Cybersecurity Advisory - Practice Lead CEMEA

Visa is a world leader in payments and technology, with over 259 billion payments transactions flowing safely between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities in more than 200 countries and territories each year. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive while driven by a common purpose – to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

Make an impact with a purpose-driven industry leader. Join us today and experience Life at Visa.

Visa is hiring a Senior Director to establish and lead a Cybersecurity Consulting Practice within our Consulting & Analytics team. This role will be responsible for developing Visa’s cybersecurity consulting capabilities, including services and go-to-market strategies aimed at helping our clients across financial services, fintech, and merchant ecosystems enhance their security posture in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.

This is a high-impact leadership role for an individual with deep cybersecurity domain expertise, strong consulting background, and a track record of building and scaling practices or offerings. The ideal candidate will bring a blend of technical insight, business acumen, and strategic vision to guide clients and internal stakeholders alike.

Key Responsibilities

Build Practice Strategy

• Define and execute the vision, strategy, and roadmap for Visa’s cybersecurity consulting practice.

• Identify key market trends, customer pain points, and regulatory drivers to shape service offerings, paying attention at the regional diversities and prioritizing main CEMEA markets

• Build scalable consulting methodologies and frameworks tailored to different client segments.

Deliver Cybersecurity Advisory Services

• Serve as a senior advisor to Visa’s clients on cybersecurity matters, including and not limited to: threat assessment, function strategy and framework design, threat detection, and incident response.

• Oversee delivery of complex cybersecurity engagements, ensuring high-quality results and client satisfaction.

• Represent VCA in industry forums, conferences, and publications as a thought leader in cybersecurity and risk

Partner with Other Visa Functions

• Partner with Visa client AE teams and VCA geographic teams to identify and convert new business opportunities in the cybersecurity advisory space

• Partner with other VCA practices and with Visa Risk & Identity team to create holistic solutions and bundles and to serve clients with a One Visa approach

Partner with Cybersecurity leads from other Visa global regions to ensure cross fertilization of solutions and idea.Build a strong Cybersecurity advisory team

• Build and lead a high-performing team of cybersecurity consultants and analysts.

• Mentor and develop talent foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence.

• Establish metrics to track performance, engagement, and client impact.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager.

Basic Qualifications
-12+ years of professional experience in cybersecurity, including at least 5 years
in management or consulting leadership roles
-Proven experience building and/or scaling a cybersecurity consulting practice
or offering from the ground up
-Demonstrated success in client-facing roles, particularly with C-level
stakeholders in financial services or technology
Education & Credentials
-Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Security, or a
related field. Master’s or MBA preferred.
Industry certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, or equivalent are highly
desirable.
Skills
-Exceptional communication and storytelling skills ability to explain complex
technical issues to non-technical stakeholders.
-Strong understanding of cybersecurity frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001, etc.),
threat intelligence, and security architecture.
-Entrepreneurial mindset with strong business acumen and strategic thinking.
Team leadership and talent development expertise in a matrixed or global
environment

Preferred Qualifications
-Prior experience in payments, banking, or fintech industry.
-Familiarity with regulatory environments across multiple markets (e.g., GDPR,
PSD2, PCI-DSS).
-Experience in multiple of the CEMEA

Visa is an EEO Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.