Director, Policy Advisory

Company Description

Visa is a world leader in payments and technology, with over 259 billion payments transactions flowing safely between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities in 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 while driven by a common purpose – to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

Make an impact with a purpose-driven industry leader. Join us today and experience Life at Visa.

Job Description

Within Global Government Affairs (GA), Visa’s Policy Advisory team plays a crucial role in shaping the future of digital payments. In this newly created role, you will shape the future of digital payments by contributing to the strategic direction of the Policy Advisory function and delivering actionable policy insights that support Visa’s public policy objectives around the world. You will collaborate across Visa’s product, legal, and regional teams, providing expert analysis on public policy trends, opportunities, and risks. As a senior team member, you will guide and mentor colleagues, support regional government affairs teams, and coordinate budget and operational execution.

The ideal candidate brings proven experience leading strategic initiatives within complex organizations, a passion for the intersection of payments and public policy, and a track record of success in fast-paced, matrixed environments.

The position reports to the Vice President and Head of Policy Advisory.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Work with the Vice President and Head of Policy Advisory to set the overall direction for the Policy Advisory team.
• Policy Advisory and Analysis: Provide expert analysis and support on priority policy issues, including pricing, regulatory localization, innovation-related policies, and other regulatory issues as needed.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Build and maintain strong relationships across business, product, legal, and regional teams to align and advance unified public policy positions.
• Regional Support: Work with regional Government Affairs colleagues to build and advance policy campaigns that position Visa for success in key markets, and support regional teams by providing global perspective for government consultation responses on priority issues.
• Content Development & Delivery: Lead and contribute to the creation and delivery of impactful policy content, executive briefings, and presentations.
• Insight & Analysis: Monitor and analyze regulatory and industry trends, leveraging data to provide actionable insights and inform both business and policy strategy.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Support executive engagements with high-quality materials. While this is primarily an internally-focused role, you may be called upon to represent Visa in industry working groups and policy discussions, when needed.
• Operational Excellence: Drive process improvements, manage budgets, ensure timely delivery of regulatory reports and special projects, and closely coordinate with Global Government Affairs’ Strategy & Operations function.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications
10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD

Preferred Qualifications
12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD
At least 10 years’ experience in public policy, corporate strategy, regulatory affairs, or related fields—preferably in payments, technology, or financial services.
Advanced degree in law, public policy, economics, international relations, or related field strongly preferred.
Demonstrated leadership with the ability to connect people and ideas, influence at all levels, and mentor high-performing teams.
Strong knowledge of Visa’s business, products, and the broader payments and financial services ecosystem.
Exceptional judgment, analytical skills, and executive-level English writing ability.
Experience developing and delivering content for executive and external audiences.
Inclusive, collaborative leadership style with strong emotional intelligence.
High attention to detail, adaptability, and ability to deliver un