Head of AI

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CBD is seeking a Head of AI Enablement to define and drive an AI strategy for a UAE bank, guiding governance to production. The role reports to the C-suite, leads the AI CoE and AI Factory, and partners with technology, risk, data and line units to embed AI into decision making while upholding regulatory standards. Requirements include 12+ years in transformation within top banks or Big 4 consultancies and an advanced degree. Tips to apply: tailor your CV to show strategy-to-execution impact, ROI, portfolio management, and cross-functional influence; provide concrete use cases with outcomes and evidence of capability uplift, plus executive presence in UAE banking.

Description

Operating in the UAE for over 50 years, CBD manages the financial requirements of some of the largest corporates and businesses operating in the country, driving the UAE economy. Over the years, CBD has transformed into a progressive and modern banking institution, winning multiple awards for its digital initiatives, credit cards, bank accounts, mobile app features, and services. CBD has been recognized as the number one bank in the UAE on the Forbes list of The World’s Best Banks 2022. 

Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) has an ambition to redefine how AI is embedded, governed, and scaled within a modern bank. CBD is recognized as a regional leader in enterprise AI adoption, having been featured by Microsoft as a global transformation success story for its structured, value‑led approach to AI. With a strong foundation already in place, the Bank is now entering its next phase of AI maturity: industrialization at scale.

The Head of AI Enablement is accountable for defining and executing the enterprise‑wide AI strategy to drive sustained business value, ROI, competitive differentiation, and industrialization at scale. The role sets the vision, operating and execution model, and investment priorities for AI across the organization, ensuring AI is systematically embedded into core business strategies, products, and operating processes.

With direct C-level reporting, the role owns the establishment and performance of the enterprise AI ecosystem, including platforms, solutions, governance, talent, and strategic partnerships and acts as the executive authority responsible for accelerating AI adoption while ensuring regulatory compliance, ethical use, and resilience. As a senior level member of the bank, the role partners closely with business, technology, data, risk, and external stakeholders to translate strategic intent into measurable outcomes and position CBD as a leader in AI‑driven transformation.

Principal Accountabilities:

• Define and own the enterprise AI vision and strategy, with a clear enablement mandate to ensure AI capabilities are systematically embedded across the organization.
• Transform vision and strategy into a practical playbook that provides organizations with a roadmap, enabling CBD to enhance their teams through agents that drive performance and efficiency.
• Operates AI as a factory model. Utilizes specialized partners to establish a dedicated organization that can deliver AI solutions at scale, handling all phases from identifying use cases to deployment, optimization, monitoring, and continuous agent supervision and updates.
• Takes responsibility for overseeing the entire AI lifecycle throughout the enterprise—from prioritizing use cases and designing solutions to deployment, scaling, and realizing value—while empowering business units to be accountable for their results.
• Shift the organization from centrally driven pilots to federated, business‑owned AI delivery supported by strong central enablement
• Establish and govern the enterprise AI operating model (e.g., AI CoE, AI Factory, agent squads), clarifying roles, decision rights, and hand‑offs between central teams and business units.
• Build reusable AI platforms, tooling, standards, and accelerators that reduce dependency on specialist teams and increase delivery velocity across the enterprise.
• Enable senior business leaders to identify, prioritize, and operationalize AI use cases by providing clear frameworks, delivery support models, and value measurement approaches.
• Drive enterprise adoption by embedding AI into day‑to‑day decision‑making, operating processes, and customer journeys, supported by change and capability uplift.
• Own the enterprise AI portfolio, prioritization, and investment decisions, ensuring funding is directed toward scalable capabilities and high‑value use cases.
• Establish enablement‑focused performance metrics that track not only outcomes, but adoption, reuse, maturity, and independence of business teams.
• Build and mature enterprise AI capability by enabling skills development across leadership, business, technology, and data communities.
• Raise AI literacy at executive and board levels, ensuring informed decision‑making and effective sponsorship of AI‑led initiatives.
• Define and manage strategic partnerships with system integrators, technology providers, and ecosystem partners to accelerate capability build‑up while avoiding vendor lock‑in.
• Ensure partners contribute to internal capability uplift, knowledge transfer, and long‑term self‑sufficiency.
• Serve as the principal advisor to the bank’s executive leadership on AI strategy, enterprise capability maturity, enablement effectiveness, and emerging risks.
•  Provide clear, outcome‑focused reporting to executive committees and the board on AI progress, adoption, and value realization.
• Partner with Technology and Data leadership to shape AI platform, data, and architecture choices, ensuring they enable scalable, secure, and repeatable AI delivery aligned to business priorities.
• Define AI‑specific requirements and design principles, and ensure these are embedded into enterprise architecture standards, while advocating for interoperability, reuse, and vendor neutrality
• Partner with Risk, Compliance, Legal, and Security to operationalise responsible AI, translating regulatory and ethical requirements into practical delivery standards and controls.
• Ensure risk and compliance considerations are embedded into AI operating models and enablement frameworks, supporting rapid adoption while maintaining trust and regulatory confidence.

Requirements

Education and Experience:

• Advanced Master’s degree strongly preferred (e.g., MBA, MSC, etc.)
• Minimum 12 years of progressive experience, including senior roles driving enterprise transformation across large, complex organizations.
• Proven track record of defining and executing enterprise AI strategy, taking initiatives from pilots to scaled, production-grade delivery with measurable value realisation.
• Demonstrated experience in both regional and global banking environments, with exposure to different regulatory regimes, operating models, and customer/market dynamics.
• Experience must be within leading banks and/or top-tier consulting firms (e.g., Big 4, Accenture, or equivalent) with evidence of influencing C‑suite agendas and delivering outcomes at scale.
• Strong understanding of AI in global and UAE regulated environments, including practical experience navigating governance, privacy, compliance, model risk considerations, and operational resilience.
• Demonstrated ability to design and scale AI operating models (e.g., AI CoE / AI Factory / federated squads), balancing central enablement with business ownership.
• Executive presence with experience advising and influencing at C‑suite, ExCo, and Board levels on AI priorities, investment trade-offs, and enterprise adoption.
• Strong partner management capabilities across system integrators, technology providers, and industry bodies, ensuring capability transfer and minimizing dependency/vendor lock‑in.