HEAD OF STRATEGY & COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS - SPAIN AND ITALY BASED

Company Description Visa is a world leader in payments and technology, with over 259 billion payments transactions flowing safely between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities in more than 200 countries and territories each year.
Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive while driven by a common purpose – to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.
Make an impact with a purpose-driven industry leader.
Join us today and experience Life at Visa.
Job Description Role Purpose The Head of Strategy and Commercial Operations is accountable for the development and execution of the cluster strategy, for the target setting and aggregate view of the sales pipeline in the cluster and for operating on behalf of the Regional Managing Director (RMD), to ensure the cluster meets or exceeds its financial (i.
., Net Revenue and Net Income growth) and scorecard goals.
This is a senior level role reporting into the RMD and a member of the Cluster Leadership Team.
Additionally, it is responsible for evolving the cluster strategy to address new strategic issues and opportunities and for building strong commercial capabilities in cluster that will significantly grow Visa’s businesses and drive revenue growth and diversification.
Further responsibilities include client engagement approach, key cluster governance and the application of performance insights to orchestrate delivery of the strategy.
Responsibilities Strategy (50%) •    Translates, shapes, and executes the Visa Europe strategy at a cluster/country level as appropriate, through a cohesive, integrated data-led approach for the short/mid/long-term to drive sustained revenue growth, client retention, regulatory engagement, and Visa industry leadership.
•    Works in partnership with the Corporate Strategy and Corporate Development teams to build strategic frameworks and content to influence, align with, and adapt functional/divisional strategies and acquisition opportunities.
•    Develops thought leadership as required to drive cluster growth.
may include country strategy, board presentations, global business reviews, and other strategic support for business development.
•    Collaborates with Commercial/Business Development Teams and other key Stakeholders on the strategic components for individual Client RFP responses.
•    Leads on orchestration of cluster business planning cycle linking Multi-year Strategic Outlook (MSO) to Annual Operating Plan (AOP) to Quarterly Business Reviews (QBR).
This includes ensuring Value-Added Services (VAS), and Commercial Money Movement (CMS) strategy, as well as Go-To-Market (GTM) plans, are fully integrated.
•    Leads on development and execution of cross functional initiatives that are of high strategic impact to business (i.
., market acceleration, GTM initiatives) and represents cluster in cross-functional forums as appropriate.
•    Works with Country Managers, Functional teams, and specialized sales teams to develop client and cluster specific business plans and targets aligned to strategy.
• Contributes to identification and capture of new Generative AI use cases in support of business growth and industry evolution.
•    Attends external speaking engagements where needed to outline Visa’s strategy, the latest trends in payments and promote our strategy and reputation.
Sales/Commercial Operations (30%) •    Owns and proactively manages the overall sales pipeline for the cluster, working with Country Managers, AEs, and BD teams to develop joined up plans which ensures pipeline meets or exceeds targets and data is of high quality to enable key sales analytics e.
., splits by country, by client, by revenue ‘buckets.
•    Fosters a strong sales and performance mindset and culture across the cluster.
•    Captures and prioritizes client feedback to inform strategy and commercial priorities.
•    Act as the lead point of contact with the Sales Excellence team for sales related queries and analysis.
•    Helps devise the sales training strategies and support required for the cluster.
Other responsibilities (remaining 20% or as required) Client Engagement •    Role provides direct client engagement to support strategy development, RFPs, or wider industry engagement.
•    As and when needed, partners with the RMD/Country Managers to create the Visa content for Client Councils.
Governance •    Responsible for defining and implementing key cluster governance e.
., cluster leadership meetings (operational and strategic), leadership team offsites and sales pipeline reviews.
•    Owns content for the cluster Quarterly Business Reviews (QBR) and may assist in the creation of content for Monthly Business Reviews (MBR).
•    Promotes a culture of continuous improvement and efficiency in driving governance simplification, enabling high quality decision making and aligning to wider corporate governance e.
., QBR etc.
•    Lead and driving adoption across sales teams of  tools including but not limited to CRM platforms, sales methodology and supporting artifacts to drive productivity, transparency, and acceleration across sales.
•    Conduct reviews to make recommendations on initiatives that will improve sales productivity in the Cluster •    Coordinate with CM to establish sales discipline across sales pipeline and targets setting  across all markets •    Establish an ongoing communication cadence with leadership team and regularly share results and learning to drive accountability across regional sales teams  Cluster Operations •    Be responsible for key cluster operational activities e.
., development of content for executive visits.
•    Ad-hoc leadership support for RMD on an exceptional basis.
•    Consulted on quality of workforce data (by Workforce Planning Lead) to identify data gaps and issues.
•    Preparing for and managing internal audits (supported by the BraC team), and risk registers (supported by Ecosystem Risk Team).
•    Identify opportunities to drive process improvement/efficiency across business area.
Performance Insights •    Identify (set) regional business performance targets (i.
., scorecard) and KPIs with the RMD for the Region and align with the Europe Hub.
•    Planning strategic investment and securing approvals, to set and achieve regional targets.
•    Responsible for being the key customer for the central data performance CoE, validating the data points and insights provided to ensure they meet required quality and to lead on applying these insights to drive execution of strategy performance.
•    Responsible for development of key performance governance material e.
., QBR.
Leadership  •    Direct line management of the cluster strategy and commercial team in alignment with Visa’s leadership principles and people leader responsibilities e.
., performance management and learning and development.
•    Part of cluster leadership team.
Strategizes and implements measures to drive performance of team and consistently nurture excellence.
This is a hybrid position.
Hybrid employees can alternate time between both remote and office.
Employees in hybrid roles are expected to work from the office 2-3 set days a week (determined by leadership/site), with a general guidepost of being in the office 50% or more of the time based on business needs.
Qualifications • 15 or more years of experience with a Bachelor’s Degree and Advanced Degree (e.
.
Masters, MBA, JD, or MD) • The ideal candidate will have in-depth experience, including significant experience in a commercial and strategy role/s within the broader payments industry or adjacent sectors where technology (digital / e and m-commerce) feature strongly in the ecosystem • Leadership of an enterprise or the commercial functions of a business where the development and deployment of the digital and customer agenda is a key driver of success • Strong financial and commercial acumen, with evidence of detailed revenue forecasting capabilities, financially literate with an excellent understanding of risk management.
• Self-starter who thrives in a fast paced environment and can lead and drive results independently.
• Experience of working in a multi-national, multi-cultural, diverse and highly-matrixed organization with the ability to make an impact and gain immediate respect and credibility • Ability to organize and manage multiple priorities • Outstanding problems solving and analytical skills with ability to drive findings into strategic imperatives.
• Experience building, leading and developing high performing teams.
Ability to work collaboratively with executives from Visa’s clients and partners to leverage Visa’s products and services in order to build broader payments solutions, and to enhance the organization’s client relationships.
• Commercially astute with experience of working in a global matrix organization with the ability to navigate complex structures and empower decision-making locally.
• A hands-on approach to all activities with real passion and high levels of energy.
Agile and comfortable adapting to different environments.
• Creative and resourceful in overcoming barriers and unexpected roadblocks.
Courageous in spirit, driving change through innovation.
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.