Director, Payments Consulting

Team Summary

Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) drives tangible, impactful and financial results for Visa’s network clients, including both financial services and merchants. Drawing on our expertise in strategy consulting, data analytics, brand management, marketing, operational and macroeconomics, Visa Consulting and Analytics solves the most strategic problems for our clients.

The India & South Asia (InSA) Consulting Market team within Visa Consulting & Analytics provides consulting and solution services for Visa’s largest issuers in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan & Maldives. We apply deep expertise in the payments industry to provide solutions to assist clients with their key business priorities, drive growth and improve profitability. The VCA team provides a comprehensive range of consulting services to deliver solutions that address unique challenges in areas such as improving profitability, strategic growth, customer experience, digital payments and running risk. 

You will join our consulting team and play a role in delivering and implementing high impact projects and solutions with client across the Payments Ecosystem which includes Issuers, Acquirers, Merchants, Fintechs etc. This person will develop initiatives to promote balanced and profitable growth, thereby ensuring that Visa is both, the preferred brand and outstanding business partner. The main objective of the role is to help deepen client relationships, identify consulting opportunities and optimize client performance by helping them implement campaigns and strategies recommended by Visa. This role is based in our Mumbai office and reporting into the Head of Strategy & Advisory, VCA India & South Asia.

What a Client Consulting Director does at Visa:

The three responsibility areas are :

• Drive business and pipeline development of Visa’s Consulting and Advisory services with specific revenue targets as per the annual plans for India
• Lead high-impact solutioning & delivery that meet the high standards leading to high NPS & repeat engagements
• Develop Consulting practice area within the assigned client cohort & contribute to Thought Leadership

Your responsibilities will include:

• Using VISA and external data to analyze client needs across the focus markets and identify opportunities for consulting assignments with VISA’s key clients
• Develop a pipeline of projects in partnership with the Client Relationship Management teams, deliver engagement proposals and secure new consulting assignments with clients, as well as re-engagements opportunities via a consultative sales approach
• Lead regular strategic & planning discussions at client level collaborating with internal Visa teams and key stakeholders at clients
• Diversify VCA’s advisory offerings by developing new practices within payments consulting and develop framework, go to market and commercial model around the same
• Lead delivery of secured consulting projects - resolve complex strategic problems, synthesize and manage complex project structures when required. Manage, facilitate and implement consulting services and meet engagement deliverables (engagement objectives, project scope, budget, paperwork, external consultants' supervision and project delivery)
• Where appropriate, work with designated practice areas in VCA to incorporate best practice, source analytical or other services and leverage global consulting solutions
• Design and deliver compelling presentations to illustrate findings, ideas, recommendations within consulting engagements and more broadly, at times physically support implementation at the client site
• Collaborate cross-functionally (marketing, sales, risk, client services, products & innovation) and across global regional teams to execute projects in ways that use the breadth and depth of Visa’s resources
• Collaborate with other VCA team members ensuring the delivery of high quality consulting deliverables
• Commercialize new ‘set plays’ that are rolled out across InSA clients
• Liaise with VISA functional teams (Finance, Audit, Legal, Tax, Sourcing) to define and implement processes to optimize the daily engagement of vendors and the relationships with clients

Potential projects could include portfolio management diagnostics, assessments of digital product and marketing strategies, product design and launch, development of industry landscape evaluations to inform payments strategies, and optimization of client customer experience and supporting processes. 

Why this is important to Visa

Visa is committed to meeting a broader set of our client’s needs which in turn help to diversify our revenue. Visa Consulting and Analytics is a leading contributor to achieving this strategy. The Client Consulting Director is responsible for delivering this objective for India and South Asia clients.

What you will need: 

Having already accumulated a variety of experience, you will be curious about the payment industry and keen to work alongside an experienced team in gaining a deeper understanding. You will be comfortable in presale consulting engagement, delivery of a project, managing a project end to end and relish the opportunity to work closely with clients to influence their future performance. As a Director for your practice, you should be a strong leader, working with client senior management team, and internal client relationship and account executives in Visa.

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.

Specific skills and experience you will bring are:
• At least 12 years of solid experience gained preferably within the financial services practice of a top-tier consulting firm having moved swiftly through ranks OR at a large Indian, regional or global financial institution and/or financial technology company. A combination of regional and global experience strongly desired
• Deep consulting skills and client engagement capabilities. Advanced client management, project management and presentation skills
• Strong network and credibility within financial services clients in India and diplomatic skills to extract desired outcomes. Comfortable interacting with and presenting to senior management of clients and VISA
• Superior analytical and problem solving skills, with demonstrated intellectual and analytical rigor
• Strong team leadership skills with a collaborative, diplomatic, and flexible style and able to work effectively in a matrixed organization
• Curious, up to date with Indian payment landscape with a point of view on what & how of client priorities & problems
• Financial acumen with experience managing a P&L.
• Detail oriented, ensuring the highest level of quality/rigor in reports and data analysis
• Self-motivated, results-oriented individual with the ability to progress multiple priorities concurrently
• Strong commercial acumen, with experience in working on business/value cases that prove ROI
• Relevant depth of experience in at least one of the following areas: digital sales/marketing, merchant acquiring / small business customer segments, data analytics and/or credit risk management
• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively with inter-disciplinary groups
In addition, you will ideally bring the following:
• Strong consulting toolkit (e.g. hypothesis driven analysis & problem solving, stakeholder management / facilitation and project management skills)
• Significant understanding of data analysis, modelling, and technology in payments, and cloud technology, etc.
• Experience using financial indicators to measure business performance with a significant focus on impacting return on investment
• Knowledge and understanding of banking operations and/or payment schemes, including products & services, business systems and processes, marketing initiatives and card issuing experience

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.