new roles.
• Measuring and Reporting Impact Define and track key metrics that show how AI is being adopted and the business value it’s creating.
• Establish governance expectations for benefits tracking, clear success criteria for pilots, and structured mechanisms to stop or pivot low-value initiatives in collaboration with delivery and finance teams.
• Provide regular, structured updates to the CIDO and executive leadership on progress, risks, and opportunities.
• Support periodic reporting to the Board or leadership committees on AI maturity and outcomes.

Benefits

• Weekly Pay: Get paid every week so that you can manage your money on your terms.
• Free BJ’s Memberships: Enjoy a complimentary The Club Card Membership, plus a free Supplemental Membership for someone in your household.
• Generous Paid Time Off: Take the time you need with vacation, personal, sick days, holidays, bereavement, and jury duty leave.
• Flexible and Affordable Health Benefits: Choose from three medical plans, and access optional dental, vision, Health Savings Account (HSA), and flexible spending account options to fit your lifestyle.
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan: Build your financial future with a company match (available to team members 18 and older).
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan: Accumulate funds through after-tax payroll deductions that can be used to purchase shares of BJ’s common stock at a 15% discount.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director