Senior Director - Client Advisory - Consulting & Analytics

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

Team Summary

Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) is Visa's consulting division, serving Visa's clients (including card issuers, acquirers, and merchants) and solving their strategic problems focused on improving performance and profitability.  Drawing on our expertise in strategy consulting, payments, data analytics, marketing, operational and macroeconomics, VCA drives high impact and tangible financial results.

The C&A team within Australia provides a comprehensive range of consulting services and solutions to our clients in Australia and New Zealand, that address unique challenges in areas such as strategic growth, profitability, risk management and digital strategy.        

What a Senior Director, Client Advisory Australia does at Visa:

The Head of Client Advisory Australia, a Senior Director within Visa Consulting & Analytics, leads the strategic direction and delivery of the Client Advisory function across the Australian market. As the team leader, this role is responsible for accelerating business growth and driving the success of VCA’s consulting, managed services, data services, and advisory offerings.

Overseeing a high-performing team, the Senior Director identifies and pursues new business opportunities, fosters trusted relationships with executive-level clients, and ensures the consistent delivery of high-impact engagements that enable clients to achieve portfolio growth and enhanced profitability. The Head of Client Advisory Australia sets the vision for the team, orchestrates complex consulting projects from inception to execution, and represents VCA in both internal forums and the broader financial services ecosystem.

Responsibilities

The Senior Director, Client Advisory Australia will:

• Build executive client relationships - The Head of Client Advisory is responsible for cultivating and maintaining robust executive-level relationships across the Australian financial services industry. By establishing trust and thought leadership, they serve as the primary point of contact for senior stakeholders, enabling Visa to deeply understand client objectives and position itself as a preferred advisor.
• Overseeing and pitching high-quality proposals - This leader oversees the end-to-end process of preparing, tailoring, and presenting compelling project proposals to clients. By clarifying project objectives, scope, deliverables, and approach, they ensure that proposals not only meet client needs but also position Visa’s expertise and unique value proposition, leading to the successful sale and initiation of major programs of work.
• Leveraging Consulting, Data Science, and Implementation Teams - The Head of Client Advisory harnesses the full breadth of Visa’s consulting, data science, and implementation resources to deliver best-in-class solutions. By collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, they orchestrate the design and execution of innovative strategies, using data-driven insights and operational expertise to drive measurable client outcomes.
• Achieving sales and revenue targets - A key measure of success for this role is the achievement of sales and revenue goals for the Australian market. The Head of Client Advisory leads business development efforts, identifying new opportunities, writing proposals, scoping projects, and ensuring a strong pipeline of engagements that accelerate Visa Consulting & Analytics’ growth ambitions.
• Leading and motivating the Client Advisory Team - Managing a team of 6-7 full-time employees (FTE), the Head of Client Advisory fosters a high-performance culture, providing clear direction, support, and professional development for team members. Effective leadership ensures that the team remains motivated, engaged, and equipped to deliver to the highest standards.
• Representing the business internally and externally - Serving as the voice of Client Advisory, this role not only represents the function within Visa—collaborating with senior management and cross-functional colleagues—but also externally, acting as an ambassador for VCA at industry events, in client forums, and across the broader financial services ecosystem.
• Ensuring high-quality project delivery and direct client engagement - This leader is accountable for the delivery of high-quality, impactful project outcomes. They oversee project setup, stakeholder engagement, data analysis, benchmarking, and diagnostics. Importantly, they are personally involved in key client meetings, ensuring that recommendations are well communicated and that execution aligns with client expectations and Visa’s standards of excellence.

Qualifications

Having already accumulated a variety of experience, you will be familiar with the payments industry and keen to work alongside an experienced team in gaining a deeper understanding. You will be client driven, comfortable managing a project end to end and relishing the opportunity to work closely with clients to influence their future performance.

Specific skills and experience you will bring are:

• 15+ years of deep experience in consulting, corporate strategy, or business management with a Bachelor’s Degree
• Deep experience in managing complex projects and simultaneously managing multiple projects
• Superior analytical and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated intellectual and analytical rigour
• Strong team orientation with a collaborative, diplomatic, and flexible style, able to work effectively in a matrixed organisation
• Excellent detail orientation, ensuring the highest level of quality/rigour in reports and data analysis
• Excellent presentation skills, including strong oral and written capabilities
• Self-motivated, results-oriented individual with the ability to progress multiple priorities concurrently
• Experience in and passion for the power of analytics to inform and drive strategy and tactics, and proven ability to generate insights from data
• Strong commercial acumen, with experience in working on business/value cases that prove ROI

In addition, you will ideally bring the following:

• Experience in payments or retail banking industry
• Experience in developing strategy (for products or business units)
• Experience in customer experience design (using human centred design / design thinking)
• An understanding of statistical analysis, modelling, scoring schemes, etc.

Additional Information
This is a hybrid position, based in Sydney or Melbourne, Australia. Employees in hybrid roles are required to work from the Sydney office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays of each week, based on business needs.

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.