Job Description

Full job description

SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group. Headquartered in Tokyo and with a 400-year history, SMBC Group offers a diverse range of financial services, including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group has more than 130 offices and 80,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is the holding company of SMBC Group, which is one of the three largest banking groups in Japan. SMFG’s shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York (NYSE: SMFG) stock exchanges.

In the Americas, SMBC Group has a presence in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Backed by the capital strength of SMBC Group and the value of its relationships in Asia, the Group offers a range of commercial and investment banking services to its corporate, institutional, and municipal clients. It connects a diverse client base to local markets and the organization’s extensive global network. The Group’s operating companies in the Americas include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., SMBC Capital Markets, Inc., SMBC MANUBANK, JRI America, Inc., SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc., Banco Sumitomo Mitsui Brasileiro S.A., and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd.

The anticipated salary range for this role is between $202,000.00 and $237,000.00. The specific salary offered to an applicant will be based on their individual qualifications, experiences, and an analysis of the current compensation paid in their geography and the market for similar roles at the time of hire. The role may also be eligible for an annual discretionary incentive award. In addition to cash compensation, SMBC offers a competitive portfolio of benefits to its employees.

Role Description

SMBC Americas Division (AD) Innovation team is seeking an experienced Innovation and AI practitioner to join the team, reporting to the Head of Innovation. This is a highly visible role where you will be working with senior leaders across the bank to lead transformation efforts to advance next-generation products and reinvent businesses for an autonomous age.

The Innovation Strategy – Technical Lead is a strategic leader who will collaborate with business and technology partners to address business challenges through innovative solutions that integrate business, AI and technology. Your collaborative spirit enables you to work effectively in diverse teams, fostering an environment of collective innovation and knowledge sharing. You will work cross functionally, with IT and business partners, to leverage machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, generative AI and other relevant technologies to accelerate company objectives.

You are an AI pioneer and curious learner with a drive to challenge the status quo, excited by the possibilities in GenAI and have experimented or worked on innovations using GenAI. You will play a pivotal role in championing the use of AI across our organization, shaping the way we harness the power of cutting-edge technologies. You will possess a strong blend of technical expertise and business acumen, ensuring AI solutions not only address technical challenges but also deliver tangible business value and support our strategic objectives. Your enthusiasm for AI will be pivotal as you educate and inspire colleagues, fostering a culture of awareness, innovation and continuous learning.
This is a highly strategic role that requires a resourceful individual with experience in a matrixed environment, strong interpersonal skills, self-motivation, excellent communication skills, a solid background in technology and deep experience in growing the impact of emerging technologies through influence. Experience in successfully translating AI concepts into operationally and commercially viable solutions that generate a positive return on investment is crucial.

Role Objectives

• Partnering with the Head of Innovation, develop and execute a comprehensive AI strategy to transform the business and align to strategic goals and objectives.
• Understand client needs and business objectives, providing thought leadership and collaborating closely with stakeholders and partners to ensure long-term impact.
• Lead an enterprise readiness assessment to understand current AI capabilities including tech, data, talent and processes. Identify gaps and potential opportunities where AI can add value and identify stakeholders and their readiness for AI adoption.
• Partner with CDO organization to influence a data management strategy to support AI initiatives, including measurable targets such as data quality, accessibility and utilization.
• Align AI technology, security and infrastructure strategy with corporate and business objectives, including KPIs.
• Guide and recommend KPIs to measure the success of AI initiatives, e.g., efficiency, customer satisfaction, revenue growth.
• Articulate and contextualize art of the possible using AI/ML, NLP, GenAI tools and frameworks, including their limitations and critical pre-requisites such as data quality and responsible AI, to improve business opportunity, performance and operational efficiencies.
• Ensure the successful deployment of AI, working closely with IT and business teams to integrate solutions into existing workflows.
• Develop guidelines to ensure AI is designed and used ethically, addressing issues such as bias, fairness, etc. Conduct assessments for AI projects to identify and mitigate potential issues and review/approve AI projects based on ethical guidelines.
• Monitor and evaluate mechanisms for governance, including definition of KPIs to measure the effectiveness of AI governance; identify and deploy tools to monitor compliance with governance policies and the performance of AI systems; and schedule audits to evaluate adherence to policies and areas for improvement.
• Collaborate with Partnerships, R&D and Experimentation teams on the discovery, exploration and development of AI and GenAI.
• Awareness of Enterprise Risk Management framework including IT Risk Management and Data governance and their intersection with AI emerging risks.
• Stay abreast of industry regulations and standards related to AI and data privacy, ensuring compliance within the financial services domain.
• Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships with external organizations, research institutions, and technology companies to enhance our capabilities and stay at the forefront of industry advancements.

Qualifications and Skills

• Degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, or a related field.
• 10+ years of senior leadership experience.
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to effectively convey technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• In-depth knowledge of machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, and other relevant technologies.
• Familiarity with regulatory requirements and ethical considerations related to emerging technologies.
• Extensive experience in the financial services industry, particularly in investment banking and capital markets.
• Strong collaboration skills and commitment to interdisciplinary thinking - ability to work across teams focused on strategy, technology, and data in service to new product solutions.
• Demonstrated experience in influencing change in a complex environment.
• Superior communications skills (written and verbal) all levels including executive teams.
• Negotiation and relationship-building skills, with high level of business and political acumen.
• Ability to showcase success in handling ambiguous and dynamic projects - coordinating the work of a cross-functional team.
• Ability to synthesize and distill complex issues and business problems.

Additional Requirements

D&I Commitment

Responsible for fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion, holding leaders accountable for creating an inclusive environment through awareness and practice of equity in recruiting, developing, and promoting diverse talent.

SMBC’s employees participate in a Hybrid workforce model that provides employees with an opportunity to work from home, as well as, from an SMBC office. SMBC requires that employees live within a reasonable commuting distance of their office location. Prospective candidates will learn more about their specific hybrid work schedule during their interview process. Hybrid work may not be permitted for certain roles, including, for example, certain FINRA-registered roles for which in-office attendance for the entire workweek is required.

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. SMBC provides reasonable accommodations for employees and applicants with disabilities consistent with applicable law. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please let us know at accommodations@smbcgroup.com.

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