AI & Innovation Program Manager, Global Markets

Nomura is a financial services group with an integrated global network spanning East and West. We serve individuals, institutions, corporates, and governments through four business divisions: Wealth Management, Investment Management, Wholesale (Global Markets and Investment Banking), and Banking. With 28,000 employees worldwide, we deliver unparalleled access to, from, and within Asia.

About the Department

Nomura's Global Markets department provides liquidity, market insights, and execution services to clients worldwide across equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities. The team focuses on innovation and technology, offering cutting-edge trading platforms and customized solutions. Specializing in market-making, risk management, and electronic trading, the Global Markets team has a strong global presence and reputation for exceptional client service.

About the Role

We are seeking a Vice President to lead the program management of AI and innovation initiatives across Nomura's Global Markets division. This role sits at the intersection of technology, business strategy, and change management, requiring collaboration with senior stakeholders, technologists, and front-office practitioners to translate innovation into measurable commercial impact. The role involves building the AI operating model for Global Markets, balancing traditional AI/ML with Generative AI and Agentic AI to deliver scalable, reusable capabilities across trading desks.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Program Leadership
  • Own the end-to-end program roadmap for AI and innovation initiatives across Global Markets (Equities, FICC, and cross-asset).
  • Prioritize and sequence initiatives using a structured scoring framework (business outcome, data readiness, governance, technology integration, strategic alignment).
  • Maintain a living portfolio view of all AI initiatives with clear stage-gates, KPIs, and cost/benefit tracking.
• Delivery & Execution
  • Translate complex business problems into agentic AI-driven solutions using orchestration frameworks and modular architecture, designing autonomous workflows, decision-making agents, and reusable platform components.
  • Drive delivery of AI/ML use cases across the trade lifecycle (pre-trade analytics, execution optimization, post-trade automation, client engagement).
  • Coordinate across technology, quant, operations, and front-office teams to remove blockers and maintain velocity.
  • Champion experimentation and iterative development, capturing learnings to feed the broader product roadmap.
• Governance & Risk
  • Partner with AI governance, compliance, and model risk teams to ensure initiatives meet risk-based tiering and approval requirements.
  • Embed governance into delivery workflows (platform-embedded, pattern-based approaches) rather than treating it as a sequential gate.
• Stakeholder Management & Communication
  • Act as the primary liaison between business and technical teams for AI initiatives.
  • Build executive reporting on initiative health, ROI, and strategic alignment.
  • Translate complex technical concepts into business value for senior leadership and front-office stakeholders.

Requirements

• 8–12+ years of experience in financial services, with significant exposure to Global Markets (Sales & Trading, Equities, FICC).
• Proven track record delivering complex, large-scale cross-functional programs with at least 2 years in AI/GenAI or digital transformation.
• Strong understanding of the front-to-back trade lifecycle (execution, capture, clearing, settlement).
• Experience with AI/GenAI implementations within Markets/Sales/Trading at a large financial institution.
• Familiarity with AI governance frameworks, model risk management, and regulatory considerations.
• Strong analytical and structured thinking; ability to build business cases, ROI models, and scorecards.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills.

Leadership Behaviors

• Explore Insights & Vision: Identify underlying causes of problems and define a clear vision for the future.
• Making Strategic Decisions: Evaluate options and prioritize actions effectively.
• Inspire Entrepreneurship in People: Motivate team members through effective communication to enhance productivity.
• Elevate Organizational Capability: Engage in professional development and promote knowledge sharing to enhance team productivity.
• Inclusion: Foster a culture of inclusion, psychological safety, and a "Risk Culture" (Challenge, Escalate, and Respect).

Pay

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $180,000 and $250,000 per year. The base pay offered may vary depending on market location, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other factors. The total compensation package may also include a sign-on bonus, restricted stock units, discretionary awards, and a full range of medical, financial, and other benefits (e.g., 401(k) eligibility, paid time off for vacation, sick leave, and parental leave).