12533 – Vice President, Data and AI Initiatives

Western Union•Denver, CO

About The Position

The VP Data & AI Initiatives will report into the Chief Information Officer and lead our global payments technology platforms and engineering teams. This executive will be responsible for driving innovation, optimizing existing systems, and delivering customer-centric solutions that power our payment business solutions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field.
10+ years of management experience, with a proven ability to lead large, diverse technology teams.
10+ years of experience in end-to-end technology delivery within financial services, including engineering and architecture.
Demonstrated success in sunsetting legacy systems and implementing modern, customer-focused technologies.
Expertise in agile development frameworks and lean methodologies.
Deep understanding of technologies enabling payment capabilities.
Proven ability to influence across all levels of the organization, with or without formal authority.
Strong strategic agility, innovation management, and vision-setting capabilities.
Experience in making high-impact decisions with significant business implications.
Strategic thinking and vision articulation.
Proven innovation and change leadership capabilities.
Process discipline and continuous improvement mindset.
Strong collaboration and communication skills.
Deep functional, company, and industry knowledge.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage a global team of 150+ engineering professionals across payments business solutions, including web platforms, vertical staging, and data strategies.
Drive the strategic direction and execution of the One Platform roadmap in partnership with the Head of Digital Engineering.
Own and execute a three-year roadmap for innovative, efficient technology solutions across payments platforms.
Oversee all funds-in and funds-out capabilities, account payout network solutions, and fraud/risk modeling platforms.
Champion full-stack development (50/50 front-end and back-end) with a focus on customer value creation.
Collaborate with API strategy leaders to optimize channel solutions for digital payments.
Lead engineering integration efforts to standardize technology solutions and deliver consistent user experiences.
Make strategic build vs. buy decisions in partnership with the CTO.
Act as a solution consultant to support new customer acquisition and product innovation.
Serve as the center of excellence for Salesforce.com solutions.
Apply agile methodologies, continuous integration/deployment, and DevOps practices across engineering teams.
Establish and deliver on SLAs and KPIs, ensuring cost optimization and operational excellence.