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.

Reporting to the Global Head of Design at Visa, this position is a change-agent responsible for partnering with Design, Innovation, Product and Consulting leadership across the organization to transform and optimize the impact, productivity, culture, and scalability of Design at Visa. The individual will engage multiple stakeholder groups, understand their needs, build deep partnerships, and establish internal frameworks to drive effectiveness, quality, and culture at scale.

The Head of Global Strategic Design Operations must be a passionate, strategic leader with a diverse background across industries and company types to leverage a deep understanding of people and internal systems and help Visa unlock bold change through an optimized experience-first approach. Skilled at navigating ambiguity, this individual must be adept at detecting patterns and themes while rapidly toggling between macro and micro views in order to deliver the best outcomes for individual talent, teams, and the broader organization.

Essential Functions

• In concert with key stakeholders, establish a strategic operating model for all Design horizontals and verticals in order to enable an industry-leading product design practice internally and externally
• Support Visa Core Product Design, Agency Services, Innovation, and Regional Design teams to drive productivity and effectiveness
• Lead and manage a complex set of design transformation initiatives, including embedding design in broader product development and delivery efforts to ensure integration of design with agile principles and practices
• Develop strong collaborative partnerships with key stakeholders across the company, including leading cross-functional task forces on major initiatives with Product, Human Resources, Finance, and Legal to ensure that we are in sync with company rhythms and deliver on company strategy
• Design and execute a standard cadence of goal setting and portfolio planning
• Develop standard scalable methods to drive effectiveness of internal processes to manage talent, workflow, capacity, governance, tools, productivity, quality, and cost
• Drive financial accountability, including negotiating and managing supplier relationships, contracts, and licensing
• Champion an internal design culture that raises the bar on performance, expectations, and outcomes to deliver outsized impact that can be evangelized externally
• Plan and facilitate initiatives and workshops with key cross-functional leadership to enable transparency, alignment and contact awareness
• Demonstrate proactive change management, crafting a shared narrative for transformation with stakeholders to align goals, link strategies and define the future state for the Design organization

Basic Qualifications:

12+ years of professional experience with a bachelor’s degree, or 10+ years of professional experience with an advanced degree (e.g. master’s/MFA/MBA), or 8+ years of work experience with a PhD.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s/MFA/MBA preferred
• 15+ years of experience, with minimum 8+ years in a leadership role at an in-house or agency design practice
• Proven ability to tackle a diverse set of organizational challenges, recognize patterns, and develop strategic and scalable solutions
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple high-visibility initiatives simultaneously
• Proven leadership skills in developing and mentoring a world-class, client-facing design team, and a track record of motivating teams to deliver against strategic business and product design goals
• Expert understanding of all design phases, types, and methodologies (e.g., user experience, research, strategy, creative technology, design thinking, service design, lean) needed to effectively lead teams and coach them to implement effective engagement models
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with deep confidence in craft coupled with humility and openness to trying new approaches
• Proficiency in key design and business-related software (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite, InVision, Microsoft Office)
• Scrum Certified Product Owner or other Agile certification required
• Transformational Coaching certification preferred
• Business Operations experience or certification preferred

Payment industry experience required

Work Authorization:

Permanent Authorization to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment for this position. Visa will not sponsor applicants for work visas in connection with this position.

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, reach with hands and arms, and bend or lift up to 25 pounds.

Travel Requirements:

This position requires the incumbent to travel for work as needed up to 20% of the time. 

Work Hours:
Incumbent must make themselves available onsite during core business hours, and be available to take virtual meetings in multiple time-zones as reasonably required.

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.