Senior Director, Country Manager, Belgium & Luxemburg

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

The Senior Director Country Manager will be responsible for overseeing all operations within the BELUX region, driving strategic initiatives, dynamic growth in the market, and ensuring the achievement of business objectives.

This role requires a visionary leader with a proven track record in senior management roles, exceptional business acumen, and the ability to build relationships with key stakeholders.

The role will lead a team to enable Visa to build deep relationships with key clients, not only in the “core” part of Visa’s business, with an emphasis on Financial Institutions, but also focus on driving additional revenues through new VAS/CMS solutions. The individual in this role will play a key role alongside other executives to represent Visa, by delivering on the company’s market mission: growing the business with cards and faster payments. Advancing market share is a priority. By building deep partnerships with clients, opening up access and offering creative solutions, Visa is at the forefront of protecting and growing the company’s brand and market share.

The Country Manager will be responsible for engaging with all stakeholders, internally and externally, operating at a senior level with clients and leading key strategic market and technology developments. The Country Manager will have direct and dotted line management responsibility spanning sales, product, marketing, merchants and will help Visa to expand access into key business verticals and clients. Commercial acumen and an excellent understanding of the broader market landscape will be critical to this appointment. The role will report to the Regional Managing Director for the FBL (France, Belgium, and Luxembourg) cluster.

Key Responsibilities

What we expect, day to day

• Lead and manage the overall operations of the BELUX region, ensuring alignment with the company's global, regional, and cluster strategy and objectives.
• Develop and implement strategic plans to drive growth, profitability, and market share within the region.
• Oversee the execution of business development initiatives, including market expansion, product launches, and partnerships.
• Drive additional revenues through new VAS/CMS solutions.
• Lead the development and implementation of the market strategy to enable the activities of others that deliver key targets and revenue acceleration. Ensure that the initiatives of diverse functions within the market are integrated and aligned to Visa’s broader business plans and strategic goals in Europe and across the FBL cluster.
• Drive consultative and solution sales efforts within the market and ensure cultural and working style differences are understood and respected.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including clients, partners, regulatory bodies, and internal teams. Responsible for working with clients and teams to identify new and ongoing requirements, and introduce new products or services. Develop and grow local market share by both identifying, developing and securing new business opportunities and expanding existing business.
• Manage the regional budget, ensuring effective allocation of resources and cost control.
• Represent Visa externally on a regular basis through interactions with key clients, the press, domestic regulators, government agencies, consumers, merchants and the broader fintech / emerging digital ecosystem. Partner with key internal and external clients to ensure that Visa is the primary influencer within the markets payments industry. Serve as an advocate of the industry and represent Visa in the marketplace.
• Lead local initiatives within the wider Visa community in Europe and ensure the market has the necessary resources to achieve scorecard targets. Lead and manage the product portfolio for a signature accounts, ensuring Visa clients have excellent support service from the Visa team.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement.
• Provide regular reports and updates to senior management on regional performance, challenges, and opportunities.
• Lead the annual business and account plans for key clients, liaising with the Key Account Managers / Business Development leaders in relation to the product or portfolio.

• Ensure compliance with local regulations and company policies, while promoting ethical business practices.
• Monitor market trends, competitor activities, and industry developments to identify opportunities and mitigate risks.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, or a related field. A Master's degree is preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in a senior management role, preferably within the BELUX region.
• Extensive experience, including experience in a commercial / sales leadership role within the broader payments industry or adjacent sectors where technology (digital / e and m-commerce) feature strongly in the ecosystem.
• Leadership of an enterprise or the commercial functions of a business where the development and deployment of the digital and customer agenda is a key driver of success. B2B2C experience, with knowledge of expanding into new customer distribution channels with a command of financial, market and consumer data and the ability to grasp complex and detailed issues. Financially literate with an excellent understanding of risk management.
• Demonstrated success developing strategy and leading it through to execution and delivery. Consistent record of having met challenging financial and business targets.
• Strong understanding of the BELUX market, including regulatory requirements, industry trends, and key players.
• Exceptional leadership and people management skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate a diverse team.
• Experience building, leading and developing high performing teams. Ability to work collaboratively with executives from Visa’s clients and partners to leverage Visa’s products and services in order to build broader payments solutions, and to enhance the organisation’s client relationships.
• Commercially astute with experience of working in a global matrix organisation with the ability to navigate complex structures and empower decision-making locally.
• Experience of leading change programmes within a business and has led a team on a journey of cultural and transformational change. Leads and inspires the team with a growth mindset and a real passion for digital and innovation. Experience of working in a multi-national, multi-cultural, diverse and highly-matrixed organisation with the ability to make an impact and gain immediate respect and credibility.
• An intellectually curious leader with a high degree of compassion, able to engage, enable and inspire others. A hands-on approach to all activities with real passion and high levels of energy. Agile and comfortable adapting to different environments.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Strategic thinker with strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Fluency in English, French, and Dutch.
• Willingness to travel within the region as needed.

Additional Information

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.