Job Title: Business Operations Lead, Innovation & Design - Level 6

Job Code: REF15486U

Skill Category: Innovation

Location: London

Job Type: Permanent

Posting Start date: Monday 28th January 2019

Closing Date: Monday 25th February 2019

Salary: Competitive plus Benefits

As Head of Business Operations for the Innovation & Design group, you’ll be the key point of contact for all enquiries and engagements for the Visa Innovation Center and innovation projects that our team run.  You’ll work with Visa Country Managers, function leads and colleagues from around Europe to develop and execute the pipeline of engagements for the Center.  You’ll be responsible for managing our schedule of programs, and will lead the conversations and actions that drive our busy calendar of partner visits.  You will take responsibility for executing key processes and frameworks, managing regional and global reporting and other important operational tasks to ensure we are running efficiently and effectively as a team.  You’ll also ensure that we actively communicate and educate our stakeholders (internal and external) on the value of our engagements, and how to best work with our team and the Visa Innovation Center.

The role will suit someone who is proactive and enthusiastic, loves working in a fast-paced environment, has a hunger to constantly learn and develop, has a high level of attention to detail and is a natural collaborator.  You need to be a flexible and creative thinker, agile in your approach to your work and highly focused on execution and delivery.  If you relish a challenge, would like a career that offers you new experiences and opportunities every day, and if you’re not afraid to try your hand at new things….then read on.

Responsibilities

• Be the frontline of the Visa Innovation Center engagement journey. You’ll manage inbound demand by building the pipeline of engagements for the Center across Tours, Discovery Sessions and Co-Creations, both reactively through business-led requests and proactively by working with Country Managers, Product Leads and client teams to identify engagements that align with country / regional objectives
• Discuss and develop all engagement requests with business contacts - scope them to ensure strategic fit and alignment with our criteria, manage the calendar of engagements (against facility availability and team resources), and brief the various internal teams on the requirements of each engagement (e.g. brief Engagement Managers on business objectives, brief Facility Operations on requirements etc)
• Work with the Innovation & Design Leadership team to define priority business topics / strategy for client engagements, particularly co-creations
• Assist with project management and team resourcing allocation amongst Innovation & Design projects, ensuring that the resources to deliver the pipeline of engagements are aligned.  Engage Visa SMEs to be involved as required
• Share weekly schedules with the team to ensure visibility on the Innovation Center and in-market engagement calendar 
• Manage financial processes for the team, including client contractual fund deployment and team budgets
• Develop high quality, client-friendly materials to showcase the value, process and scope of Innovation Engagements (communication and education)
• Work with internal teams to educate client-facing staff on the role and value of the Innovation & Design function
• Curate the overall client engagement experience across all touch points, working with colleagues and cross-functional teams to deliver best-in-class engagements
• Manage a team that overseas Marketing and Communications functions for the Innovation & Design Group
• Manage a team that overseas facility and operations functions for the Innovation & Design group
• Develop and maintain a schedule of events to engage and excite the Innovation & Design ecosystem – internal and external / community events
• Innovation & Design regional and global reporting and scorecard management, as well as post-engagement tracking of client project roll out and go-to-market plans

The Ideal Candidate…

• Lives, loves, and believes in the transformative power of technology for the good of the world
• Works well in a fast-paced, fun and creative environment and team
• Has excellent attention to detail and operational / project management skills
• Highly organised and efficient at managing multiple tasks / projects at the same time, with a focus on execution and delivery
• Ability to communicate effectively across multiple stakeholders and mobilise a team / project effectively
• Possesses strong business acumen and financial management skills
• An understanding and/or willingness to learn about and apply Human Centered Design principles to your work
• A client-first approach across everything you do
• A friendly, open and collaborative approach to your work

• Degree qualified
• Significant innovation program management
• Proven program/project management skills