Country Manager

Mastercard Inc.; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Mastercard Inc. seeks a Finland Country Manager to lead strategy, operations, and performance for the Finnish market. You will manage FI relationships, drive initiatives, and position Mastercard as a trusted leader in payments while aligning with regional leadership.

You will oversee regulatory compliance, market growth, and cross-functional collaboration, reporting to the cluster lead. A strategic, influential leader with P&L ownership is essential.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership delivering market growth and P&L ownership.
• Ability to craft and execute country strategies with cross-functional alignment.
• Strong commercial judgment and ability to translate strategy into results.
• Extensive experience engaging with C-suite, regulators, and key stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of Finland’s regulatory environment and policy landscape.
• Experience building high-performing, inclusive teams and leadership pipelines.
• Excellent communication and influence across diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive Finland country strategy to drive revenue, market share, and product diversification.
• Lead FI business and align local initiatives with global priorities and performance targets.
• Create a cross-functional country forum to align on market initiatives and execution.
• Monitor regulatory changes and ensure compliance across Mastercard Finland operations.
• Build robust relationships with customers, regulators and authorities at the C-suite level.
• Represent Mastercard at events to position the brand as a payments innovator and thought leader.
• Own FI P&L and country goals, report performance to leadership, and budget accordingly.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic Vision

Commercial Acumen

Regulatory Acumen

Stakeholder Management

Team Leadership

Talent Development

Communication

Job description

Our Purpose Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Country Manager

About the Role

The Country Manager for Finland will lead Mastercard’s operations, strategy, and performance in the Finnish market. Reporting to divisional leadership, this role serves as the primary point of contact for Mastercard in Finland, managing Financial Institutions (FI) and driving strategic initiatives that position Mastercard as a trusted and innovative leader in the payments ecosystem. This role involves setting Finland´s country strategy, fostering strong relationships with key stakeholders, ensuring regulatory compliance, and achieving ambitious financial and market share objectives. The role reports directly to the Scandinavia, Finland and Baltics Cluster Lead.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic and Market Leadership Develop and execute a comprehensive strategy for Finland, driving revenue growth, market share, and product diversification.
• Lead the Financial Institutions business, aligning local initiatives with divisional and global priorities.
• Create and manage a country-specific cross-functional forum to align on and deliver market initiatives.
• Monitor the regulatory landscape, ensuring compliance and proactively addressing changes impacting Mastercard’s operations.
• Business Development and Relationship Management Build and maintain robust relationships with diverse stakeholders, including customers, regulators, and authorities at the C-suite level.
• Leverage Mastercard’s suite of products and services to forge innovative partnerships and drive business development.
• Represent Mastercard at customer-facing and industry events, positioning the company as a thought leader in the payments space.
• Regulatory and Brand Advocacy Drive Mastercard strategic position in the Finnish market, and in collaboration with Marketing and Communication shaping the brands overall image and perception to enhance the brand preference.
• Advocate for Mastercard’s public policy agenda in collaboration with the central public policy team, engaging with regulators to advance key priorities.
• Establish a reputation as an expert in Norway’s payments ecosystem, serving as a key ambassador for Mastercard.
• Operational and Financial Accountability Own the FI P&L and country-specific goals, ensuring consistent revenue growth and effective financial planning, budgeting, and reporting.
• Regularly report market performance, strategic insights, and key initiatives to divisional leadership, ensuring alignment with regional objectives.
• Foster operational excellence by promoting collaboration across multi-functional teams and aligning resources to achieve local and divisional goals.
• Team Leadership and Culture Inspire, lead, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and innovative culture.
• Identify and nurture talent, building a pipeline for leadership within the market and across the region.

What You Bring

• Leadership and Strategic Vision Demonstrated success in a leadership role with overall responsibility for a single market or small cluster of markets, including P&L ownership.
• Proven ability to craft compelling strategies and execute them to achieve sustained market growth and success.
• Commercial and Market Expertise Track record of delivering innovative solutions to customer challenges, creating business opportunities, and driving measurable outcomes.
• Extensive experience fostering relationships with C-suite executives, regulators, and other influential stakeholders.
• Regulatory and Industry Acumen Deep understanding of Finland´s regulatory environment and proven success engaging with government and regulatory bodies.
• Team Leadership and Talent Development Experience inspiring and leading cross-functional teams, fostering collaboration across organizational levels and diverse skill sets.
• Proven success in hiring, developing, and retaining talent while creating an inclusive and innovative work environment.
• Communication and Broader Impact Exceptional communication and influencing skills with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders internally and externally.
• Experience translating strategies into operational plans and ensuring successful execution across teams.

Why Mastercard?

At Mastercard, we drive innovation to make payments safe, simple, and accessible for everyone. As the Country Manager for Finland, you will play a pivotal role in shaping Mastercard’s growth and impact in the Finnish market while contributing to the broader Northern Europe Division’s success.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must: Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices; Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed; Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

Everyone wants easier ways to pay; we invent them. Checkout lines are slow; we speed them along. Merchants want more sales; we give them data and insights. People need financial access; we connect them. Corporate purchasing is complicated; we make it simple. Commuters are busy; we speed them on their way. Governments need greater efficiencies; we help create them. Small businesses are virtual; we give them access to a world of buyers. Retailers want to fight fraud; we provide the tools.