Director, Finance Technology, Automation & AI at Wex in Washington, DC

Director, Finance Technology, Automation & AI Location: Portland, ME About Team / Role WEX is seeking a Director, Finance Technology and Automation to shape value-led roadmaps, redesign structures and ways of working, and enable finance leaders and team members with the skills, communications and change support needed to embed AI and automation into their daily operations. This role requires end-to-end ownership from ideation through deployment combining strategic program leadership, technical depth and operational execution. This role will drive global finance outcomes through strong cross-functional collaboration paired with the  ability to think at the enterprise level and work deeply in systems, data and execution. The primary objective of this role is to deliver measurable gains in productivity, operational efficiency, and business value by strategically adopting and deploying process redesign, AI and automation solutions. This leader will champion AI and automation literacy, drive a culture of continuous improvement, establish governance frameworks, measure return on investment, and ensure initiatives align with long-term vision and risk standards. How You'll Make an Impact Strategy & Roadmap: Architect the multi-year AI and automation strategy, defining a clear roadmap to drive measurable, sustained productivity gains across the global finance organization. Operating Model Design: Design and operationalize the end-to-end structure, including talent development & deployment  and streamlined workflow design, to ensure the successful and sustained delivery of scalable AI, automation and process redesign solutions. Scale & Adoption: Establish and lead a "Champions Network" and Communities of Practice across the global finance organization to accelerate adoption and scale self-sustaining AI, automation and continuous improvement capabilities. AI Literacy: Develop and execute an AI literacy strategy, equipping leaders and teams with knowledge of AI capabilities, risks and implementation best practices. Operational Efficiency: Drive operational efficiency and innovation by deploying targeted automation and process redesign to high-friction, high-value finance workstreams. Solution Deployment: Lead the technical deployment of scalable AI-powered agents and automation solutions into core systems to structurally eliminate manual effort and deliver measurable efficiency. Prioritization Framework: Design and manage a sustainable use case intake and ROI prioritization framework that ensures the pipeline focuses on opportunities yielding the highest return. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with finance leaders and stakeholders to align quarterly roadmaps, proactively resolve constraints, and secure the necessary resources for seamless deployment. Value Tracking: Define, track, and report quantifiable KPIs and financial and productivity performance outcomes Reliability Monitoring: Establish rigorous monitoring frameworks to track AI and automation reliability, task success rates, and compliance, ensuring stable and trustworthy decision-making within the financial ecosystem. Governance: Establish robust Governance Frameworks and monitoring controls to ensure automated decisions are auditable, unbiased, and fully compliant with SOX, GAAP/IFRS, and global risk standards. Enablement: Lead the "upskilling" agenda by hosting high-impact workshops and training events to significantly improve AI and automation literacy across the entire global finance organization. Team Engagement: Conduct capability assessments, manage team engagement, and utilize recognition programs to drive widespread adoption of new AI, automation tools and workflows. Talent Development: Attract, mentor, and develop a high-performing "strike team" of internal top talent and power users to build a permanent, self-sustaining Center of Excellence (CoE). Experience You'll Bring Experience: 8-12 years of progressive experience in finance operations, FP&A, accounting or finance transformation with demonstrated hands-on automation delivery. Technical Fluency: Deep understanding of AI tools, large language models, and automation platforms including machine learning fundamentals, and leading RPA platforms, combined with fluency in data automation tools and strategic application within a finance context. Complex Deployment: Demonstrated expertise in architecting and deploying complex, multi-step AI-powered or automated workflows that seamlessly integrate diverse data sources and APIs. Program Ownership: Exceptional track record of owning and driving large-scale, high-impact operational initiatives, managing the full delivery lifecycle from strategic concept to sustained, optimized performance. Talent Development: Proven success in leading, coaching, and mentoring technical and non-technical talent, demonstrated by the ability to cultivate a high-performing, future-ready team that actively drives continuous improvement and widespread adoption of transformative tools. Financial Expertise: Deep understanding of core finance processes: month-end close, consolidation, reconciliation, variance analysis, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, treasury operations and familiarity with internal control frameworks. Preferred Qualifications Finance Systems: Experience with Workday Financials, Anaplan, Snowflake, or similar finance applications, particularly integration automation with these finance systems Regulated Environments: Familiarity with regulated financial services environments (banking, payments or fintech) Advisory Experience: Big 4 advisory experience in finance process automation as a foundation, with subsequent move to industry Soft Skills & Leadership The "Art of the Possible" Mindset: Relentless ability to challenge the status quo and the "we’ve always done it this way" mentality to drive significant operational and cultural shifts. Strategic Influence: Exceptional presence; able to articulate a technical vision to a non-technical audience. Execution-Obsessed: You don't just create slides; you successfully build production-ready workflows that go live. The base pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the pay range for this position. Actual pay rates will vary and will be based on various factors, such as your qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role. Base pay is one component of WEX's total compensation package. Most sales positions are eligible for commission under the terms of an applicable plan. Non-sales roles are typically eligible for a quarterly or annual bonus based on their role and applicable plan. WEX's comprehensive and market competitive benefits are designed to support your personal and professional well-being. Benefits include health, dental and vision insurances, retirement savings plan, paid time off, health savings account, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, disability insurance, tuition reimbursement, and more. For more information, check out the "About Us" section. Pay Range: $185,000.00 - $212,900.00 Additional Locations: Washington DC, Boston, MA, New York, NY