Director, Business Planning and Operations

Overview

The Business Planning and Operations (BPO) Director is a full-time role based in London and reports directly to the SVP Europe Government Affairs. Some travel in the region may be required from time to time. The role focuses on operational execution, governance, and reporting in close collaboration across Government Affairs (GA) and the broader Visa organization. The successful candidate will work daily with leadership and all members of the GA team across Europe on all aspects of Business Operations and Planning, emphasizing efficiency, scalability and smooth workflows through managing processes and resources, while ensuring operations and impact align with overall business goals.

A positive, solutions-oriented mindset with a strong can-do attitude, fostering collaboration and driving results, is essential.

• Work daily with the Europe GA team to drive business planning across the region including overseeing budget and workforce planning from a central and market point of view.
• Drive adoption of new technologies, processes, and ways of working within the Government Affairs team, acting as a champion for digital transformation and operational excellence.
• Use a One Visa approach to continually improve communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing across Visa Europe region and beyond.
• Oversee and continually improve day-to-day operating models for the team. Proactively identify opportunities for process improvement and automation as needed to explore and deliver solutions.
• Budget and procurement strategy, oversight and management.
• Act as project manager for region-wide strategic initiatives.
• Performance Tracking: monitoring progress and reporting on Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).
• Drive the continuous enhancement of function, toolkit and staff.
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners to support strategic initiatives and operational improvements.
• Support with other Global operational activities e.g. Offsites, Regional team coordination, team meetings.
• Support the management of Distribution Lists, Reporting Timelines, and important Meeting Agendas.
• Encourage a culture of continuous development, upskilling and curiosity.
• This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager.

• Experience in relevant corporate positions such as consulting, business operations and/or strategy. Experience in payments, financial services or technology sectors a benefit.
• Strong teamwork, ability to work effectively across functions, levels and locations.
• Passionate about building processes, continuous improvement, and transforming while working with colleagues at a leading global payments company.
• Detail-oriented, organized, adept at multi-tasking and evolving priorities.
• Motivated self-starter working well under tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and solid presentation skills.
• Advanced analytical and digital skills.
• Appetite for problem-solving—addressing operational challenges and finding effective solutions.
• Proven ability to formulate strategy, and demonstrated critical thinking and ability to operationalize strategy.
• Highly proficient in PowerPoint, Excel, and Word, eager to learn other online tools.

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, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale - tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world. Join Visa and do work that matters - to you, to your community, and to the world.