Director, U.S. Retail Sales and Business Development (North America Merchant)

**Director, U.S. Retail Sales and Business Development (North America Merchant)**

Business Development

Full-time

Date: Job Number: REF001047W **Company Description**

As the world's leader in digital payments technology, Visa's mission is to connect the world through the most creative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company's dedication to innovation drives the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and fuels the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce.

At Visa, your individuality fits right in. Working here gives you an opportunity to impact the world, invest in your career growth, and be part of an inclusive and diverse workplace. We are a global team of disruptors, trailblazers, innovators and risk-takers who are helping drive economic growth in even the most remote parts of the world, creatively moving the industry forward, and doing meaningful work that brings financial literacy and digital commerce to millions of unbanked and underserved consumers.

**You're** an Individual. **We're** the team for you. **Together**, let's transform the way the world pays.

**Job Description and Responsibilities**

The Director of U.S. Retail Sales and Business Development for North America (NA) Merchant, is responsible for executing and maintaining sales, CRM, co-brand, and acceptance strategies for a significant portion of Visas mid-tier retail client portfolio. This position will require vision and creativity to increase Visas acceptance and co-brand revenues, grow Visa usage and drive new payment solutions to address opportunity areas for incremental business. This role will report to the Vice President of U.S. Retail Sales and Business Development and work in partnership with the Senior Director of Retail Sales to develop and execute a partner sell through strategy and will also work directly with key subject matter experts (SMEs) from functions across Visa such as Specialized Sales, Global Co-brand & Partnership Development, Product, Finance, Legal, Marketing, CyberSource, and Customer Support teams. Externally, this role will collaborate with senior client executives.

**Key Responsibilities:**

* Consultatively prioritize merchant needs and deliver scalable solutions that address merchant pain points, grow the mutual business of Visa and our merchants, and help achieve key Visa financial and strategic objectives

* Foster strong relationships within the merchant organizations, as well as within the Visa organization.

* Proactively manage the ongoing needs of your merchants and provide guidance to internal teams to ensure high quality customer service on all matters ranging from strategic to executional.

* Identify merchant investment & partnership opportunities that will jointly benefit merchants and Visa, develop appropriate business cases and forecasts, advocate for funding, track performance/return of invested funds, and use learnings to inform future investments. Gain alignment & merchant buy-in.

* Collaborate with internal partners to further the Retail team strategy, identify and cultivate new merchant growth opportunities, and sell Visa products and services. Collaborate with those partners to develop and implement account plans for priority accounts.

* Establish fluency in all Visa merchant-facing solutions. Collaboratively define responsibilities for various merchant outcomes with internal partners. Articulate merchant needs and influence product/capability road maps by leveraging merchant feedback.

* Be a voice for the mid-tier Retail accounts and their needs/pain points/opportunities to all applicable Visa SMEs.

* Participate in sales meetings, industry conferences and training activities.

* Lead and/or support various ad-hoc internal projects as assigned

**Qualifications**

**Minimum Qualifications:**

10 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

**Preferred Qualifications:**

10 + years business experience with related sales and management experience in the payments industry or similar experience in consulting.

An MBA degree is preferred.

Demonstrated experience working with merchant clients, particularly with senior executives across different functions.

Exceptional ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with senior executives inside and outside of Visa, and effectively represent Visa and its purpose

Strong industry knowledge of POS and eCommerce acceptance solutions.

Strong knowledge of Operational and IT payment processing environments.

Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with an emphasis on translating insights, product information and data into client value.

Strong negotiation skills, with the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and influence people both internally and externally, particularly senior executives

Skilled story-teller with experience communicating the benefits of Visa's products and solutions

Proven ability to plan, manage and close large-scale, complex, competitive sales effort and negotiate business agreements.

Proven ability to develop and implement strategic initiatives, policies and operational decisions for a major segment.

Demonstrated proficiency in managing & summarizing the financial indicators necessary to measures business performance including P&L responsibility and accurately forecasting major sources of cost, revenue and risk.

Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 10+ years of relevant experience, including sales and/or co-brand relationship management for retail merchants. The candidate should have a strong customer focus, an awareness of the trends influencing the retail industry, and a strong understanding of retailers acceptance costs and co-brand economics. The candidate should have a proven track record of selling to and managing retail clients/accounts, developing relationships, and driving solution sales. The candidate should also have knowledge of the current and emerging retail payment ecosystems, as well as the economics driving Visas performance among Retail clients.

Director of U.S. Retail Sales and Business Development for NA Merchant must be an excellent collaborator and natural team player with superb influencing and interpersonal skills. The successful candidate will be a thought leader who is both strategic, as well as tactical; who is extremely organized with strong attention to detail, yet able to work in a fluid, creative, and innovative environment.

In terms of the performance, personal competencies, academic and other skills required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Business Acumen

Curious with a strong analytic orientation and understanding of the Retail ecosystem

Strong executive presence and exceptional written and verbal communication skills

Strong technical skills including a strong understanding of the Payments Ecosystem and how it impacts Retail clients

Strategy

Exhibit strong thought leadership, analytical skills and ability to develop and sell net new strategies for her/his assigned accounts

Knowledge of key competitor actions and their implications and threats

An understanding of the organization's market position, opportunities, capabilities, and competitive threats

Executing for Results

Strong project management skills: organized, with excellent attention to detail

Balanc