Head of Design - LAC

  • Full-time
  • Job Family Group: Technology and Operations

Company Description

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.

Job Description

Visa is the world’s leader in payments and has made the industry’s premier commitment and investment in continuous innovation.  Its global network of 12 Innovation Centers and Studios provide an immersive experience for clients and partners to explore and accelerate their deployment of new products and technologies. Through discovery sessions to co-creation workshops, the dedicated team of product managers, engineers, and designers work with Visa’s most ambitious clients to help them win in their markets through differentiated offerings.

Visa’s Miami Innovation Center provides a premier innovation space where Visa experts partner with customers and partners throughout Latin America to create new solutions for the payment ecosystem and extend service offerings throughout the LAC region. In the center, a wide range of clients, government officials, fintechs, and other key stakeholders in commerce:

  • Engage with an immersive experience where Visa experts help customers / partners tackle their most challenging business problems and uncover new commerce opportunities
  • Learn about the most impactful global trends and innovation in payments and commerce
  • Experience new technologies that advance commerce in areas such as authentication, digital commerce experiences, security, biometrics, and fintech.
  • Collaborate with Visa subject-matter experts in a physical space designed to encourage dynamic interaction, real-time experimentation, and rapid prototyping using Visa APIs/SDKs through the Visa Developer Platform.

As a key leader in Visa’s Innovation Network, this role is an exciting senior leadership position that will drive significant impact on Visa’s Latin America business.  Functional reporting to the LAC Head of Innovation and Design and dually to the Global Head of Design, the Sr Director, Head of Design – LAC is responsible for leading the creation of new payment and commerce solutions through innovative client engagements and rapid, agile development. 

The purpose of this role is to act as an applied accelerator of new payments and commerce solutions conceptualization through the prototype development for market pilots.  This appointment will work closely with both internal and external customers, using the breadth of design tools and practices to facilitate the execution of leading concepts to new products and services that can be delivered to market.

Responsibilities:

  • Lead the LAC Design team, with primary focus on Innovation Centre engagements and new product exploration and prototyping. 
  • Define the operating model of the design organization, define design processes for workshops and rapid prototyping that supports Visa’s Innovation agenda throughout Latin America
  • Lead design-centred workshops with major clients and partners facilitating a collaborative environment that is integrates both creative and commercial, enabled through leading technologies
  • Build a team of top design talent and design practices
  • Establish a recognised thought leadership position with the ability to lead high-quality innovative concepts on the latest collaboration and prototyping tools / best practices from across different industries
  • Deliver world-class prototypes and POCs of new payment and digital commerce solutions for rapid testing and market trials
  • Demonstrate leadership in agile solution design and develop consistent, best in class assets for all design assets and systems
  • Champion Visa’s Developer Platform and Visa’s APIs as key elements of new payment and digital commercial solutions
  • Champion human-centred design principles and process internally and externally
  • Support Innovation and Solution Architecture Leads designing stakeholder strategies and requirements, translating complex concepts into commercial roadmaps that define delivery milestones and targets
  • Lead Visa’s LAC design applied understanding of emerging technologies (biometrics, augmented reality, block chain technologies, automation, machine learning, AI, etc.) in order to differentiate Visa in the wider competitive environment
  • Lead LAC Innovation Center Incubator Program to harvest ideas into new IP, products and solutions by delivering an operating design system that streamlines new product development processes and by training and coaching internal talent in HCD, design thinking and agile. 
  • Collaborate the LAC Head of Innovation and Design in building a Financial Inclusion Working Group with partners and clients to accelerate digital/financial inclusion in LAC.
  • Foster and create an environment where clients and partners are excited to partner with Visa’s Innovation Network
  • Act as an agent for change across Visa throughout LAC
  • Collaborate closely across the Global Design team on design systems, processes, best practices, and the development of top design talent.
Leadership Principels:
  • Leading by example – acting with the highest levels of integrity and taking accountability for actions and behaviours
  • Act decisively – respectfully challenge the status quo.  An advocate for changes that will benefit Visa through curiosity and boldness.  Being motivated to take risks and make quick decisions that are underpinned by fact-based and principled evidence
  • Communicate openly – promote a shared vision of the business with a clear understanding of the context on how this relates to broader goals and results that matter.  Excellent communication and listens carefully.  Actively seeks the perspective of others
  • Excel with partners – commitment to building strong relationships inside and outside of Visa, focusing on customer service excellence
  • Collaborate - across functions and geographies, acting and speaking as One Visa, breaking down silos and engaging early and regularly to align common goals and ideas
  • Enable and inspire – inspiring others to go beyond in their performance.  Provide strategic direction and constructive feedback to inspire success

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

  • 12 years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree; 10 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters/MBA/JD/MD); or a minimum of 5 years of work experience with a PhD

Required Qualifications:

  • 15-18 years of experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 12 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD or PhD)
  • Strong track record in leading teams delivering human-centred design, rapid prototyping, and new product UX/UI development
  • Experience working with Design Operations for capacity planning, productivity tools, and vendor management
  • Executive presence and ability to demo new concepts, experiences, and interactions to clients and executive management
  • Experience developing thought leadership content and industry best practices.
  • Excellent facilitator of product exploration and design validation
  • Demonstrable experience of operating in a global, matrix environment working across different geographies and functions.
  • Clear understanding and empathy of customer needs and creating the experience journey maps
  • Excellent understanding of commercial platforms and emerging technologies across the broader consumer-tech / digital / emerging-technologies / next generation commerce ecosystems
  • Entrepreneur / intrapeneur – experience of leading and setting up new initiatives that deliver commercial results, either within a large corporate or as part of an entrepreneurial advisory team.
  • Credible leader in executing proof-of-concept projects to test technical and commercial viability of solutions
  • Consulting / advisory experience in across the full stack of design disciplines and digital product design
  • Strong track record of working in technology-led, fast-paced commercial environments.  Sector agnostic but with an appreciation for next generation digital payment solutions
  • Experience delivering design in Agile developer teams
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal with the ability to influence across the organization
  • Proven ability to deliver results in changing, ambiguous circumstances

 

Resource Management:

  • 6-8 FTE and direct management accountability for management of significant external agency resources 

 

Additional Information

Physical Requirements

  • This position will be performed in an office setting.  The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers, and reach with hands and arms.

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

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