Senior Director, Head of AI Governance & Enablement

AstraZeneca • Gaithersburg, MD

3d • $176,678 - $265,016 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Director, Head of AI Governance & Enablement provides enterprise leadership for the governance, oversight, and assurance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across its full lifecycle. The role ensures AI solutions are developed, deployed, and operated in a way that is compliant, ethical, reliable, and aligned to risk appetite, while enabling innovation at scale. This role acts as both a governance authority and a trusted partner to delivery teams, embedding right-sized governance. It also provides best-practice guidance to ensure AI model outcomes are performant, explainable, and trusted by the business, regulators, and external stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information/Data Science, Informatics, Computer Science, Economics, or related discipline – or equivalent number of years of experience.
• Strong understanding of AI lifecycles, model risks, and governance expectations, including regulatory and ethical considerations.
• Ensure governance is applied in a way that enables innovation rather than creating unnecessary friction.
• Proven ability to balance governance rigour with delivery speed and innovation enablement.
• Proven ability to develop strong partnerships with other areas of the business such as Legal, Compliance, Cyber Security, Enterprise Risk Management, Data Offices, etc.).
• Proven ability to partner with senior stakeholders and delivery teams on complex AI initiatives.
• Significant senior experience in governance and model performance within a complex organisation.
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead a high-performing team with deep expertise in governance and model performance.
• Champion a culture of responsible, compliant, and value-focused use of data and AI across the organisation.
• Demonstrated project leadership skills.
• Demonstrate effective communication skills with the ability to influence others to achieve objectives.
• Proven change management, collaboration, and negotiation skills.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s or PhD in Business Administration, Information/Data Science, Informatics, Computer Science, Economics, or related discipline.
• Experience in life sciences and healthcare.
• Intimate knowledge of relevant key business processes in the Pharma industry.
• Data and / or AI Governance and Data Management education and certifications.
• Practical knowledge of ISO/IEC 42001 (Artificial Intelligence Management Systems)
• Practical knowledge of NIST AI Risk Management Framework.
• Familiarity with relevant data and AI regulations and compliance requirements (e.g. GxP, GDPR, EU AI Act, NIS2, etc.).
• Applied data management, data science, AI development, or AI governance skills, including experience with related tools.
• Exposure publishing relevant AI governance and /or model performance topics in peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and other scientific proceedings.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and evolve enterprise AI governance processes across various types of emerging needs (e.g. internally developed models, third-party and vendor AI solutions, foundation models, generative and agentic AI, and citizen-developed AI).
• Embed right-sized, proportionate governance across the end-to-end AI lifecycle, aligned to regulatory, ethical, and enterprise risk expectations.
• Drive enterprise-wide adoption of AI governance effectively in a federated environment through stakeholder influence.
• Own enterprise processes for AI model inventory, accountability, and ongoing oversight, ensuring transparency of AI use across the organisation.
• Ensure AI models are subject to appropriate classification, review, and lifecycle controls based on tiered risk profile.
• Partner with business and delivery teams to navigate end-to-end AI governance, supporting teams through assessment, approval, and operationalisation of AI use cases.
• Provide assurance and best-practice guidance to strengthen AI model performance, reliability, robustness, and trustworthiness.
• Promote good practice across model development and operation, including validation, monitoring, explainability, bias management, and performance drift.
• Establish and lead the enterprise operating model for Data & AI Governance and Enablement, defining clear accountabilities, decision rights, escalation paths, and governance forums, with well-defined stakeholder engagement across business units, regions, and functions.
• Own the measurement, reporting, and analytics of the AI Governance lifecycle, and drive continuous improvement of governance processes by reducing friction in AI governance processes.
• Serve as an advisor on complex or novel AI solutions, enabling proportionate governance decisions rather than default escalation or risk avoidance.
• Raise awareness of relevant governance processes through targeted education and guidance.
• Contribute to a culture of confident, responsible AI adoption across the enterprise.
• Build strong relationships across Legal, Compliance, AZ IT, and Privacy to ensure aligned and consistent governance approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with colleagues across functions and levels, actively listen, resolve conflicts constructively, and co-create solutions to achieve shared goals.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesise complex issues into concise narratives, anticipating stakeholder concerns, navigating ambiguity, and driving alignment and decisions in high-stakes forums.
• Executive presence with the ability to build credibility quickly, communicate with clarity and confidence, and influence senior executive leadership at forums such as Audit Committee, the Data Enablement Council, or SET-area Data Office (SEDO), promoting a culture of responsible and confident Data & AI use.

Benefits

• short-term incentive bonus opportunity
• equity-based long-term incentive program
• retirement contribution
• commission payment eligibility
• qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]
• paid vacation and holidays
• paid leaves
• health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage

What This Job Offers

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