Common Purpose, Uncommon Opportunity. Everyone at Visa works with one goal in mind – making sure that Visa is the best way to pay and be paid, for everyone everywhere. This is our global vision and the common purpose that unites the entire Visa team. As a global payments technology company, tech is at the heart of what we do: Our VisaNet network processes over 13,000 transactions per second for people and businesses around the world, enabling them to use digital currency instead of cash and checks.

We are also global advocates for financial inclusion, working with partners around the world to help those who lack access to financial services join the global economy. Visa’s sponsorships, including the Olympics and FIFA™ World Cup, celebrate teamwork, diversity, and excellence throughout the world.

If you have a passion to make a difference in the lives of people around the world, Visa offers an uncommon opportunity to build a strong, thriving career. Visa is fueled by our team of talented employees who continuously raise the bar on delivering the convenience and security of digital currency to people all over the world. Join our team and find out how Visa is everywhere you want to be.

Group Overview                                                                                                              Part of the global Solutions org, Visa Innovation & Design is a global client facing organization that sets Visa’s public innovation agenda, supports our clients accelerate their innovation agenda and transform their consumer digital experiences, and promotes hands on incubation and rapid prototyping to demonstrate the art of the possible for clients and partners. Innovation & Design runs innovation centers in various regional offices, this function focuses on Visa’s CEMEA region.

Position Summary                                                                                                            The Visa Innovation & Design group in CEMEA hosts and co-creates with a wide range of guests including Banks/Financial Institutions, Merchants, Technology Providers, the Fintech and Startup community. Operating out of the Dubai Innovation Center, Moscow Studio and the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the team acts as the “front of shop” for Visa innovation engagements.The SSA team serves the needs of the large, fast-paced and strategically important Sub Saharan Africa market. It advocates Visa’s innovation vision and priorities, understand clients and partners’ needs and supports them in their innovation journey. 

A key member of the Innovation & Design Leadership Team for CEMEA and reporting directly to the Head of Innovation for CEMEA and SSA Head of Products, this individual is the face of the Innovation of Visa in Sub Saharan Africa. The individual will be a key point of contact for clients, visitors, internal stakeholders who want to engage the Innovation & Design team’s services.  The individual will also run engagements with C-suite clients and partners, and play a key role in running the team’s operations and P&L management.

The ideal candidate brings deep experience and reputation as an innovation thought leader, excellent client partner, a sterling people manager, and demonstrated results in bringing real innovations to market. 

The ideal candidate brings a deep passion for technology and payments, a futurist view, the ability to understand and capture trends in their respective industries and a broad understanding of (or aptitude for) Visa’s capabilities and assets. They bring excellent presentation and facilitation skills, and the ability to run high-impact client sessions.  They also bring a strong operational background and interest, including project management, pipeline management, management reporting, event management and contracts. Experience in having run innovation centers, agile sprints and innovation consulting teams is a huge plus.The individual will also work with internal stakeholders to conceptualize and support the go-to-market of new solutions for the Sub Saharan African market. Lead the team and serve a leadership role in engagements with senior/executive level clients, across the various engagements types (from 30 minute demonstrations to multi-week co-creations).

The individual will also be business’s key point of contact for requesting the SSA Innovation & Design team’s services, and will own the team and  project pipeline. This will also involve reporting the team and group’s updates and projects to global and regional teams.He/she will work with minimal guidance in a fast paced, ambiguous work environment, and will have the ability to independently translate high level guidance into detailed deliverables. He/she will demonstrate good interpersonal skills and executive presence.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Reporting directly to the CEMEA Head of Innovation and SSA Head of Products, this individual is a key member of the regional Innovation team serving 92 countries. A key ‘face of innovation’ for C-suite clients, partners and internal stakeholders, the individual also helps define and execute operations. This individual also reports to the SSA Head of Products and is a key partner in local solution development.

INNOVATION PIPELINE & REVENUE MANAGEMENT

• Deliver against value-in-kind revenue targets, established in partnership with the Sub Saharan Africa leadership and CEMEA Innovation Leader
• Run the pipeline, engagement intake, and value-in-kind contract management: Serve as the key point of contact for the business to request Innovation & Design team projects and all events
• ­Establish a clear point of contact and intake process for anyone requesting Innovation & Design services
• ­Work closely with the regional Innovation & Design lead to establish a pipeline strategy & operating model
• ­Educate internal stakeholders on the SSA Innovation & Design offerings and intake process
• ­Ensure that 100% of engagements are taken in through a programmatic process
• ­Establish a pipeline review cadence and transparent process for intake and team allocation on projects
• ­Help the team achieve VIK (value-in-kind) targets by working with requestors to estimate, assign, and draw down VIK through the contracting and billing process

TEAM AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

• As a people leader, demonstrate excellent people management skills and aptitude
• ­Potentially manage direct reports and indirect reports working on project teams
• ­Groom junior talent on the team
• ­Establish an inclusive and collaborative culture
• ­Make the innovation & design team an employer of choice through a supportive and nurturing leadership style
• Collaborate with CEMEA Innovation Leader to standardize and evolve the SSA Innovation & Design offerings
• Establish clear reporting and transparency of SSA Innovation & Design team activities, including:
• Standardized reporting to product groups
• Specialized reporting such as monthly / quarterly newsletters to broader audience
• Annual reporting and ROI measurement
• Frequent updates to, and engagement with Sub Saharan Africa and CEMEA Innovation leadership
• Find additional ways to evangelize the work of innovation and design teams

• Approximately 13-20 years commercial experience with at least 8 years in a strategy/innovation consulting or advisory roles
• Proven capabilities in leading design thinking/co-creation engagements with virtual teams that include Managers and Executives at senior levels – communication, presence, thought leadership and gravitas
• Proven experience in managing large & diverse teams; ideally experience managing creative teams of designers and developers
• Substantial client facing experience with the ability to translate client and partner needs into meaningful problem statements, engagements and tangible collaboration/prototyping outcomes
• Experience running customer experience centers focused on helping clients solve real business issues
• Outstanding facilitation skills, ideally with formal training and sprint management experience
• Strong project/program management skills to successfully manage multiple, concurrent work streams
• World-class client-facing skills and proven ability to engage with C-level executives and drive commercial outcomes
• Degree qualified in business and/or design. Post graduate qualifications highly desirable
• Experience evaluating a technology landscape, preferably within payments and ecommerce
• Passion for technology, futurist view and intellectual curiousity
• Marketing, comms and events experience is a plus