Sr. Director - Global VCA Strategy

Visa; Ashburn (VA); On-site; USD 179,000 - 369,000; Full time

Job summary

Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) is seeking a Senior Director, Global Strategy to shape and govern VCA's global strategy, operating model, and performance agenda. The role partners with executives to define priorities, multi-year bets, resource and location strategy, and governance.

The Senior Director will translate priorities into roadmaps, OKRs, and accountable governance across regions. The ideal candidate leads with structured thinking, influences executive decisions, and aligns global and

Qualifications

• 12+ years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 10+ years with an Advanced degree, or 5+ years with a PhD.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise strategy, global planning, operating model design, or performance management.
• Experience working with senior executives and cross-functional leadership teams to influence decisions.
• Strong understanding of consulting, professional services, or advisory business models, including growth strategy and profitability drivers.
• Experience developing executive-level materials, strategic recommendations, and governance routines.

Responsibilities

• Lead global strategic planning and execution governance with executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Redesign and evolve the global operating model to meet client needs and profitability objectives.
• Define future-state organizational structure, leadership roles, and reporting lines.
• Govern global resource and location strategy including headcount planning and geographic presence.
• Define cross-functional objectives and performance metrics aligned with Visa and VCA goals.
• Orchestrate cross-functional alignment across VCA and Visa with senior stakeholder relationships.

Skills

Executive-level strategic thinking

Structured problem-solving

Analytical rigor

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Ambiguity management

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Advanced Degree (Masters/MBA/JD/MD)

PhD

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:

Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) is seeking a Senior Director, Global Strategy to help shape and govern VCA's global strategy, operating model, and performance agenda. The role will partner with executive leadership, regional leaders, and cross-functional teams to define strategic priorities, "big rocks," multi-year bets, resource and location strategy, cross-functional targets, and execution governance.

The Senior Director will govern the execution of VCA's strategic agenda, translating enterprise priorities into integrated roadmaps, measurable outcomes, executive governance routines, and accountability mechanisms across global and regional teams. Quarterly Business Reviews will serve as a strategic forum to assess progress against OKRs, align leadership on key trade-offs, identify enterprise risks and dependencies, and drive follow-through on critical decisions.

The ideal candidate is a senior strategy leader who can bring structure to ambiguity, influence executive decision-making, and align global and regional stakeholders around VCA's priorities and Visa's broader strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead VCA global strategic planning and execution governance, defining growth priorities, "big rocks," and multi-year strategic bets with executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders, and translating them into actionable roadmaps, performance metrics, governance routines, and accountability structures across global and regional teams.
• Lead the redesign and ongoing evolution of the global VCA operating model, ensuring the organization is structured to deliver against client needs, commercial priorities, regional growth ambitions, profitability objectives, and scalable delivery models.
• Define the future-state organizational structure for VCA, including leadership roles, governance forums, decision rights, reporting lines, spans and layers, accountability models, and interfaces with regional teams and adjacent Visa functions.
• Define and govern the global VCA resource and location strategy, including headcount planning, workforce allocation, hiring priorities, capability needs, geographic presence, and investment trade-offs across regions, markets, and practices, ensuring alignment with client demand, talent availability, delivery requirements, financial plans, and strategic growth priorities.
• Lead the definition and governance of cross-functional objectives, targets, and success metrics across VCA, translating strategic priorities into measurable outcomes, clear ownership, execution milestones, accountability routines, and direct alignment with broader Visa and VCA objectives.
• Orchestrate cross-functional and regional alignment across VCA and Visa, building trusted senior stakeholder relationships to ensure VCA's strategy, OKRs, resource plans, and operating model decisions are integrated with Visa's broader priorities, regional realities, and execution requirements.
• Lead the Quarterly Business Review process, including executive agenda setting, performance narrative, regional and functional input synthesis, progress against OKRs, identification of risks and dependencies, and follow-through on leadership decisions.
• Create frameworks to evaluate strategic bets and investment priorities, including business impact, financial implications, capability requirements, sequencing, market readiness, risks, and execution feasibility.
• Lead organizational effectiveness and continuous improvement efforts across VCA, identifying opportunities to simplify operating routines, strengthen governance, clarify accountabilities, scale delivery models, improve productivity, enhance strategic planning and reporting, support better leadership decision‑making, and increase business impact.
• Lead special strategic initiatives on behalf of VCA leadership, including growth acceleration, profitability improvement, capability development, organizational transformation, performance management and cross‑functional transformation efforts.

Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• 12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or at least 10 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters/MBA /JD/MD), or a minimum of 5 years of work experience with a PhD.

Preferred 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
• Bachelor's degree required, ideally in business administration, economics, engineering, finance, mathematics, science, or another quantitative or analytical discipline from a top-tier institution.
• 12-18+ years of relevant experiencein management consulting, corporate strategy, business transformation, financial services, payments, technology, professional services, or a related strategic function.
• Proven experience leading or materially contributing toenterprise strategy, global business planning, operating model design, organizational transformation, or performance managementin a complex, matrixed organization.
• Demonstrated experience working withsenior executives and cross-functional leadership teams, including the ability to influence decision‑making and align stakeholders across regions, functions, and business units.
• Strong understanding ofconsulting, professional services, or advisory business models, including growth strategy, capability development, workforce leverage, delivery models, productivity, resource allocation, and profitability drivers.
• Experience developing executive‑level materials, strategic recommendations, business cases, governance routines, and performance narratives for senior leadership forums.

Required Skills:

• Executive-level strategic thinking and structured problem-solving, with the ability to bring clarity to ambiguous business challenges.
• Strong analytical rigor and business judgment, with comfort interpreting financial, operational, organizational, and performance data.
• Excellent executive communication, storytelling, and presentation skills, with the ability to create concise, decision‑oriented materials for senior audiences.
• Strong stakeholder management and change leadership skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships, influence without authority, align leaders across a matrixed global organization, and support adoption of new ways of working.
• High degree of ownership, initiative, and accountability, with a self‑motivated and results‑oriented working style.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities concurrently, balancing strategic initiatives with time‑sensitive executive deliverables.
• Strong collaboration and team orientation, with the ability to work effectively across functions, regions, and leadership levels.
• Sound judgment and discretion, particularly when handling sensitive strategy, organizational, resource, and leadership topics.
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguity, bringing structure, prioritization, and momentum to complex topics.

Information for US Applicants

For roles located in the US, the estimated salary range for this position is $179,300 to $369,000 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.

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