Director, Head of Risk Strategy CEMEA

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.

Position Overview

Lead the strategic vision and thought leadership for risk management across Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA), establishing risk as a best-in-class function while driving innovation and strategic thinking in the rapidly evolving payments landscape.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Vision & Planning: Develop and articulate comprehensive risk strategy pillars for the current financial year with a clear multi-year roadmap, aligning risk initiatives with broader business objectives and market trends.
• Thought Leadership Development: Establish the organization as a recognized industry leader in risk management by creating compelling narratives, frameworks, and strategic insights that differentiate our approach to risk.
• Content Management: Develop and oversight a comprehensive content management framework that covers creation of high-quality thought leadership content, development of a centralized content repository and delivery of content through various channels including digital platforms, white papers, research reports management presentations, executive briefings, and industry publications.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Develop and serve as a custodian of a comprehensive stakeholder governance framework designed to accelerate execution at speed and drive high-quality outputs. Proactively engage with, challenge, and query diverse subject matter experts to develop valuable insights and transform complex subject matter into consumable, audience-appropriate content that drives strategic impact.
• Strategic Event Planning & Market Mapping: Develop strategic plans and themes for industry events, conferences, webinars, and client roundtables to showcase our risk capabilities and drive meaningful industry dialogue. Create a strategic view of all client events, conferences, and engagements, mapping these initiatives against identified market needs and opportunities to ensure optimal coverage while developing and pairing quality content that resonates with target audiences.
• Objectives and Key Results (OKR) and Budget Management: Drive the creation of OKRs for Regional Risk Officer and ensure these are consistently cascaded throughout the CEMEA Risk Organization. Work with the CEMEA Risk Leadership team to define strategic initiatives that map to the OKRs. Be the custodian of the expense budget for the CEMEA Risk team and map them to the effective delivery of OKRs.

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

Core Strategy & Experience Requirements

• Strategy Consulting Background: 12+ years of hands-on strategy development and execution experience at top-tier management consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) or equivalent strategy roles at major multinational financial institutions.
• Educational Foundation: Advanced degree (MBA, MS, or equivalent) from a top-tier institution with strong analytical and quantitative foundation.
• Industry Experience: Deep experience in financial services required. Payments industry experience is advantageous but not essential. Risk management experience is a strong plus but not mandatory for candidates with exceptional strategy credentials.

Leadership & Execution Capabilities

• Self-Starter Mentality: Proven ability to independently identify opportunities, develop comprehensive strategies, and drive implementation without constant supervision or guidance.
• Results-Driven Approach: Demonstrated track record of delivering measurable outcomes and driving strategic initiatives from conception to successful completion in fast-paced, complex environments.
• Entrepreneurial Drive: Self-motivated individual with a strong ownership mindset who thrives in ambiguous situations and can build strategies and frameworks from the ground up.

Communication & Analytical Skills

• Storyboarding & Narrative Development: Exceptional ability to synthesize complex information into compelling, coherent storylines and strategic narratives that resonate with diverse audiences from technical experts to C-suite executives.
• Executive Communication: Outstanding written and verbal communication skills with proven experience presenting strategic recommendations to senior leadership, board members, and external stakeholders.
• Content Creation: Strong capability in developing high-quality thought leadership materials, strategic frameworks, and executive-level presentations.

Stakeholder Management & Strategic Thinking

• Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration: Proven ability to effectively work with and influence diverse stakeholder groups including senior executives, product teams, technology leaders, sales organizations, regulatory affairs, and external partners.
• Trend Analysis & Synthesis: Exceptional capability to rapidly analyze and synthesize information from multiple disparate sources, identifying key market trends, competitive dynamics, and strategic opportunities in rapidly evolving business environments.
• Strategic Agility: Ability to quickly adapt strategic approaches and recommendations based on changing market conditions, regulatory landscapes, and evolving business priorities.
• Market Intelligence: Strong capability in monitoring, analyzing, and translating complex market developments, regulatory changes, and competitive movements into actionable strategic insights.

Additional Preferred Qualifications

• Experience organizing and leading large-scale industry events, conferences, and client engagement activities
• Track record of building and leading high-performing strategy or consulting teams
• Strong network within financial services and payments ecosystem
• Experience with digital transformation initiatives and emerging technology trends

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.