Overview

The Director, AI Risk Governance is responsible for the overall leadership, strategy, execution, and continual maturation of the AI Risk Governance Program. The Director serves as the enterprise owner of the AI Risk Governance Program and is responsible for establishing a consistent, scalable, and risk-based approach to governing AI solutions across the organization.

The Director is accountable for establishing, maintaining, and continuously enhancing governance capabilities that support the identification, assessment, oversight, monitoring, reporting, and escalation of AI-related risks throughout the AI lifecycle. The role provides leadership across governance processes, governance forums, inventory governance, monitoring activities, reporting requirements, policy and methodology development, stakeholder engagement, and governance program management.

The Director serves as the senior AI Risk Governance representative and collaborates extensively with Business Owners, Technology, Risk Management, Compliance, Legal, Information Security, Model Risk, Third-Party Risk Management, Audit, Operational Risk, Enterprise Risk, and other governance functions to support responsible AI adoption and effective AI risk management.

The role also works closely with global and regional stakeholders to promote alignment of governance expectations, frameworks, methodologies, reporting, operating model considerations, and emerging AI governance capabilities across jurisdictions, business lines, and legal entities.

AI Risk Governance provides centralized governance, oversight, coordination, challenge, escalation, inventory governance, monitoring, and reporting for AI use cases. Business Owners and established risk-management functions retain ownership of their respective risks, controls, decisions, and operational execution responsibilities.

Roles and Responsibilities

AI Risk Governance Program Ownership

• Own the AI Risk Governance Program and supporting governance operating model.
• Establish strategic direction, priorities, and long-term maturity objectives for the AI Risk Governance function.
• Lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of governance frameworks, standards, methodologies, procedures, and supporting governance capabilities.
• Oversee governance program effectiveness, operating model sustainability, staffing strategy, and resource planning.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve governance effectiveness, efficiency, scalability, and transparency.

Enterprise Governance Leadership

• Provide enterprise oversight of AI governance activities and governance decision-making processes.
• Ensure governance practices remain aligned with organizational objectives, risk-management expectations, and evolving governance requirements.
• Lead governance review, challenge, escalation, and decision-support activities for complex or high-impact matters.
• Support governance forums and committee structures responsible for AI-related oversight and decision making.
• Promote consistent application of governance requirements across business units, technology functions, and risk disciplines.
• Drive integration of AI governance requirements into existing business, technology, legal, compliance, risk management, third-party oversight, resiliency, and operational governance processes.

Governance Strategy, Policy & Methodology

• Sponsor and oversee the development and maintenance of AI governance standards, methodologies, operating procedures, guidance, and governance documentation.
• Establish governance expectations relating to intake, classification, assessment, inventory management, monitoring, reporting, issue management, escalation, and lifecycle governance.
• Ensure governance requirements remain current and aligned with industry practices, emerging risks, regulatory developments, and evolving organizational needs.
• Oversee governance performance metrics, reporting, and program maturity assessments.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the senior AI Risk Governance point of contact across business, technology, legal, compliance, risk, audit, and control functions.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with stakeholders throughout the organization.
• Facilitate alignment between governance objectives and business, technology, and operational priorities.
• Support executive management, governance committees, and senior leadership decision making through governance reporting, recommendations, and strategic insight.
• Lead resolution of complex governance issues, escalations, and cross-functional challenges.

Global & Cross-Regional Coordination

• Collaborate with regional and global stakeholders to support alignment of AI governance approaches, standards, methodologies, reporting requirements, and governance practices.
• Participate in global governance working groups, governance initiatives, and strategic governance discussions.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing, lessons learned, and governance coordination across legal entities, business lines, and geographic regions.
• Support development of scalable governance capabilities that promote consistency while recognizing jurisdictional and organizational differences.
• Monitor emerging global AI governance trends, expectations, and developments to inform governance strategy and program direction.
• Support enterprise and cross-regional governance initiatives related to emerging technologies, AI, and evolving risk-management priorities to promote consistency, scalability, and governance alignment.

