Sr. Director, Financial Analysis

VISA; Dubai; On-site; AED 250,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Visa is seeking a Senior Director, CEMEA Planning COE Lead to drive regional financial planning strategy and execution. The role oversees driver analysis, governance, and analytics, aligning regional plans with global targets and delivering standardized solutions across regions.

The successful candidate will manage a four-person team, partner with regional finance stakeholders, and lead digital and process transformation within the Planning COE.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading regional financial planning teams
• Strong understanding of expense strategy, driver analysis, quality control and governance
• Analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to interpret financial data
• Experience implementing planning processes across multiple regions and business units
• Experience driving innovation and digital transformation in financial planning

Responsibilities

• Deliver global transformation initiatives: design, build, and deploy standardized solutions.
• Lead regional planning operationalization and execution across regions and functions.
• Drive cross-functional projects to create and adopt global standards and solutions.
• Partner with regional finance teams and stakeholders to support planning needs and provide data-driven insights.
• Establish and maintain quality control measures and governance for regional planning activities.
• Own key deliverables and projects to drive a unified standard across regions.
• Foster a culture of innovation and adapt planning strategies to changing environments.
• Lead and develop a team of 4 FTEs with coaching and career development.

Skills

Regional planning leadership

Data analytics

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Change management

Digital transformation

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree (MBA, JD, MD, or equivalent)

Job description

About Us

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

Overview

The Senior Director, CEMEA Planning Center of Excellence Lead is a key leadership position within our Planning Center of Excellence (COE), reporting to the VP of Planning COE. This role is responsible for driving strategic direction and operational excellence in regional financial planning processes across the organization. The successful candidate will help develop and adopt a set of common practices across all regional teams. They will both advocate for and gather business requirements for their region AND help shape the unified solution.

The CEMEA Planning COE Lead will be responsible for overseeing critical partnership activities, driving consistency (with respect for regional nuance) in expense and revenue strategy, driver analysis, quality control, process governance, and analytics. This position requires a strategic thinker with strong leadership and relationship management skills, capable of overseeing the development and implementation of comprehensive regional planning strategies that align with overall organizational financial goals. The role involves optimizing planning processes, ensuring high-quality outputs, and providing data-driven insights to inform strategic decision-making at the regional level.

Essential Functions

• Deliver global transformation initiatives: design, build, and deploy standardized solutions.
• Regional Planning Operationalization and Execution: Lead the development and implementation of comprehensive regional planning strategies, ensuring alignment with organizational financial goals and consistency across regions, business units, and corporate functions.
• Cross-functional Leadership and Process Optimization: Drive projects to create and adopt global standards and solutions managing critical functions including expense strategy, driver analysis, quality control, and process governance. Continuously improve and standardize regional planning processes for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in partnership with the regional teams and leaders.
• Stakeholder Collaboration and Insights Delivery: Partner with regional finance teams and other stakeholders to support their planning needs. Leverage data-driven insights and analytics to inform strategic decision-making and provide actionable recommendations. Shape and develop systems requirement.
• Quality Control and Governance: Establish and maintain robust quality control measures and governance frameworks for regional planning activities. Ensure accuracy and understanding of specific regional financial performance indicators, organizational structures and market drivers.
• Ad-Hoc Ownership and Project Leadership: own key deliverables and projects on behalf of the broader Planning COE agenda beyond local representation to drive a unified standard across all regions and teams.
• Change Management: Foster a culture of innovation across the Finance community. Quickly adjust planning strategies in response to changing business environments and organizational priorities, maintaining high performance and resilience.
• Talent Development: Lead and develop a team of 4 FTEs, providing coaching, mentoring, performance management, and career development. Foster a high-performing, inclusive culture while building capabilities, supporting succession planning, and ensuring team members are positioned for growth and increased responsibility.

Visa requires at least 4 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

Qualifications

• 15 or more years of experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 12 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, or MD); PhD with 9+ years of experience
• Proven experience in leading regional financial planning teams and processes within a large, complex organization
• Strong understanding of expense strategy, driver analysis, quality control, and process governance in financial planning
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex financial data and provide actionable insights
• Experience in implementing and optimizing planning processes across multiple regions and business units
• Experience in driving innovation and digital transformation in financial planning processes.

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.