AI & Analytics Senior Director - Finance Data Office (Finance)

AI and Analytics Senior Director - Finance Data Office

AI and Analytics Lead will be responsible for driving our AI and Analytics strategy for finance organization and the execution of related multi-year initiatives that drive measurable business outcomes. This role will spearhead the development of cutting-edge AI strategies and solutions, focusing on innovation, governance, and operational excellence. This role will be instrumental in building this new function including recruiting, and developing top talent, creating robust governance frameworks, and delivering innovative AI/ML solutions to transform finance operations. The role will also oversee the reporting and analytics strategy for Finance focusing on rationalizing tools, reports and outcomes to be more effective and efficient.

Key Responsibilities

Innovation

• Research and develop advanced AI and ML tools, particularly in areas such as NLP, generative AI, and predictive analytics, to solve finance business challenges.
• Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of AI/ML initiatives, from ideation to production deployment.
• Identify, prioritize, and execute AI use cases that deliver measurable value.
• Drive the vision and roadmap for AI initiatives, fostering a culture of innovation across the organization in alignment with enterprise goals
• Develop and execute analytics and reporting strategy that is targeted to rationalize existing reporting (BI) tools, reports and framework with the intention to simplify, eliminate redundancies and deliver effective results
• Collaborate with key business functions to translate data into actionable insights and performance KPIs.

Governance & Compliance

• Establish robust governance frameworks to ensure ethical and compliant use of AI technologies.
• Ensure adherence to Compliance/regulatory requirements and industry standards across all AI initiatives.
• Manage risks associated with AI adoption, balancing innovation with operational safeguards.

Strategic Leadership

• Collaborate with senior leadership and stakeholders to embed AI solutions into the core finance processes.
• Act as a subject matter expert, advocating for AI adoption across the Finance organization.
• Build and lead a multidisciplinary team of data scientists, ML engineers, and researchers.
• Foster a high-performance culture, providing mentorship and professional development opportunities.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration with BFO, FP&A, Accounting, Controllers, Sales, product, engineering and operations teams

Qualifications & Experience

• 15+ years of relevant technical & managerial experience.
• Prior Financial services and high-tech industry experience preferred, or experience in financial data.
• Advanced Degree (MS/PHD) in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related field desired.
• Leadership experience in building and managing AI teams preferably in finance or high-transaction environments.
• Proven track record of implementing AI solutions that have driven business impact.
• Expertise in software architecture and design principles
• Strong knowledge of machine learning techniques & statistical concepts
• Hands-on experience with NLP, NLU, NLG, and generative AI technologies
• Strong understanding of AI model development, deployment, and monitoring.
• Hands-on experience with ML libraries (Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-Learn, TensorFlow, SciPy).
• Experience with cloud solutions (eg Azure).
• Experience building data products including ETL pipelines for data processing.
• Experience building automated pipelines for model training, fine-tuning and testing.
• Demonstrated success in establishing and scaling new teams within large organizations.
• Proven ability to manage senior-level stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and a strategic mindset.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills to foster collaboration and influence decision-making.

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About The Cigna Group

Doing something meaningful starts with a simple decision, a commitment to changing lives. At The Cigna Group, we're dedicated to improving the health and vitality of those we serve. Through our divisions Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services, we are committed to enhancing the lives of our clients, customers and patients. Join us in driving growth and improving lives.

Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, age, disability, sex, childbirth (including pregnancy) or related medical conditions including but not limited to lactation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital or familial status, genetic information, status with regard to public assistance, citizenship status or any other characteristic protected by applicable equal employment opportunity laws.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing the online application process, please email: SeeYourself@cigna.com for support. Do not email SeeYourself@cigna.com for an update on your application or to provide your resume as you will not receive a response.

The Cigna Group has a tobacco-free policy and reserves the right not to hire tobacco/nicotine users in states where that is legally permissible. Candidates in such states who use tobacco/nicotine will not be considered for employment unless they enter a qualifying smoking cessation program prior to the start of their employment. These states include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Washington State.

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