Director, Performance & Programme Management

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.

What’s it all about?

The Performance & Program Director is responsible for leading a highly complex program to support our product and services teams. The role holder will work closely with Product and Client Services (CS), to develop robust operational go to market rollout plans for next-generation technologies delivered through digital and non-digital rails. The role holder will also lead the program management function supporting these initiatives providing requirements to structure key milestones and objectives, detailed plans and associated project management assets often working across Europe and the Rest of the World along with our Global CS, Product and Technology teams to establish best practice. Collaborative working with our Client Services, Product, and many more cross-functional teams both regional and global (incl. Product, Technology, Sales and Risk) is critical to the success of the role.

The Performance and Program Director is responsible for owning the performance optimisation initiatives across emerging technologies, working directly with product and CS leads to define appropriate metrics and KPI’s, deliver required tooling to monitor, apply in-depth payment knowledge to drive product performance improvement. The Performance Program Director will also lead the performance management team ensuring cross pollination of skills, learning and experience. This leader will provide coaching, mentoring and appropriate development to build a cohesive and high performing team.

The Performance and Program Director will work in close concert with Visa’s Client Services and Product teams to establish program governance, workstream pillars and lead on program oversight to support successful outcomes. The role holder will be responsible for the project manager providing day-to-day direction and ensure necessary support is in place. The Performance and Program Director will highlight any material risks and seek mitigating actions.  The communication of various program’s progress against plan is a key deliverable to ensure our internal leadership are kept fully abreast of progress and any roadblocks.

The role holder will be expected to present on program progress at various events and written mediums across the business/multiple regions and should be comfortable with this aspect which may range from frequent stand ups, town hall events, leadership team updates, and drives the monthly steering committee meetings. and may include Visa Europe board and any variation therein.

Clients in the role context, includes all issuing and acquiring financial institutions, third party processors, token service providers and requestors, strategic partners, merchants and the new Fintech entrants. This requires the Performance and Program Director to have a good understanding of Payment industry trends to be responsive to the demands of this diverse client base. The role will provide program leadership for all Consumer & VAS program activities and enable the business functions to focus on the key deliverables. As always, program leadership requires a structured and strategic individual who can pivot from the program strategic view across to the operational details to allow for constant re-prioritisation as situations evolve.  The role holder plays a prominent role in the cross functional team to shape the plan to enable the processes, collateral, communications effort, client engagement, internal engagement with legal, regulatory, corporate communications, product marketing and fraud teams (not an exhaustive list) to ensure a collective awareness of the core service fulfilment priorities and progress.

The Performance & Program Director will provide direction, motivation and support to the program and project teams, inspiring co-workers to strive for excellence and achieve challenging goals.

The role is a direct report to the Head of EU Service Experience, Consumer & VAS products in Client Services.

What we expect of you, day to day.

The Performance and Program Director has responsibility for the functional leadership of the Performance team and Program office to ensure that the programs are executed in line with the key timelines and milestones and any material variances are managed through appropriate change management. This lead position collaborates with Product, Technology, Client Services, Market teams, and our external Clients to develop a robust program plan to support the design, development and delivery of Visa’s products and services. The Program Director is responsible for driving the program team and the extended team to deliver to the agreed outcomes.

The Performance and Program Director is responsible for leading a high performing team by providing leadership, setting strategic direction, excellent influencing skills and applying a working knowledge of Visa and Visa products, systems, and procedures.

• Leads a diverse and talented performance management team, providing mentoring coaching and development for the team to develop in high calibre individuals.
• Constantly scans for new optimisation areas/opportunities across various initiatives and adapting existing programs to account for these changes.
• Works across hub and product clusters, CSM’s to provide performance management thought leadership and guidance, and enables successful optimization programs.
• Program leadership skills and experience to connect the multiple strands and ensure a positive and can-do approach from the extended cross Visa team.
• Works across Client Services, (hub) and market-based teams to enable the success of the program to include Customer Support, Technical Solutions, Service Experience, Client Success Managers, Product SMEs, Regional Cluster teams, Corporate services and our Global Product and Technology teams.
• Working with the Product and Client Services teams and ensuring we have a single voice internally and externally and can identify and remove any obstacles that may arise during the programs.
• Responsible for managing risks across programs, leaning on owners to ensure necessary mitigation is in place and seeking same where not as part of the first line of defence for Visa’s risk management model.
• Acts as a valued partner to the extended program team, able to find effective and timely resolutions to roadblocks, engaging executive leadership appropriately
• Represents the project in various program governance and inter-department forums and publishes periodic program status report.
• Encourage a culture of continuous learning and improvement across teams and maintain the latest knowledge of new products and technology.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager.

What we’re after…

• Experience in the payments eco-system and a regulated environment
• Ideally good working knowledge and preferably, experience of fraud products/payment technologies including digital credentials and authentication processing and ability to apply that knowledge to address client/market needs
• Strong technical aptitude with the ability to absorb technical information and create business solutions.
• Experience in leading complex program teams with pan -Europe reach
• Leader able to demonstrate exceptionally strong collaboration skills to operate effectively in a matrixed organisation and using influencing skills to achieve desired outcomes
• Able to set priorities, influence others, and manage B2B client expectations.
• Experience in B2B client relationship management
• Self-starter with a demonstrated ability to achieve results through leading an effective team, and ability to effectively prioritise and multi-task under deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal skills and proven abilities in negotiating with and influencing customers and staff at all levels.
• Experience using standard MS Office tools (e.g. MS Project, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Visio, etc.)
• Excellent time management, organisation, and project planning skills.

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.