Senior Director Acceptance Product Lead CEMEA

Visa; Dubai; On-site; AED 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading payments technology company seeks a Senior Director for CEMEA Acceptance Product Lead. This role involves strategic oversight of acceptance products, collaboration with global teams, and delivery of client-centric solutions. The ideal candidate has over 15 years of payments industry experience, with strong product management skills and a Master's degree preferred. This position is a unique opportunity to influence innovations in payments across the region.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in the payments industry, with 8–10 years in product management.
• Proven track record of using data and analytics to drive insights.
• Understanding of the payments landscape in the CEMEA region.

Responsibilities

• Drive a multi-year strategy for CEMEA Acceptance.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to deliver timely Acceptance Products.
• Develop Go-To-Market strategies based on local market needs.

Skills

Product management

Data analytics

Strategic thought leadership

Understanding of payment technology

Education

Master’s Degree in business, engineering or a related field

Job description

Company Description

Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid. At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world. Join Visa and do work that matters – to you, to your community, and to the world. Progress starts with you

Job Description

What the Senior Director, CEMEA Acceptance Product Lead does at Visa:

Reporting directly to the SVP, Head of Product CEMEA, the Acceptance Product Lead will be responsible for the following initiatives areas of responsibility:

1. Execute Regional Strategy
   • Drive a multi-year strategy for CEMEA Acceptance, considering regional nuances (ecosystem, payment methods, local regulations, mix of digital payments, etc.).
   • Deliver continuous innovation and outsized revenue growth through disciplined iteration of short-term opportunities and longer-term “big bets.”
2. Partner with Global and Regional Teams
   • Collaborate with Global Acceptance Product leaders to deliver on-time, on-budget Acceptance Products.
   • Work closely with regional leaders (RPS, EA, MS&A) to build, execute, and monitor go-to-market motions so solutions are easy to sell and buy.
3. Develop and Deliver Regional Roadmaps
   • Structure solutions to address challenges among regional Acceptance clients.
   • Align regional priorities with Visa’s Global Acceptance Solutions OKRs.
   • Inform Global Product leaders of local market changes, client feedback, and product requirements.
   • Deliver best-in-class products and services that exceed client expectations.
4. Go-To-Market Execution
   • Develop GTM strategies based on local market needs (new products, bundles, campaigns).
   • Collaborate with key stakeholders (Sales, CS, Risk, VAS) to execute GTM plans.
   • Structure client implementations based on global guidance for seamless rollout.
   • Enable Visa and partner sales channels and inform pricing guidelines with market intelligence.
5. Drive Client-Centric Solutions
   • Support selling teams in understanding client business and technical needs.
   • Link Acceptance Solutions with other Visa Product Domains and Client Segments for maximum value.
   • Deliver product integration demos.
   • Lead pre-sales and oversee implementation and post-launch optimization.
6. Program Management & Governance
   • Driving product Acceptance initiatives (Visa Accept, tap-to-phone).
   • Maintain a single-source, cross-market program tracker (OKRs, milestones, budgets, risks).
   • Build dashboards to measure acceptance growth (new points, active terminals, incremental transactions).
   • Drive governance cadences with Pricing team, MS&A, Product, Risk, Finance, and Country Managers; issue clear action logs and escalations.
7. Special Initiatives
   • Instant/Same-Day Settlement: Design and implement settlement flows (Visa Direct via prepaid cards), run feasibility analyses, and partner with Risk/Compliance on KYC/KYB, AML, and fraud controls.
   • Low-Cost Acceptance Devices: Conduct vendor scans (mPOS, SoftPOS, QR), run RFPs, evaluate TCO, structure framework agreements, and pilot deployments.
8. Team Leadership
   • Build and manage a team of Acceptance Solutions specialists within the region, positioning the team as an indispensable resource for next-generation solutions.

Qualifications

15+ years of experience and at least 8 – 10 years of experience in the payments industry, preferably in product strategy, development, ideation and product management

Proven experience in product management, specifically with a track record of using data and analytics to drive insights

Established credentials in delivering product & business solutions and keen interest in payment technology & innovation

Strategic thought leadership coupled with execution bias to drive initiatives and meet key result areas

Understanding of network product, rules, technology and payment players will be advantageous

Understanding of the payments landscape in CEMEA preferred

Sound business acumen, analytical skills and keen understanding of new technology payment business models and profitability drivers

What will also help:

• Master’s Degree in business, engineering or a related field

Additional Information

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.