AI Risk & Governance Lead

Mizuho; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 310,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Discretionary bonus

Total rewards package

Job summary

Mizuho is seeking an AI Risk & Governance Lead to shape a single enterprise-wide framework across borders. You will own the global operating model, drive regulatory alignment, and partner with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Privacy and Technology across regions.

You’ll lead a multi-jurisdiction governance program, translate policy into regional operating models, and ensure consistent AI governance practice while reporting to the Head of the AI Center of Acceleration.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in regulatory, legal, compliance, risk or technology risk in global financial services.
• Experience leading AI or technology governance across international jurisdictions.
• Qualified lawyer or former regulator a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own design and build of the global AI governance operating model, policy, standard and procedure.
• Define AI regulatory applicability per jurisdiction across AI, data protection, resilience and outsourcing.
• Lead regional AI governance liaison networks and cross-border risk governance.
• Deliver global governance reporting to senior leadership and boards.

Skills

EU AI Act

GDPR & DORA

AI governance knowledge

Stakeholder influence

Cross-border governance

Regulatory framework design

NIST RMF

ISO 42001

Job description

Join Mizuho as an AI Risk & Governance Lead!

Mizuho is building one enterprise-wide approach to AI across every business, function, and jurisdiction in which it operates. A central function pairs with a federated regional structure, so one framework applies wherever AI is built, bought, embedded, or shared, with regional overlays, not divergent local procedures.

Built to meet U.S. supervisory expectations, the framework is now extending into the UK, EU, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mexico and Brazil. These jurisdictions raise obligations the U.S. framework doesn't, and must reconcile with it, not sit alongside it.

In this role you will report to the Head of the AI Center of Acceleration as senior accountable owner for Mizuho's global AI governance operating model, and as principal subject matter expert on AI's cross-jurisdictional regulatory landscape. This is a First Line of Defense role: you operate as a domain owner, not a coordinator. You own the framework and the determinations behind it; independent risk and internal audit challenge them, and you are expected to withstand that challenge on the record.

You own that operating model as a single enterprise standard and design the regional overlays meeting local obligations without fragmenting it.

A key part of this role is understanding how AI is actually being adopted across the businesses, including what arrives embedded in vendor products or outside intake. You drive the vision and roadmap for global AI governance, engaging directly with business, Legal, Compliance, Risk, Privacy, and Technology stakeholders across regions.

Key Responsibilities

Global Framework & Regulatory Applicability

• Own design and build of the global AI governance operating model, Policy, Standard, and Procedure, as one enterprise standard, including in the U.S.
• Build regulatory applicability and classification analysis across jurisdictions, including EU AI Act provider/deployer determination, for Legal and Compliance sign-off.
• Maintain a documented applicability position per jurisdiction across AI legislation, data protection, resilience, and outsourcing.
• Reconcile conflicting requirements across entities and jurisdictions, and set standing positions so routine calls are made in-house, not routed to outside counsel.

Operating Model & Transformation

• Define and execute the multi-year roadmap so governance scales with the pace of AI adoption.
• Translate the framework into a regional operating model: role charters, decision rights, escalation triggers, and intake so use cases enter correctly classified.
• Act as change agent across the international footprint, driving consistent AI governance practice.

Cross-Border Risk & Vendor Governance

• Define AI-specific requirements for cross-border transfer, data residency, and model hosting, partnering with Data Privacy and Information Security on implementation.
• Work closely with the Data Management Office to align AI governance with enterprise data standards, data ownership, quality, lineage, and approved data usage requirements.
• Define jurisdictional AI vendor governance requirements, contract protections, notice of material capability change, end-user terms, for Legal and Procurement to execute.

Governance, Reporting & Regulatory Change

• Serve as the global AI governance authority to the firm's senior leadership and regional governance committees, holding a standing seat at the forums where AI use cases are approved, escalated, or stopped.
• Deliver consolidated global AI governance reporting on control status and key risk indicators to management and entity boards.
• Act as principal AI governance subject matter expert for supervisory examinations and audit.

Reporting Structure / Leadership Responsibilities

• Lead the Regional AI Governance Liaisons and the regional Legal, Risk & Compliance subject matter expert network, ensuring jurisdictional coverage and clear accountability.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance, Risk, and regional business leadership to secure staffing and local ownership for the model.
• Build and develop a team of AI governance professionals supporting the international regions.

Demonstrated Skills

• Deep understanding of the EU AI Act, including the provider and deployer boundary, classification methodology, and deployer obligations.
• Deep understanding of GDPR and DORA, including cross-border transfer, data residency, and ICT resilience requirements for AI.
• Working knowledge of AI, data protection, outsourcing, and technology risk requirements across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Asia-Pacific, including Japanese FSA expectations applying to the group as home-country supervisor.
• Ability to build defensible regulatory determinations in-house, with enough fluency in generative and agentic AI to challenge a risk assessment credibly.
• Experience leading AI, technology, or model governance transformation at enterprise scale, including operating model design and organizational build.
• Experience in a foreign-headquartered or dual-supervisory institution, working across home-country and host-country reporting lines.
• Strong ability to influence senior stakeholders across Legal, Compliance, and Risk without formal authority over those functions.
• Working fluency in AI governance frameworks and standards such as NIST AI RMF and ISO/IEC 42001.

Qualifications

• 15+ years experience in regulatory, legal, compliance, risk, or technology risk roles within global financial services, including 8+ years in a management role (Dir/ExecDir).
• Substantial experience with AI, model, or technology governance, including accountability for a framework.
• Experience establishing or leading a governance function across multiple international jurisdictions, including supervisory examination or entity board engagement.
• Qualified lawyer or former regulator a plus.
• Recognized AI governance or privacy credential (e.g., IAPP AIGP, CIPP/E) a plus.

The expected base salary ranges from $200k-$310k. Salary offers are based on a wide range of factors including relevant skills, training, experience, education, and, where applicable, certifications and licenses obtained. Market and organizational factors are also considered. In addition to salary and a generous employee benefits package, successful candidates are eligible to receive a discretionary bonus.

Other Requirements

Mizuho has in place a hybrid working program, with varying opportunities for remote work depending on the nature of the role, needs of your department, as well as local laws and regulatory obligations. Roles in some of our departments have greater in-office requirements that will be communicated to you as part of the recruitment process.

Company Overview

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. is the 15th largest bank in the world as measured by total assets of ~$2 trillion. Mizuho's 60,000 employees worldwide offer comprehensive financial services to clients in 35 countries and 800 offices throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia. Mizuho Americas is a leading provider of corporate and investment banking services to clients in the US, Canada, and Latin America. Through its acquisition of Greenhill , Mizuho provides M&A, restructuring and private capital advisory capabilities across Americas, Europe and Asia. Mizuho Americas employs approximately 3,500 professionals, and its capabilities span corporate and investment banking, capital markets, equity and fixed income sales & trading, derivatives, FX, custody and research. Visit www.mizuhoamericas.com.

Mizuho Americas offers a competitive total rewards package.

We are an EEO/AA Employer - M/F/Disability/Veteran.

We participate in the E-Verify program.

We maintain a drug-free workplace and reserve the right to require pre- and post-hire drug testing as permitted by applicable law.