Head of AI, Consumer — Lead AI Strategy & Innovation

Westpac; Sydney; On-site; AUD 250,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Special offers on banking products

Flexible work arrangements

Tailored learning and development

Volunteer/community initiatives

Job summary

Westpac is hiring a Head of AI, Consumer to lead the data science and AI strategy for Home Lending, Everyday Banking, Consumer Finance and retail teams. You will guide a team of AI specialists, partner with senior stakeholders, and embed applied AI across platforms and processes.

You will drive responsible AI practices, governance, and innovation while delivering customer outcomes and operational efficiency across the Consumer division.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in building and leading AI teams.
• Deep knowledge of contemporary AI tools and techniques, including machine learning, LLMs, agentic AI, prompt design, MLOps and scalable cloud-based deployment.
• Experience deploying models and AI applications at scale in mission-critical contexts.
• Proficiency in tools such as Python, R, SQL, and data visualisation platforms.
• Strong commercial acumen and strategic thinking capability.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cultural change and uplift organisational capability.
• Passion for ethical AI and customer-centric innovation.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the business AI strategy aligned to divisional objectives.
• Lead and grow a high-performing team of AI scientists
• Drive the development of predictive models, agentic solutions, and frontier AI capabilities
• Ensure strong statistical rigour and best practice experimentation across all modelling activities
• Translate complex business problems into actionable AI solutions
• Partner with senior stakeholders across Product, Technology, Risk, and Operations to deliver impactful outcomes
• Provide advice to executive leadership on data-led strategy and opportunities
• Champion ethical AI, innovation, and responsible use of data
• Ensure compliance with AI governance and risk management frameworks
• Monitor model performance, manage risk, and drive continuous improvement

Skills

AI leadership

Machine learning

LLMs

Agentic AI

Prompt design

MLOps

Cloud deployment

Python

SQL

R

Stakeholder engagement

Ethical AI

Tools

Python

R

SQL

Data visualization tools

Job description

Westpac is hiring a Head of AI, Consumer to lead the data science and AI strategy for Home Lending, Everyday Banking, Consumer Finance and retail teams. You will guide a team of AI specialists, partner with senior stakeholders, and embed applied AI across platforms and processes.

You will drive responsible AI practices, governance, and innovation while delivering customer outcomes and operational efficiency across the Consumer division.