Senior Consulting Manager – Digital Payments Strategy (m/f/d)

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.

Progress starts with you.

Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) is a global team of consultants, data scientists, and subject matter experts that drives tangible, impactful and financial results for Visa’s clients, including both financial institutions and merchants. Drawing on our expertise in strategy consulting, payments, data analytics, marketing, operational and macroeconomics, VCA drives high impact projects and tangible financial results. VCA engages clients throughout Europe and is organized in teams in South Europe, UK & Ireland, Nordics & Baltics, Central Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and France Belgium & Luxemburg. 

What's it all about?

Visa Consulting & Analytics drives measurable, tangible business impact for Visa’s most important clients.

As a Senior Consulting Manager – Digital Payments Strategy, you will be a trusted strategic advisor to large multinational merchants and payment players headquartered or operating in Central Europe. Your clients will include globally recognized brands and digital leaders (e.g. large e‑commerce platforms, global marketplaces, travel and mobility players).

Reporting to the Director, Visa Consulting & Analytics, you will lead complex strategy engagements in the payment acceptance and merchant domain—working directly with senior client stakeholders who are themselves experts in payments.

This role is designed for professionals who already bring deep payments industry expertise and want to apply it in a high‑impact, client‑facing strategic role, influencing decision‑making at board and C‑level.

What we expect of you, day to day:

• Act as a senior strategic advisor to global and regional merchants on payment acceptance, checkout strategy, PSP/acquirer setup, and payment innovation
• Lead end to end delivery of multiple high value consulting engagements simultaneously, from scoping to executive level recommendation
• Translate complex payment ecosystems, data, and trends into clear, actionable strategic recommendations
• Partner closely with senior client experts (payments, treasury, product, risk, technology) as a peer and thought leader
• Design and oversee:
  • Advanced data analysis and insight generation
  • Market and competitive benchmarking (PSPs, schemes, alternative payment methods)
  • Commercial and operational impact assessments
• Own the development and presentation of executive ready reports and board level materials
• Lead and moderate senior client workshops and steering committee discussions
• Serve as the primary day to day client contact, ensuring trust, quality, and delivery excellence
• Actively contribute to project origination and sales, supporting proposal development and client pitching
• Collaborate closely with Visa’s regional leadership, sales, and product teams across Central Europe
• Identify scalable consulting solutions and contribute to VCA knowledge, IP, and best practice development

This is a hybrid position. Hybrid employees can alternate time between both remote and office. Employees in hybrid roles are expected to work from the office 3 set days a week (determined by leadership/site), with a general guidepost of being in the office 60% or more of the time based on business needs.

Essential specific skill set, and experience required:

• Previous strategy & management consulting experience (preferably client-facing and project manager experience)
• Deep, hands-on expertise in the payments industry, particularly in one or more of the following:
  • Acquiring & merchant services
  • PSPs & payment gateways
  • E‑commerce & digital payments
  • Large merchant payment setups
• Strong strategic thinking, structuring, and storytelling skills
• High level of commercial acumen and value‑driven mindset
• Excellent analytical capabilities; ability to turn complex data into strategic insight
• Advanced PowerPoint and MS Office skills; Excel and data manipulation skills required
• Confident communicator with the ability to influence senior stakeholders
• Highly self‑driven, structured, and comfortable operating with autonomy
• Fluent in written and spoken German and English
• Knowledge of Visa Products, services and transaction flows (considered a plus)
• Understanding of transactional data, Visa data and alternative data sources (considered a plus)

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.