Senior Director, Data Governance and Life Cycle Management Leader

  • Full-time
  • Job Family Group: Strategy

Company Description

Visa is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating more than 215 billion payments transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories each year. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive.

When you join Visa, you join a culture of purpose and belonging – where your growth is priority, your identity is embraced, and the work you do matters. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere. Your work will have a direct impact on billions of people around the world – helping unlock financial access to enable the future of money movement.

Join Visa: A Network Working for Everyone.

Job Description

Visa’s Data Policy and Governance Team (DP&G) creates and implements foundational data management and governance policies, standards and processes. Visa’s brand is built on trust. As the world’s leader in digital payments, we hold ourselves to the highest standards for data usage, protection and privacy. Our goal is to be both a protector and enabler of growth, helping Visa staff to use data to make critical business decisions, drive operational excellence and improve employee engagement, drive growth for Visa and our clients, optimize cost and minimize risks to the enterprise.

The Data Governance and Lifecycle Management Leader will significantly impacts the company by effectively maturing Visa’s data lifecycle management capabilities. The role is jointly responsible for evolving Visa’s existing Data Governance Framework and driving its implementation, using best-in-class approaches that harness appropriate technologies, methodologies, and emerging standards that will bring immediate impact to the organization. By keeping a flexible and innovative approach, this leader will find ways to achieve efficiencies that enable the business rather than disrupting day-to-day operations in pursuit of abstract Data Governance goals. Operationalization will be achieved through a team of Data Lifecycle Management Partners who will perform reviews of functions, business units and regional data lifecycle management practices under the leadership of this individual.

The role will also serve as the communication liaison to senior management and key governance forums.  This individual will be a trusted business partner who consults executive management to make key decisions, leveraging deep expertise.  Where constructive challenge to functions is needed, the Data Governance and Lifecycle Management Leader will make recommendations to Senior Management on controls or other actions required to mature and uplift data operations. The candidate is to be viewed by the organization as knowledgeable, capable, competent, and an agent for change. 

This role reports into the Vice President, Data Policy and Governance.

It is expected that the candidate will deliver the following:

  • A dynamism, commercial orientation, and culture of partnership within the broader function and other business functions

  • A global, collaborative mindset and alignment with the strategic objectives of Visa Inc

  • Key actions that contribute to the successful implementation of Visa’s Data Governance Framework, which requires deep domain expertise, appropriate technical knowledge, strong collaboration, and strategic skills

  • A strong Data Lifecycle Management capability.  This will involve creating standards that all Visa staff can understand, follow and continually strengthen.  

This is a hybrid position. Hybrid employees can alternate time between both remote and office. Employees in hybrid roles are expected to work from the office 2-3 set days a week (determined by leadership/site), with a general guidepost of being in the office 50% or more of the time based on business needs.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:
• 12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 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

Preferred Qualifications:
• 15 or more years of experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 12 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, or MD), PhD with 9+ years of experience
• 15+ Years of progressive experience
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of data governance and lifecycle management practices.
• Expertise in collaborating cross-functionally to ensure organizational change deeply embeds
• Track record in synthesizing complex information to produce impactful management information and support informed executive decision making
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant regulation and experience of working with regulators
• Experience building and implementing foundational data management and governance policies, standards, and procedures within a highly matrixed organization
• Experience leading a team of data lifecycle partners who work day-to-day with data owners, data stewards, and business leaders to ensure data is connected, clean, and sufficiently complete to enable business decisions, drive business growth, optimize costs, and reduce risk exposure
• Ability to successfully influence data owners and data stewards to adopt platforms and tooling to perform their role effectively
• Support stewards in developing plans and strategies to identify, prioritize, and define Key Data Elements (KDEs) and onboard them to a corporate data catalog
• Ability to design and operationalize a data lifecycle management monitoring and testing program to drive maturity throughout the organization
• Experience with Data Engineering and IT migration platforms and proven ability to build new capabilities, drive organizational impact and act as change agent

Prior Experience
• Data Practitioner or Data Governance or Data Lifecycle Management or Risk Management
• Control or Corporate functional experience (Risk, Regulatory, Legal)
• People leadership experience

Sector Experience
• Banking or payment processing or payment services
• Financial services (within a regulated environment) or Regulated industry
• Technology or financial technology

Candidate should have well developed skills in the following areas:

Deep Domain Expertise and Technical Skills
• Significant experience developing and managing “best in class” Data Governance and Lifecycle Management methodologies, related analytics, systems, and policies. Demonstrated sophisticated technical leadership skills across data lifecycle management, risk management, analysis, governance, and reporting.
• As a key member of the Global Data Office, the candidate must proactively bring a comprehensive management point of view that helps inform critical business decisions.
• The role requires a creative, independent thinker who can conceive of fresh and practical data governance solutions while constructively challenging and engaging business functions in a manner demonstrates awareness and support
• Strong knowledge of Industry frameworks and Best Practices, e.g., DCAM (Data Capability Assessment Model), CDMC
• Good understanding of technology landscape and related technical disciplines, including data engineering, cloud computing, data science, analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence
• Broad experience in multiple domain areas, such as data warehousing, business intelligence (BI), data governance, data architecture, data integration, data classification, data strategy, data quality management, data security and privacy, MDM, data standards, regulatory compliance, and enterprise architecture frameworks

Collaboration and Influencing Skills
• Must have the gravitas, judgment and interpersonal skills to work effectively with other senior executives. Will need to work seamlessly with a wide group of internal customers including Marketing, Finance, Technology and Operations as well as with partners in a way that engenders mutual respect and consideration for the other party’s point of view
• Intellectual capacity and presence to engage and influence credibly with key stakeholders and the wider company, bringing a curiosity and understanding to this critical change agent role
• Ability to quickly grasp and lever Visa’s business culture and style in order to enhance the credibility and respect of the function. The successful candidate should demonstrate tenacity, toughness and resilience to drive towards the achievement of results.
• Comfortable managing both ambiguity and complexity and should be experienced at balancing various stakeholder agendas

Results Orientation
• Proven situational evidence in which the individual has taken the lead in creating demonstrable improvements in existing policies, procedures, systems or organizational development. The candidate should be someone who consistently delivers beyond expectations and is energized by the challenge of creating continuous improvements to the organization. They should set and deliver high levels of performance. The ideal candidate should have demonstrated problem-solving skills and excellent judgment

Team Engagement and Leadership
• Proven skills leading and developing an outcome-focused team. Will not be someone who demands respect by virtue of title or hierarchy but rather earns it through leading by example, technical knowledge and demonstrating a “roll up your sleeves” approach to working. The candidate will personally inspire, model and drive people to higher levels of performance and accountability. Experience of recruiting, managing, motivating, developing and inspiring a team is critical

Change Management
• Evidence of transforming and aligning an organization through its people to drive for improvement in a new and challenging direction. The candidate will be expected to be comfortable with challenging the status quo and pointing out what needs to be changed, capable of mobilizing individuals or groups to change through logical persuasion that people find convincing.

Additional Information

Work Hours: Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements: This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/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.

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.

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.

U.S. APPLICANTS ONLY: The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is 181,800.00 to 250,000.00 USD, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401 (k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.
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