Merchant & Acquirer Processing (MAPPD) is a globally-distributed division of over 700 team members within Visa’s Technology & Operations organization. We are the innovation engine behind the merchant solutions platforms, CyberSource and Authorize.Net.

The Senior Director, Head of PMO, is responsible for ensuring that MAPPD’s programs and projects are planned, managed, and governed in a consistent, transparent, and disciplined manner. The position requires an experienced program management professional with the right mix of relevant experience and skills, an ability to flex between the strategic and the tactical, outstanding verbal and written communication skills, and a high level of energy and flexibility to get things done and thrive in a fast-paced, team-oriented product development environment. S(he) will be a program management leader who embodies Visa’s leadership principles of leading by example, communicating openly, enabling and inspiring others, exceling with partners, acting decisively, and collaborating effectively.

In this role, s(he) will manage a team of Technical Program/Project Managers who use Agile Development Methods and the Scrum Framework to deliver critical, customer facing, enterprise software development projects to our production systems. S(he) will lead efforts to improve our processes, making our teams highly productive and also champion the adoption of engineering practices like Continuous Integration and Test Driven Development.

As the leader of the PMO, s(he) will foster collaboration across global business and technology organizations, providing sound analysis and change leadership.  Building and maintaining strong internal customer relationships is essential as this position will work with Business Partners, internal staff and system integrators on a daily basis to ensure delivery of quality products in alignment with global initiatives and requirements across the enterprise

S(he) will be responsible for hiring top talent and keeping the organization highly engaged and motivated, delivering exceptional results.  The ability to work across functions and teams will allow him/her to ensure alignment of priorities and goals, drive results and foster a culture and environment to achieve excellence and innovation.

RESPONSIBILITIES

·        Provide leadership and oversight to a team of technical program/project managers who use agile practices and the scrum framework for the planning, execution and delivery of products.

·        Work with Business Sponsors to develop project roadmaps that align with business objectives/priority and take into account resource availability.

·        Overall responsibility for planning, executing, tracking and managing cost, schedule, and scope for all projects in the portfolio.

·        Direct project portfolio activities, conduct reviews, and use strong technical and business acumen to manage risk and address escalated impediments.

·        Enforce consistency and standardize processes across the team and the broader project management organization.

·        Drive improvements in software development practices/processes within teams and across the organization.

·        Drive the adoption of key engineering practices like Continuous Integration, Test Driven Development, etc. to improve quality and reliability of team’s deliverables.

·        Responsible for coaching and mentoring of local technology leaders on Agile/Scrum/Lean principles and practices.

·        Manage HR and Performance aspects of employees.

·        Mentor and guide local managers through their career paths.

Minimum Qualifications:

·        Bachelors or Masters degree with a STEM focus (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math).  MBA is a plus. 

·        15+ years of relevant work experience in either Program, Project or Portfolio management.

·        Previous experience in managing a large portfolio of projects (over $20 million).

·        5+ years of technical leadership experience ideally from a development or test engineering background.

·        10+ years of experience hiring, training, mentoring and managing a project team of 10 or more members. 

·        Exceptional knowledge of Agile/Scrum/Lean principles and practices.

·        Solid understanding of project management techniques, methodologies, and best practices.

·        Excellent ability to understand architectural and technical aspects of projects.

·        Strong knowledge of SDLC principles and practices.

·        Deep experience in managing complex programs delivered by globally distributed teams.

·        Strong leadership qualities and organizational skills as well as the ability to adapt quickly to changing priorities, assignments, and roles.

·        Demonstrated ability to succeed in a complex organization where the ability to discover and internalize diverse stakeholder goals is critical to brokering solutions that are in the best interest of Visa as a whole.

·        Independent judgment and mature decision making skills to deal with programs that often have enterprise-wide scope and may have significant financial and compliance impacts.

·        Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills. In particular, a demonstrated ability to effectively communicate technical and business issues and solutions to multiple organizational levels internally and externally as needed to support the strategic goals.

Desired Qualifications:

·         Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is strongly preferred. PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM),Scaled Agile Framework Program Consultant (SAFe SPC), Certified Stanford Advanced Senior Program Manager (SAPM), and/or Lean Six Sigma certifications also preferred. 

·         Strong knowledge of Rally and Jira planning tools.

·         Experience with online/ecommerce, payment processing, and/or financial systems

·         Experience working with offshore consulting firms on large scale and complex projects.

·         Previous experience as a small business merchant and international work experience are a plus.

All information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.