Audit, Regulatory & Assurance Leadership

• Oversee AI governance responses to audit, examination, validation, regulatory, and assurance activities.
• Ensure governance documentation, evidence, reporting, and records remain complete, defensible, and audit-ready.
• Support management responses, remediation activities, and governance improvement initiatives arising from audit or regulatory observations.
• Promote governance transparency, accountability, and traceability across the AI lifecycle.
• Team Leadership & Development

Lead and develop the AI Risk Governance team.

• Establish performance expectations, priorities, quality standards, and development opportunities.
• Provide mentoring, coaching, and leadership support to the AI Risk Governance Lead and Analysts.
• Support succession planning, capability development, workforce planning, and organizational growth.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and continuous-improvement culture within the governance function.

Job Requirements

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Risk Management, Finance, Information Systems, Technology, Data Science, Law, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience in governance, risk management, compliance, audit, operational risk, technology risk, model risk, data governance, cybersecurity, third-party risk, or related disciplines.
• 5+ years of leadership experience within governance, risk, compliance, audit, technology, or related functions.
• Experience designing, implementing, or managing governance programs, operating models, frameworks, or oversight functions.
• Experience working within complex and regulated environments.
• Experience interacting with senior executives, governance committees, audit functions, regulators, or similar stakeholders.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Strong understanding of governance, risk management, controls, issue management, escalation, monitoring, oversight, and accountability frameworks.
• Deep understanding of AI governance, responsible AI concepts, emerging technology risks, third-party risk, data governance, model governance, operational risk, and technology governance.
• Strong strategic thinking and organizational leadership capabilities.
• Ability to influence outcomes and drive alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and executive communication skills.
• Ability to balance governance expectations with practical business and operational considerations.

Success Measures

• Successful implementation, operation, and ongoing maturation of the AI Risk Governance Program.
• Effective executive, governance committee, audit, and regulatory engagement.
• Strong alignment of governance expectations across business, technology, risk, and global stakeholders.
• Sustainable governance operating model, staffing strategy, and organizational capability.
• High-quality governance reporting, monitoring, inventory oversight, escalation management, and governance decision support.
• Positive stakeholder, audit, and governance feedback regarding governance effectiveness, transparency, consistency, and accountability.
• Demonstrated advancement of organizational AI governance capabilities, operating effectiveness, and governance maturity.
• Effective coordination and alignment of AI governance activities across regional and global stakeholders.

Soft Skills:

• Executive presence with the ability to communicate effectively with senior leadership, governance committees, auditors, regulators, and global stakeholders.
• Strong collaboration and relationship-management skills with the ability to build alignment across business, technology, risk, compliance, legal, audit, and regional stakeholder groups.
• Strategic thinker capable of connecting governance decisions to broader organizational, regulatory, and global objectives.
• Strong judgment and decision-making skills, including the ability to challenge constructively, manage ambiguity, and escalate concerns appropriately.
• Ability to operate effectively in highly visible, rapidly evolving, and complex environments.

Preferred Experience

• Experience leading enterprise governance, risk management, technology governance, model governance, data governance, operational risk, or emerging-risk programs.
• Experience supporting global or cross-regional governance initiatives.
• Experience working with governance committees, executive forums, audits, examinations, or regulatory reviews.
• Professional certifications such as CRISC, CISA, CISSP, CISM, FRM, CAMS, CFE, CIPM, or similar credentials.

The typical base pay range for this role is between $225,000- $275,000 depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience and location. This role may also be eligible for certain discretionary performance-based bonus and/or incentive compensation. Additionally, our Total Rewards program provides colleagues with a competitive benefits package (in accordance with the eligibility requirements and respective terms of each) that includes comprehensive health and wellness benefits, retirement plans, educational assistance and training programs, income replacement for qualified employees with disabilities, paid maternity and parental bonding leave, and paid vacation, sick days, and holidays. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please click the link below.

MUFG Benefits Summary