Strategic Payments Consulting Lead - Analytics & Growth

Jobtailor; Ashburn (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) in Ashburn, VA, seeks a senior strategy consultant to serve as strategic advisor to U.S. financial institutions, leading engagements from strategy through implementation.

You will translate data into insights, shape executive-level narratives, manage scopes and teams, and develop scalable offerings across payments, risk, and product domains.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor Degree or 5+ with an Advanced Degree or 2+ with a PhD.
• 9+ years with a Bachelor or 7+ with an Advanced Degree or 3+ with a PhD preferred.
• 3–5 years of consulting experience in payments background.
• Experience engaging mid-to-senior level stakeholders at regional banks and credit unions.
• Ability to own engagements and manage multiple responsibilities across sales and delivery.

Responsibilities

• Serve as strategic advisor and thought partner to U.S. financial institutions.
• Lead consulting engagements from strategy through recommendations.
• Develop strategic frameworks and points of view for client questions.
• Own client engagements by setting direction, scope, timelines, and guiding teams.
• Translate complex data into actionable insights and recommendations.
• Partner with analytics, data science, marketing, risk, innovation, and product teams.
• Collaborate with Visa account and regional leaders to identify consulting opportunities.
• Shape strategic narratives, create executive-level presentations, and support Statements of Work.
• Develop scalable consulting offerings, toolkits, and reusable best practices.
• Share insights and lessons learned to strengthen Visa Consulting and Analytics’ intellectual capital.

Skills

Strategy consulting

Payments domain

Stakeholder management

Executive communication

Project ownership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree

PhD

Tools

PowerPoint / Presentations

Excel / Analytics

Financial modeling

Job description

• Serve as a strategic advisor and thought partner to U.S. financial institutions
• Lead consulting engagements from strategy definition through recommendations
• Develop strategic frameworks and points of view for clients’ critical business questions
• Own client engagements by setting direction, defining scope, managing timelines, and guiding teams
• Translate complex data into actionable insights and recommendations
• Partner with analytics, data science, marketing, risk, innovation, and product teams
• Collaborate with Visa account and regional leaders to identify consulting opportunities
• Shape strategic narratives, create executive-level presentations, and support Statements of Work
• Develop scalable consulting offerings, toolkits, and reusable best practices
• Share insights and lessons learned to strengthen VCA’s intellectual capital and market relevance

Requirements

• 8 or more years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor Degree, or at least 5 years with an Advanced Degree, or 2 years with a PhD
• Preferred: 9 or more years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor Degree, or 7 or more years with an Advanced Degree, or 3 or more years with a PhD
• 3–5 years of consulting experience and payments background
• Experience engaging mid-to-senior level stakeholders at regional banks and credit unions
• Ability to operate with ownership, adaptability, and accountability across sales and delivery responsibilities
• Strong prioritization and operational discipline across multiple clients, engagements, and business development activities
• Knowledge of banking operations and/or payment schemes, including products and services, business systems and processes, and marketing initiatives
• Excellent client relationship management skills and ability to develop credible industry points of view
• Strong analytical skills and demonstrated intellectual and analytical rigor
• Executive presence with excellent written, verbal, communication, and presentation skills
• Demonstrated leadership, managerial, and collaboration capabilities in a matrixed organization
• Experience in payments business areas including portfolio management, marketing, product management, operations, and risk management for credit and debit cards
• Experience using financial indicators to measure business performance with focus on return on investment
• Ability to travel 5–10% of the time

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in strategic consulting for financial institutions, with a strong focus on payments, client relationship management, and the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights. Proven leadership and collaboration skills in managing client engagements and developing scalable consulting offerings.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Consulting Experience
• Payments Background
• Client Relationship Management
• Analytical Skills
• Leadership Capabilities

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Strategic Framework Development
• Data Analysis
• Business Performance Measurement
• Portfolio Management
• Risk Management
• Product Management
• Marketing Initiatives
• Operational Discipline
• Executive-Level Presentations
• Stakeholder Engagement

Soft Skills

• Ownership
• Adaptability
• Accountability
• Communication Skills
• Collaboration

Industry Keywords

• Banking Operations
• Payment Schemes
• Financial Institutions
• Credit and Debit Cards
• Market Relevance
• Business Systems
• Sales and Delivery
• Consulting Offerings
• Intellectual Capital
• Engagement Management