Director, Business Planning & Operations

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

The Director of Strategy and Ops will lead the development of forward-looking Marketing strategy and narrative in support of 2030 Strategy based on themes,

Visa is seeking a highly strategic and influential leader to help shape the future of Marketing across the U.S. and Canada. Reporting to the Senior Director of Marketing Strategy, Planning & Operations, this role serves as a trusted advisor to the North America Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Marketing Leadership Team, helping define the vision, priorities, and strategic narrative that will drive Visa's growth through 2030 and beyond.

This is a unique opportunity for an exceptional strategist who thrives at the intersection of business strategy, executive influence, market intelligence, and organizational transformation. The successful candidate will partner across Marketing, Product, Sales, Strategy, and regional and global teams to identify emerging opportunities, translate insights into action, and ensure Marketing remains a critical driver of Visa's business growth.

The Director will lead high-impact strategic initiatives, influence executive decision-making, and develop compelling narratives that shape how Visa competes, innovates, and grows in a rapidly evolving payments and commerce ecosystem. This individual will serve as a force multiplier across the organization, building the frameworks, operating rhythms, and strategic insights that enable Marketing to deliver outsized business impact.

Why This Role

This role is ideal for candidates coming from top-tier management consulting, corporate strategy, business operations, marketing strategy, or transformation environments who are energized by:

• Advising senior executives on critical business and growth decisions.
• Influencing enterprise priorities without direct authority.
• Leading complex, cross-functional strategic initiatives.
• Translating market trends and consumer shifts into actionable business strategies.
• Building executive-level narratives that inform and inspire action.
• Driving organizational effectiveness and transformation at scale.
• Working directly with senior leaders on the most important opportunities and challenges facing the business.

Enhanced Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Executive Partnership

• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the North America CMO and Marketing Leadership Team, helping shape long-term growth priorities and strategic investments.
• Develop and refine Visa's North America Marketing strategy, ensuring alignment with Visa's broader business objectives and 2030 growth ambitions.
• Lead analyses and strategic discussions on critical business issues including growth opportunities, competitive dynamics, consumer behavior shifts, brand strength, and emerging market trends.
• Translate complex market, consumer, and commercial insights into clear recommendations that influence executive decision-making.

Executive Communications & Storytelling

• Build compelling, executive-level narratives that communicate Visa's marketing vision, priorities, performance, and growth opportunities.
• Develop board-ready and executive-ready presentations, strategic frameworks, and decision support materials for senior leadership forums.
• Distill complex information into concise, actionable insights that enable informed business decisions.

Enterprise Strategy & Growth Initiatives

• Lead high-profile, cross-functional strategic initiatives that advance Visa's business and marketing objectives.
• Drive strategic planning processes, operating reviews, and executive forums that align leaders around shared priorities and measurable outcomes.
• Partner with Product, Sales, Finance, and Strategy teams to identify opportunities to accelerate growth and improve organizational effectiveness.

Organizational Effectiveness & Transformation

• Design and scale operating frameworks, governance models, and strategic planning processes that improve execution and accountability across Marketing.
• Establish and manage key performance metrics and OKRs tied to strategic priorities.
• Champion innovation, including the responsible adoption of AI capabilities that enhance organizational productivity and decision-making.

This role is Hybrid position to be located in our San Francisco, CA office location. Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager. 

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• 10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD
• Demonstrated success advising senior executives and influencing business decisions at the Director, VP, or C-suite level.
• Exceptional executive presence, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence across highly matrixed organizations.
• Proven ability to lead ambiguity, drive alignment across diverse stakeholders, and translate strategy into execution.
• Strong executive storytelling capabilities with experience creating presentations and communications for senior leadership audiences.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide strategic initiatives involving multiple business functions and competing priorities.
• Ability to synthesize large volumes of information into clear business insights and strategic recommendations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD Experience in and/or significant exposure to the payments industry preferred
• 10+ years of experience in product operations, program management, management consulting, or business operations, ideally supporting Product teams in a
• Experience in payments, financial services, technology, or other highly regulated industries is a plus.

Information for US Applicants

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