Director, Strategic Market Initiatives, Visa Direct

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.

Visa will accept applications for this role until at least 05-26-2026

Job Description

Role Summary

The Director, Strategic Market Initiatives, Visa Direct is accountable for driving, and delivering Visa Direct's priority Domestic initiatives translating strategy into disciplined execution and measurable outcomes. This role serves as the owner or key stakeholder of priority strategic initiatives, ensuring alignment through partnerships across Sales, Account Management, Product, Solutioning, Commercialization, Pricing, Marketing, and ecosystem stakeholders.

This role is central to ensuring that Visa Direct's priority initiatives move from vision to reality in North America. By owning strategic initiatives end-to-end, aligning and influencing stakeholders, and driving execution through account teams and industry engagement, the Director will play a critical role in shaping market adoption, client outcomes, and Visa Direct's long-term leadership position.

The role will actively engage clients, prospects, enablers, and industry participants to reinforce Visa Direct's value proposition, influence market adoption, and drive execution through sellers, account teams and partners.

This role operates as a connective force across the organization, aligning stakeholders around shared priorities, influencing decision-making, and ensuring strategic initiatives are executed consistently through sellers, account teams, enablers, and industry engagement channels.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Initiatives & Program Ownership

• Own and drive specific Strategic Initiatives within the Domestic and EMF Visa Direct OKRs, translating strategic priorities into executable, cross-functional initiatives with clear milestones, owners, and success metrics.
• Develop domestic pricing frameworks in partnership with global pricing, product delivery, finance and sales.
• Accountable for outcomes across complex, multi-year strategic initiatives.
• Drive disciplined priority execution across Sales, Account Management, Commercialization, Solutioning, Pricing, and Enabler channels, ensuring consistent prioritization and accountability.
• Establish and maintain program governance, operating rhythms, and executive-level reporting to track progress, surface risks, and drive timely decisions.
• Proactively identify and resolve dependencies, execution barriers, and misalignment across teams.

Stakeholder Alignment & Influence

• Align and influence senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders around strategic priorities, sequencing, and execution plans.
• Partner closely with Product Delivery, Sales, and Solutioning leaders to ensure North America execution aligns with broader Visa Direct platform strategy and roadmap.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership by synthesizing inputs across teams and driving clarity, focus, and execution discipline.

Client, Account Team & Ecosystem Execution

• Engage directly and indirectly with clients, including longtail Visa Direct clients, enablers, and ecosystem partners, to accelerate adoption and execution of strategic initiatives.
• Work through Sales and Account Management teams to drive execution of strategic initiatives within priority accounts, ensuring readiness, alignment, and follow-through.
• Support priority client conversations, deal terms and pricing frameworks tied to strategic initiatives, commercialization readiness, and execution alignment.
• Influence client and partner roadmaps by clearly articulating Visa Direct's long-term vision, capabilities, and value proposition.

Marketing & Communications Partnership

• Partner closely with North America and Global Marketing, Communications, and Commercialization teams to align messaging, thought leadership, and go-to-market execution as it relates to the priority initiatives.
• Ensure consistency across sales enablement materials, external content, executive communications, and industry engagement.
• Provide strategic input into campaigns, content, and events tied to Visa Direct's strategic initiatives and market positioning.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office 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

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

8+ years of experience in strategy execution, program leadership, pricing, commercialization, or go-to-market roles within payments, financial services, or technology.

Proven experience owning and delivering large, cross-functional, multi-year strategic initiatives with measurable outcomes.

Strong understanding of real-time payments, money movement, or payments ecosystems preferred.

Demonstrated ability to align and influence senior stakeholders across a matrixed organization.

Credibility engaging with clients, partners, and industry stakeholders at executive levels.

Exceptional leadership, communication, and execution skills, with the ability to translate strategy into action.

U.S. Applicants Only

The estimated salary range for this positionis $153,600 to $273,200 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity.Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.

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

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protect veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the EEOC guidelines and applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.