Director, Strategy and Ops

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.

The Director of Strategy and Ops will lead the development of forward-looking Marketing strategy and narrative in support of 2030 Strategy based on themes, cultural and commerce trends, and emerging customer & client needs through seamless cross functional collaboration with Sales, Product regional & global Teams. The Director will own workstreams of key strategic initiatives (e.g., Consumer & B2B marketing strategy development, client and leadership forums) and ensure the NA Marketing leadership team is equipped with data and insights to meet the business & brand objectives. This person is expected to work horizontally, scaling the frameworks, tools, and processes that empower Marketing function to deliver growth imperatives. This role is ideal for someone passionate about building the connective tissue that enables high-performing organizations.

The position reports to the Senior Director of Marketing Strategy, Planning and Ops and will be based in Visa’s San Francisco, California. The Strategy, Planning and Ops team partners with Marketing leadership to: (1) develop and refine the overarching medium-term and long-term marketing strategy to tackle the toughest strategic questions facing Visa’s business in the U.S. and Canada. (2) design and manage a cohesive operating plan, and (3) address matters that require executive attention. Strong candidates are versatile team-players who learn fast, have high EQ and IQ, and carry a demonstrated record of driving workstreams.

 Essential Functions

• To power the next phase of Visa’s growth, continue to develop and refine a clear marketing strategy to leverage Visa’s historic strength in consumer and B2B payments to re-position the brand as a leader in all forms of digital payments and money movement.

• Provide functional thought leadership to NA CMO and Marketing Leadership team to tackle toughest strategic challenges including brand strength, consumer and B2B trends

• Work with marketing leadership to construct and maintain a coherent view of market opportunity and our ability to address them by customer segment and market, incorporating market/competitive intelligence, and customer insights/VOC, and potential threats

• Set and manage OKRs/KPIs for marketing initiatives related to 2030 Strategy, track performance, and drive corrective actions  

• Define and own the learning agenda in partnership with Insights and Analytics team to drive innovation and leadership of Visa’s Brand among these next gen of consumers and strategic segments

• Advance AI in NAM organization—prioritize use cases, define guardrails and success metrics, pilot and scale within approved tools

• Structure and solve a wide array of business problems by collaborating with a range of internal stakeholders. Organize and prioritize critical information, issues, and data to facilitate efficient decision making. Build out unique, creative, and impactful recommendations.

• Create and deliver executive updates—concise, decision‑ready readouts with impacts, risks, and clear asks

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

Basic Qualifications:
10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD
Preferred Qualifications
• 112 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD
• Experience in and/or significant exposure to the payments industry preferred
• 10+ years of experience in product operations, program management, management consulting, or business operations, ideally supporting Product teams in a technology environment
Business Acumen
• Strong command of financial, market and consumer data and frameworks with the ability to grasp and distill complex issues.
• Prior experience with business strategy and business operations
Problem Solving
• Excellent analytical skills and experience cleaning, evaluating, joining and drawing conclusions from multiple data sets.
• Structured thinker with robust conceptual thinking skills.
• Attention to detail and the ability to structure and analyze financial, operational, and market data
Relationship Building
• Ability to engage, influence, and inspire teammates.
• Ability to build relationships at senior levels across functional areas including product, sales, strategy, and finance
• Ability to navigate complex and matrixed organizational structures
Communications
• Strong executive communication and presentation skills. Impeccable written and oral communication
• Ability to tell compelling, simple, elegant stories to internal and external audiences leveraging strong visual design skills.
• Ability to craft compelling, executive-level communications in short time frames.
Execution
• Excellent project management and program management skills and experience in leading cross-functional projects.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with multiple competing priorities.
• Self-starter, team oriented, collaborative, diplomatic, and flexible
• A hands-on approach to all activities with an unwavering passion for excellence.

This position is not eligible for sponsorship.”

Work Hours: Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements: This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements: This position will be performed in an office setting.  The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.

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.

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.

U.S. APPLICANTS ONLY: The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is 178,300.00 to 258,800.00 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401 (k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.