Director, Strategy and M&A

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Director, Strategy and M&A

Mastercard is seeking a Director, Strategy, based in Dubai, UAE. This role is pivotal in shaping and driving Mastercard's strategic growth initiatives across Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA). This role will lead identifying strategic growth opportunities, aligned with Mastercard’s strategic priorities in the EEMEA region.

• Lead the development and execution of the strategic plan for EEMEA, directly shaping regional, corporate strategy and priorities
• Oversee and drive high-priority strategic projects, structuring complex deals, conducting rigorous analyses, and delivering actionable insights and recommendations to the senior leadership team
• Lead the regional localization agenda and drive the strategy to expand share in local payment flows
• Monitor industry trends and competitive landscape, proactively sharing insightful analyses and reports with the broader team and senior executives
• Lead strategic and financial analyses to identify and evaluate growth opportunities, market trends, competitive positioning, and operational performance
• Engage and build relationships at the executive level both internally and externally to influence and drive strategic outcomes

• Extensive combined experience in Strategy within the payments and financial services sectors is a must
• Deep understanding and experience within payments and financial services and related industries is a must
• Proven track record of successfully leading large-scale, complex, cross-functional strategic projects in global, matrixed organizations
• Demonstrated capability in strategic planning, advanced analytics, financial modeling, transaction valuation, and risk assessment, hands‑on proficiency with analytics platforms
• Exceptional executive‑level communication and presentation skills, adept at influencing diverse stakeholder groups and driving strategic alignment
• Strong leadership skills with experience building, motivating, and managing high‑performing teams in a dynamic, matrixed organization
• Experience of managing multiple stakeholders in a multicultural environment, across multiple geographic locations. Strong negotiating and influencing skills, with the ability to manage delivery through others who do not report directly.
• Ability to work collaboratively and both independently and in a team environment.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills, extensive experience in communicating in international environment at senior management level
• 7+ years of progressive business experience and demonstrated results in strategic, financial and/or commercially focused roles.

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;
• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.