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.

As the Head of Strategic Initiatives, you will drive the proposition, go-to-market and commercialization activities for new, emerging Value-Added Services and innovative payment solutions across Central Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands and Liechtenstein). You will be responsible for monitoring the market environment and new developments, strategizing around the product vision, managing the Go-to-Market strategy and coordinating with internal stakeholders and our external partners / third party suppliers. 

Examples of strategic initiatives include the Request to Pay (RTP) payment rails, Open Banking ecosystems and Click to Pay. They are focused on building the next generation payment network connecting individuals and businesses with banks, fin-tech players, countries and regions with the flexibility to use a variety of payment instruments – from cards to tokens and bank accounts or representative identity. As the world moves to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce.

These solutions will be complemented by emerging Value-Added Services and new payments solutions in areas such as cybersecurity, cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The candidate must have experience with new payment flows, product innovation, strategy and go to market, ideally in payments or Fintech.

Key accountabilities:   

• Support the commercialisation of strategic initiatives, including but not limited to the RTP & open Banking product strategy.
• Responsible for market assessment and building business cases for new solutions (such as, but not limited to cybersecurity products and crypto) in CE.
• Assessing the local market potential for Visa to introduce any new digital, API-based and innovative payment solutions that may be under evaluation in the company.
• Preparing the sales materials for buy-in for new solutions and products.
• Serve as champion and subject matter expert of Open Banking, RTP, crypto and other innovative solutions in the CE – share regional/global knowledge with key stakeholders in the cluster.
• Manage large scale, cross-functional programmes to coordinate the commercialisation of Visa’s alternate payment solutions. Includes defining the strategy, go to market approach, and delivery set up of Visa’s propositions, incorporating product, technology, marketing and operations input. Experience running Agile programmes is beneficial.
• Establishing strong working relationships across key banks, FinTechs, technical providers and regulatory bodies.
• Partnering with the CE leadership team and London HQ executive team to develop and prioritise Visa’s Alternative Payments strategy within CE.
• Work hand in hand with the Business Development team in the CE to prepare product propositions for new commercial opportunities.
• Clearly understand and articulate the value of Visa’s products and drive the development of product, features and functionality. Support the creation of collateral to present internally (building up Alternative Payment knowledge across the CE) or externally to prospective clients and partners.
• Proactively monitor external developments, industry trends or competitor insights and apply these to opportunities or risks for Visa’s Alternative Payments strategy.

• Experienced payments professional with strong business acumen, a strategic outlook and creative approach to innovation. Experience in payment flows (card, account-to-account etc.) in key areas such as commercialisation and product strategy. Experience of associated value-added services is beneficial.
• Thorough understanding of the e-commerce landscape in Central Europe
• Strong product strategy and commercialization experience, gained at a technology organization, payments company or comparable experience.
• Strategic thinking skills – ability to anticipate upcoming trends and changes in the broader environment and apply them to create competitive advantage for Visa.
• Fluent English and German required. 
• Exceptional communicator – able to adapt communication strategies to the needs of their audience (e.g., simplifying complex technical messages). You will need to craft and present content to internal and external stakeholders of varying levels of seniority.
• Commercial acumen – You have a strong understanding of product financials (e.g., ROI, P&L, opportunity costs, etc.) to ensure product delivers expected revenue targets. 
• Critical thinking - You are able to methodically break down problems into smaller components to enable a deeper understanding of root causes of key issues. You understand how to evaluate points for improvement and can creatively solve complex and ambiguous problems to reach new and unconventional modes of resolution.
• Innovative and creative mindset – thinking outside the box and not afraid to raise new ideas and challenge the status quo