Director Executive Talent Acquisition Central Europe Middle East And Africa CEMEA

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, youll 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

Team Summary:

The Executive Talent Acquisition team at Visa plays a strategic role in shaping the company’s leadership pipeline and driving its long-term vision. This team manages full-cycle executive recruitment globally, from sourcing and market mapping to candidate assessment and onboarding, ensuring Visa hires the right leaders to support Visa’s growth.

What a Director, Executive Talent Acquisition, CEMEA does at Visa:

• Owns and leads Executive Talent Acquisition strategy and delivery for CEMEA, ensuring alignment with Visa’s global Executive TA framework while adapting approaches to local and regional market needs.
• Acts as a trusted strategic adviser to senior executives in CEMEA, providing market intelligence, talent insights and guidance on executive hiring decisions.
• Builds strong partnerships with People Team partners and leadership teams to anticipate future leadership capability needs.
• Partners with Global TA Leadership to evaluate and adopt emerging AI capabilities that improve executive hiring efficiency, decision making and candidate experience across the region.
• Contributes to the Global Executive Talent Acquisition strategy, collaborating with Executive TA leaders across Research, Coordination, AP, CEMEA, LAC and North America to drive consistency, innovation and best-practice sharing.
• Partners with Global Exec TA leaders to design and execute global TA initiatives and operational enhancements that improve scalability, governance and executive hiring outcomes across regions.
• Ensures regional compliance with global processes and executive hiring standards.
• Sets clear performance expectations, coaches on executive search excellence, drives accountability and supports career development across the team.
• Oversees workload prioritisation and resource planning to ensure seamless execution of multiple, high-impact executive searches.
• Coaches and upskills the Executive TA team on the effective and responsible use of AI and automation, embedding data-driven decision making into executive search delivery.
• Manages a complex portfolio of senior-level executive searches across CEMEA, balancing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Develops and deploys client-specific executive recruiting strategies, including proactive market mapping and talent pipelining.
• Partners with internal teams including Workforce Planning, ETA Research, Coordination, Preboarding, Total Rewards and Talent Management to deliver a seamless end-to-end hiring experience.
• Leverages advanced data analytics and reporting (ATS, Excel, Talent Insights tools) to assess performance, identify trends and inform decision-making.
• Provides regular insights to Global TA Leadership and business leaders on talent availability, competitor activity and hiring risks.
• Stays current on CEMEA labour markets, regulatory considerations, industry news and executive compensation trends.
• Champions Visa’s employer brand in the CEMEA executive talent market, ensuring an exceptional, high-touch candidate experience.
• Represents Visa with professionalism, discretion and credibility when engaging senior external talent.
• Supports branding, process improvement and candidate engagement initiatives as part of broader TA projects.
  
  

Why This Is Important To Visa

The CEMEA region spans highly diverse, fast‑growing, and complex markets where leadership capability directly determines business performance and risk management. This role owns and leads executive TA strategy and delivery across CEMEA, ensuring Visa attracts and appoints senior leaders who can navigate regulatory complexity, geopolitical variation and differing market maturity while remaining aligned to Visa’s global strategy and standards. Acting as a trusted adviser to CEMEA executives, this role brings forward market intelligence, succession insights and transparent decision‑making to support critical VP and SVP appointments, while also strengthening internal mobility and long‑term leadership pipelines. By connecting regional needs to the global Executive TA framework, the role ensures consistency, governance and innovation in how Visa builds leadership capability across one of its most strategically important growth regions.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in Executive Talent Acquisition or executive search in complex, multinational environments.
• Proven track record delivering senior executive hires across any markets in the CEMEA region, ideally within financial services, payments, technology or global matrixed organisations.
• Deep understanding of CEMEA talent markets, cultural nuances and cross-border hiring considerations.
• Passion for inclusive hiring, data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Experience with Applicant Tracking Systems.
• Highly advanced reporting and data analytics experience to identify hiring challenges and gaps.
• Ability to operate at both strategic and operational levels, influencing senior stakeholders while driving execution excellence.
• Results-oriented, self-motivated, organised and resourceful.
• Detail-oriented with a proven track record of juggling multiple tasks and meeting various deadlines.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  
  

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.

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