Sr. Director, Marketing Services, KSA, Bahrain & Oman

Role Overview

Senior Director, Marketing Services, KSA, Bahrain & Oman at Visa, based in the KBO (Kingdom Business Organization) region covering Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman.

Company Overview

Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. The Marketing Services business is a rapidly growing division and part of Visa's strategic growth priority to deliver value-added services revenue through client engagements.

Role Purpose

Lead the growth of Marketing Services across KSA, Bahrain and Oman by translating CEMEA strategy into a KBO sub-regional plan, building senior client relationships, winning new clients and expanding existing relationships with financial institutions, merchants and fintechs. Own the KBO Marketing Services pipeline, P&L and annual plan while building scalable capabilities that help clients strengthen their brands, acquire and engage consumers and improve omnichannel marketing maturity.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Planning

• Translate the CEMEA Marketing Services strategy into a KBO sub-regional plan.
• Develop and commercialize marketing advisory and services that align client needs with Visa's brand positioning, sponsorship assets, data, insights and execution capabilities.
• Manage the annual planning cycle through a strategic, bottom-up approach, including pipeline governance, resource prioritization, delivery oversight and financial rigor.
• Identify issues, conduct analyses, synthesize findings and make recommendations.
• Identify, scope, pitch and advise clients on data-driven marketing strategies.
• Operate comfortably in white space, proactively pursue new ideas and capabilities and build out a playbook approach enabling scalable and repeatable solutions.

Client Leadership & Relationship Management

• Develop senior relationships with clients across financial institutions, merchants and fintechs.
• Build a clear understanding of client business objectives, marketing priorities and success measures.
• Work with country business development teams to win new clients and expand existing relationships.
• Quickly understand market and client business strategies and needs, and identify opportunities for joint marketing programmes that deliver growth for the client and Visa.
• Maintain client satisfaction and provide clear executive-level communications on performance, risks and progress.

Team Leadership & Development

• Build, lead and continuously develop a high-performing client-facing Marketing Services team across KSA, Bahrain and Oman.
• Build and develop a goal-oriented culture and continually raise the bar for team achievements.
• Develop diverse, top-performing and highly engaged teams.

Operations & Execution

• Own and run the KBO Marketing Services pipeline, P&L and financials to meet agreed short-, medium- and long-term goals and objectives.
• Expand advisory, digital, martech and measurement capabilities.
• Partner with Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), Products, Sales, Finance and KBO country leadership to deliver a coordinated One Visa approach for clients.
• Lead on overall policy and process governance, quality assurance and delivery excellence in partnership with supporting business functions such as Compliance, Sourcing and Controllership.
• Manage complex projects and processes with multiple stakeholders at both senior and junior levels.
• Execute decisions with the goals and vision of the company in mind and act as a representative of the company brand both internally and externally.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), Products, Sales and Finance to deliver marketing strategy, brand advisory, research and insights, cardholder lifecycle marketing and end-to-end marketing execution.
• Collaborate and work across countries and various business units to execute strategy and develop new business.
• Influence effectively across a matrix environment.

Qualifications & Experience

• Minimum 15 years of work experience with a Bachelor's Degree, or at least 12 years of experience with an Advanced degree (Masters, MBA, JD or MD).
• Proven leader with a track record of building and developing diverse, top-performing and highly engaged teams.
• Independent, self-starter with a proven record of driving complex strategies across large teams.
• Client marketing, consulting, sales or other client-facing experience required.
• Prior experience identifying, scoping, pitching and advising clients on data-driven marketing strategies preferred.
• In-market or in-region experience preferred.
• Deep understanding of the payments marketing landscape and working knowledge of payment product economics preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong relationship-building experience with ability to collaborate and work across countries and various business units.
• Strong influencing skills across a matrix environment.
• Personal presence and ability to clearly communicate compelling messages to senior-level executives.
• Excellent presentation skills, including strong oral and written capabilities.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Strong analytic skills with ability to translate data and insights into marketing strategies.
• Strong financial acumen and ability to partner with all divisions of Finance.

Additional Information

• This role will dual report to the VP, Marketing Services, CEMEA and the Head of Marketing, GCC.
• Visa requires at least 3 days in office; expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.
• Visa is an Equal Employment Opportunity 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.