AI Office Program Manager

Velera is the nation’s premier payments credit union service organization (CUSO) and an integrated fintech solutions provider. The company serves more than 4,000 financial institutions throughout North America, operating with velocity to help our clients keep pace with the rapid momentum of change and fuel growth in the new era of financial services. Our purpose: We accelerate partners’ success through innovative financial technology solutions and inspired service.

The AI Office Program Manager serves as a key leader within the AI Office, responsible for driving enterprise AI strategy execution, governance operations, portfolio management, and organizational enablement. This role oversees the intake, evaluation, prioritization, governance, monitoring, and reporting processes for AI initiatives while ensuring alignment with business objectives, regulatory requirements, ethical standards, and organizational risk tolerance.

Acting as the central coordinator across business units, technology teams, architecture, security, privacy, legal, compliance, risk management, and executive leadership, the AI Office Program Manager ensures that AI investments are governed consistently, value is measured effectively, and AI capabilities are deployed responsibly and at scale. This role helps establish AI as a sustainable competitive advantage through effective governance, transparency, and organizational adoption.

• Partner with business and technology leaders to translate strategic objectives into actionable AI initiatives.

• Assist in developing multi-year AI roadmaps aligned with organizational priorities and transformation goals.

• Monitor progress against strategic milestones and identify opportunities to accelerate AI adoption.

• Conduct market research and trend analysis to inform strategic planning and investment decisions.

• Assist in facilitation of discovery sessions and workshops to understand business challenges and opportunities.

• Evaluate potential AI use cases based on business value, feasibility, risk, and strategic alignment.

• Develop business cases and value assessments to support investment decisions.

• Collaborate with stakeholders to create implementation plans and success measures for approved initiatives.
• Maintain a centralized inventory of AI projects, use cases, and ongoing initiatives.

• Monitor project status, dependencies, risks, and resource requirements across the portfolio.

• Evaluate portfolio performance against strategic objectives, budget targets, and expected outcomes.

• Recommend prioritization adjustments based on changing business needs, capacities, and emerging opportunities.
• Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and outcome measures for AI initiatives.

• Develop executive-level dashboards that provide visibility into portfolio health, adoption, value realization, and risk.

• Analyze and communicate trends, achievements, challenges, and opportunities to leadership teams.

• Prepare presentations, status reports, and briefing materials for executive and board-level audiences.
• Plan, organize, and facilitate governance forums that support AI strategy execution and oversight.

• Develop meeting agendas, presentation materials, and decision-support documentation.

• Track decisions, action items, and follow-up activities to ensure accountability and progress.

• Coordinate cross-functional stakeholder participation and communication across business, technology, risk, and compliance teams.

• Support the escalation and resolution of issues requiring executive guidance or governance approval.

• Enterprise AI Office strategy, roadmap, and subsequent team-level roadmaps

• AI Office operating dashboard ownership such as Loop, ADO, AHA and similar

• AI opportunity pipeline, assessments, and business cases

• AI portfolio dashboards, tracking reports, and performance metrics

• Executive scorecards, briefings, and leadership presentations

• AI value realization and benefits measurement reports

• Governance materials, decision records, and committee documentation

• Initiative prioritization frameworks and resource planning analyses

• Portfolio risk, dependency, and health assessments

• Cross-functional stakeholder communications and workshop materials

• Quarterly and annual AI portfolio reviews and strategic planning deliverables

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Technology, Computer Science, Risk Management, Project Management, or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in project or program management, governance, risk management, technology management, digital transformation, or related fields.
• Experience facilitating cross-functional programs involving business, technology, risk, compliance, security, and executive stakeholders.
• Experience developing governance frameworks, operating models, policies, or controls.
• Knowledge of AI governance, responsible AI principles, AI risk management, and emerging regulatory requirements.
• Strong program and portfolio management capabilities.
• Experience with risk assessment, compliance, audit, and control frameworks.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and executive communication skills.
• Ability to translate technical AI concepts into business-focused recommendations.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving abilities.
• Experience with governance, workflow, reporting, and portfolio management tools.
• Project Management Professional (PMP), CAPM, PgMP, Agile, or equivalent certification.
• Experience with AI governance frameworks (NIST AI RMF, ISO 42001, COBIT, or similar).

At Velera, inclusion isn’t an initiative – it’s how we work. Guided by a people‑helping‑people philosophy, we cultivate a culture where every employee feels valued, respected and empowered to do their best work. We’re committed to building a diverse workforce and fostering meaningful connection across our teams. Through a remote‑first, flexible environment, we prioritize psychological safety, wellbeing and belonging so individuals and teams can collaborate to thrive. Together, we’re shaping a new era of secure, innovative solutions for the clients and communities we serve. Learn more about what it’s like to work at Velera.

The anticipated hiring range for this position is typically between the minimum and midpoint of the posted salary range; however, actual compensation may vary based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, skills and qualifications, education, internal equity, and overall business and budget considerations. Velera is committed to providing competitive compensation that reflects both individual role and responsibilities, individual performance, and market.