Director, Issuer Partnership & Implementation

About Us 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.

Job Description

Role Summary:

Visa has received regulatory approval to prepare for the establishment of a domestic bank card clearing institution in China and is now undertaking the necessary preparations for its application to commence operations.

The Director, Issuer Partnership & Implementation will sit within the Business Development Department and play a key role in preparing issuer clients for future business launch.

The role will serve as a key interface between issuer clients and Visa’s cross-functional teams, combining strategic issuer partnership with end-to-end implementation leadership.

The successful candidate will work closely with Account Executives and cross-functional teams across Product, Digital Partners, Technology, Client Services, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Legal and other relevant functions to translate business, regulatory, technical and operational requirements into actionable issuer implementation plans, and support issuers in preparing for future onboarding, certification and business launch.

What an Issuer Partnership & Implementation Director does at Visa:

• Develop and manage the integrated issuer partnership and readiness plan, in alignment with Visa’s overall business readiness roadmap, coordinating cross-functional activities required to prepare issuers for future implementation and business launch.
• Lead issuer engagement and communication, gathering client feedback, questions and requirements, and translating Visa’s business, regulatory, product and implementation preparations into clear, accurate and consistent client messaging.
• Partner with Account Executives to serve as a key interface between issuers and Visa’s cross-functional teams, coordinating issuer-related requirements and dependencies across Product, Acceptance, Digital Partners, Technology, Client Services, Operations, Licensing, Settlement, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Legal and other relevant functions.
• Assess issuer readiness and develop actionable implementation plans, aligning with issuers on the value proposition, technical specifications, implementation scope, resource requirements, key milestones and target timeline.
• Coordinate and advance issuer implementation when appropriate, covering project initiation, connectivity, development, key management, personalization, host certification, UAT and operational readiness; develop implementation guidance and playbooks to support issuers in preparing for future onboarding and execution.
• Manage cross-functional issues, risks and dependencies, facilitating timely resolution and escalation across issuers and internal teams to keep issuer readiness activities on track.
• Support the commercial, operational and regulatory readiness required for future issuer onboarding, including relevant agreements, regulatory application and certification materials, while ensuring consistency and traceability of issuer-related inputs and supporting evidence.
• Provide clear, decision-oriented updates to senior stakeholders on issuer feedback, readiness status, implementation progress, key risks, dependencies and recommended actions.

Why this is important to Visa:

Visa’s future business success depends not only on infrastructure and operating capabilities, but also on issuer clients being prepared for implementation, certification and operations.

This role is central to translating Visa’s regulatory, business and technical preparations into executable client plans, strengthening issuer confidence and supporting readiness for a successful future business launch.

Visa requires at least 4 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

Qualifications

What you will need:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification, preferably in business, economics, finance, technology, engineering or a related field.
• Typically 12 or more years of relevant experience in payments, banking, financial services, consulting, technology implementation, client management or complex program delivery.
• Strong understanding of the payments ecosystem and issuer business, including card products, transaction processing, authorization, clearing and settlement, digital payments and client implementation.
• Proven experience managing client relationships and leading complex, cross-functional programs, with the ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders, workstreams and dependencies.
• Strong ability to understand issuer needs and translate them into structured requirements, decisions and actionable implementation plans.
• Excellent project and program management capabilities, including roadmap development, governance, risk management, issue resolution and executive reporting.
• Strong influencing, facilitation and negotiation skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively and align diverse stakeholders.
• Structured, proactive and intellectually curious, with a strong sense of ownership and the ability to operate effectively in a complex and evolving environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Mandarin and English.

 

What will also help:

• Knowledge of China’s card-payment ecosystem, including issuers, acquirers, wallets, processors and relevant regulatory considerations.
• Experience with payment-network preparation, licensing, regulatory readiness or large-scale payment infrastructure programs.
• Experience supporting issuer onboarding, system integration, certification, UAT, migration or launch readiness.

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.