As the world's leader in digital payments technology, Visa's mission is to connect the world through the most creative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company's dedication to innovation drives the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and fuels the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce.

At Visa, your individuality fits right in. Working here gives you an opportunity to impact the world, invest in your career growth, and be part of an inclusive and diverse workplace. We are a global team of disruptors, trailblazers, innovators and risk-takers who are helping drive economic growth in even the most remote parts of the world, creatively moving the industry forward, and doing meaningful work that brings financial literacy and digital commerce to millions of unbanked and underserved consumers.

You're an Individual. We're the team for you. Together, let's transform the way the world pays.

Visa seeks a Head of Corporate Reputation and Crisis Management to advance crisis preparedness, and lead communications on a broad range of issues, including litigation, introduction of regulation, and service disruptions. The successful candidate will also work proactively to enhance the company’s reputation by managing corporate news surrounding mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships. The jobholder will be responsible for identifying and tracking potential threats to the organization, assisting with the development protocols and processes to mitigate those threats, and partnering with others in the organization on response efforts. 

We seek to hire a team member who is equal parts fire fighter and storyteller. We want the person who can run a tight war room but do so with an eye toward an aspirational narrative. The successful candidate understands that the best way to solve a crisis is to constantly build a story that connects influencers to the brand and builds reputation over time. 

The Head of Corporate Reputation and Crisis Management will work to leverage the company’s research initiatives to benchmark and track reputation, then use that data to find new opportunities and potential challenges. The position reports to the Vice President, Corporate Communications, Visa Europe, and will partner with Visa’s Regional and Global Corporate Communications, Legal, Risk and Government Relations teams.  

This job requires a mid-senior level communications practitioner with the ability to counsel senior executives in mission critical moments. The ideal candidate demonstrated issues management and crisis communications experience for a well-established company/brand, and global experience is highly preferred.

Summary of Responsibilities:

Crisis Communications and Preparedness

·       Lead Visa’s crisis communications strategy in Europe and execution 24-hours a day. This includes:

-      Serve as the corporate communications liaison to the company’s cross-functional crisis response group.  

-      Ownership and maintenance of Visa’s Crisis Communications Playbook

-      Schedule and manage annual crisis communications training for the Europe Corporate Communications team

-      Manage response to quarterly crisis communications audits by European regulators

-      Management of relationships with crisis communications agencies

-      Ongoing management of social media listening and alert tools and processes

-      Regularly conduct vulnerability assessments and develop contingency plans to address the most pressing potential scenarios.

-      Provide senior level counsel to management during times of crisis

Reputation, Issues and M&A Communications

·       Partner with the global VP of Reputation and Risk, and the global corporate communications team, to establish tools and processes to identify and monitor a full range of issues with the potential to negatively impact the company’s reputation and brand.

·       Develop company positioning on key issues – working in partnership with Visa regional and global leadership and key business partners.

·       Identify opportunities to position Visa as a thought leader and force for good, and demonstrate the positive impact Visa has on consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments around the world.

·       Collaborate with the Government Relations team to draft position papers and develop consistent messaging and communication framework on key legislative and regulatory issues/developments

·       Lead and/or support corporate announcements impacting Europe, such as mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships

·       Act as European liaison to the global investor relations and global corporate media relations team

·       Bachelor’s degree; Minimum 15 years public relations/communications experience.

·       Expertise developing global crisis communications plans, programs and policies. The company is looking for someone to go beyond the basic planning and help it think in new, dynamic ways about managing its reputation and responding to crises.

·       Experience applying best practices related to crisis preparation and response.

·       Track record of successfully managing communications during times of crisis in a global, matrixed organization. Calm and cool under pressure, and has strong experience counseling executives in crisis situations. Attention to detail is critical.

·       Experience managing teams, with a passion for developing talent and building career paths.

·       Comfortable operating in a matrixed environment.

·       Understanding of how to use data and research to drive efforts.

·       Experience partnering with legal, government relations and public affairs partners.

·       Deep understanding of European regulatory frameworks for data security and privacy; experience in payments or financial services industry a plus.

·       Outstanding media relations skills and relationships, with experience engaging reporters on a regular basis on challenging issues. Experience as a company spokesperson required.

·       Skilled at using social media / content creation to advance reputation goals and in response to crisis situations.

·       Track record developing and implementing compelling narratives to advance corporate reputation.

·       Ability to communicate information effectively and accurately, verbally or in writing across multiple disciplines. Can synthesize large amounts of data and distill key points clearly, succinctly and quickly.

·       Proven ability to think ahead, engage proactively and take initiative

·       Capable of achieving results in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, often on short deadlines