Director, Sourcing Governance & Controls

Visa•Foster City, CA

11d•$169,600 - $301,500•Hybrid

About The Position

As part of Visa’s Global Sourcing function, the Center of Excellence (CoE) team serves as a foundational capability for the Sourcing function, and enables the function’s success through people, process, program and operational management best practices. The CoE will drive consistency, clarity, and strong execution — while maintaining flexibility to meet business and regional needs, and focuses on four core areas: Value & Strategic Sourcing Enablement, Process & Systems Excellence, Talent & Change Enablement, Policy, Risk & Contract Governance. This role will report to the Head of Sourcing Center of Excellence, and lead the Policy, Risk & Contract Governance team, oversee Sourcing Policy & Procedures, improve compliance and exceptions processes, manage audits, oversee the legal liaison program and improvements to contracting processes, and help Sourcing Drive Control in its operations and ways of working. It requires an experienced practitioner capable of navigating various stakeholders and operating in a complex matrixed organization. Exceptional organizational and communication skills are essential to manage upwards.

Requirements

10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD
Significant experience in Sourcing and/or Contracting
Ability to function effectively in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple projects simultaneously
Demonstrated leadership in managing risk, governance, or establishing controls
Ability to negotiate priorities across organizations as required, to plan and prioritize multiple tasks effectively, and to independently drive projects through to completion
Strong communication skills and the ability to work well with other departments and varying levels of management.
Must be able to dive deep into technical details with project teams and zoom out to understand and communicate the big picture

Nice To Haves

12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD
10+ years Sourcing and/or Contracting experience with 5+ years in management or leadership roles
Legal, regulatory, or formal contracting background (e.g., in-house counsel, legal operations, contracts, compliance, or risk management) strongly preferred, particularly in highly regulated or financial services environments
PMP or equivalent Procurement certification
Payment domain, Financial Services or FinTech experience
Experience leading process transformation or continuous improvement initiatives across contracting processes and solutions (CLM, workflow redesign, automation/AI enabled controls)
Strong executive presence and experience advising and interfacing business leadership on technology related issues,
Excellent executive-level verbal, and written communication skills
Strength in building partnerships, working collaboratively in a matrix with minimal guidance
Strategic mindset with the ability to align projects with business goals
Experience influencing and/or managing large teams and cross-functional initiatives
An aptitude for continuous improvement and standardizing best practices across organizations and projects

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted advisor to Sourcing and Business teams on policy interpretation, risk posture, and contractual controls, partnering closely with Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Audit to ensure defensible sourcing outcomes.
Oversee the Global Sourcing Policy & Procedures, managing the annual review lifecycle, engaging internal Sourcing stakeholders, other Sourcing CoE pillars, as well as cross-functional stakeholders (e.g. Legal, Risk, Controllership, SOX, etc.) for input, document decisions, and align on how Sourcing should operate and be engaged by stakeholders at Visa.
Establish, review and implement controls to support compliance and/or other regulatory requirements that impact Sourcing’s policies, procedures and processes, and act as the key point of contact for internal and external audits of the Sourcing function (e.g. evidence gathering, responses to document/information requests) and address findings as required.
Own the relationship with Sourcing Legal stakeholders, develop ways of working, alignment and coordination of supplier contract templates and rollout across Global Sourcing.
Oversee the contract management and legal liaison program, leading a team that triages and supports Sourcing with negotiating low-risk supplier contracts and support administrative agreements and contract lifecycle management (e.g., NDAs, name changes).
Own and continuously improve the end-to-end contracting process and develop requirements for systems enhancements in partnership with Sourcing Legal and Third Party Risk stakeholders (e.g., template governance, process simplification, rollout of low-risk pathways and contracting tools), including training and stakeholder communications.
Lead contract compliance and remediation efforts tied to evolving laws, regulations, and internal policies (e.g., privacy/data usage/AI requirements), including addressing audit findings and policy exceptions/corrections.
Oversee Supplier Code of Conduct governance and driving updates through approval and publication cycles.
Work closely with the Process & Systems Excellence team to develop and align on global standard processes, SOPs, and resources, including reviewing and suggesting areas of improvement as it relates to controls, compliance, and exceptions management.
Use of AI and automation where possible to streamline and manage compliance and exception logging processes, minimizing errors from Sourcing and Business Stakeholders while reducing manual work.
Work closely with the Sourcing CoE Talent & Change Enablement team to deliver training, communications, knowledge management and ensure global adoption of new capabilities and ways of working (e.g. Sourcing Policy & Procedures, Controls, Exceptions, Contracting).
Using data insights, automation and other sourcing tools, lead continuous improvement efforts by contributing to a program management framework aligned with modern agile and lean six sigma practices.
Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, including Visa’s Sourcing Leadership team, Third Party Lifecycle Management (TLMP) and Sourcing Legal.
Foster strong relationships with regional and integrated teams to drive alignment and collaboration.
Monitor project milestones and deliverables to ensure timely completion; Facilitate regular project meetings and ensure follow-up on action items, Establish and maintain proper project documentation including charters, schedules, and status reports.
Drive innovation, governance, and data management to utilize new tools and methodologies.
Share best practices across the organization to enhance overall sourcing capabilities.
Leverage AI resources and tools to identify operational efficiencies and enhance team impact.
Oversee and / or participate in special projects, as needed.
Coordinate with cross-functional teams to ensure project alignment with business objectives.
Responsible for the financial planning, allocation and management of budget and resources.