Director, Strategic Workforce Planning & Programs

Visa • Foster City, CA

117d • $170,700 - $247,600 • Hybrid

About The Position

Visa is seeking a seasoned and highly motivated professional to join the Strategy & Operations function within Value-Added Services (VAS) Product Development (PD). In this high-impact individual contributor (IC) role, you will serve as a trusted advisor to engineering leadership, operational excellence, and cross-functional execution to scale and evolve our engineering organization. This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of business strategy, technical execution, and organizational design. You will lead critical initiatives, partner with senior leaders, and influence decision-making across a fast-paced, innovative tech environment. VAS Product Development is focused on diversifying Visa's revenue by building differentiated products and delivering value-added solutions across multiple payment rails. Our strategy is to increase client value by solving complex, emerging needs through innovative offerings. This role reports to the Senior Director, VAS Product Development and partners closely with the SVP of VAS PD and the broader leadership team. The Director of Workforce Planning, Location & Space Strategy, and Third-Party Management is a senior leader responsible for ensuring the organization has the optimal talent, geographic footprint, vendor relationships, and operational processes to meet current and future business objectives. This role will lead org-wide workforce planning and execution, location strategies and space allocation while overseeing third-party contractor governance, performance, and compliance. Additionally, this leader will drive operational excellence through process optimization initiatives, foster vertical PMO alignment and standardization, and oversee university hiring and intern program management to build a sustainable early-career talent pipeline. Acting as a strategic advisor, this person will partner with business leaders, HR, Operations, Procurement, Finance, and PMO teams to optimize workforce capacity, productivity, and cost efficiency.

Requirements

• 10+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or at least 7 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 4 years of work experience with a PhD, OR 13+ years of relevant work experience.
• Proven ability to align product development goals with business OKRs, and to define strategies and governance frameworks to meet these goals.
• Experience collaborating with executive leaders across functions (especially Engineering & Product Management) to drive alignment and deliver on shared objectives.
• 5-8 years of experience driving program management and business operations.
• Expertise in managing large portfolios of programs, covering strategy, execution, and governance, to ensure delivery within target timelines, costs, and scopes.
• Skilled in building and evolving operating systems for engineering organizations to scale effectively.
• Demonstrated experience in learning new technologies and or new domains and or new functions.
• Experience using Gen AI and driving Gen AI initiatives for productivity improvements and innovation.
• Demonstrated experience in cross-functional, global teams of program managers and technical product managers across multiple locations.
• Proven ability to foster a team culture of ownership (founder mindset), accountability, innovation, strategic thinking, data-driven approach to problem solving, learning, strong execution, proactiveness, adaptability and continuous improvement.
• Experience creating materials, presentations, and reports for C-level executives.
• Extensive experience in managing business operations, including workforce planning, project financials, budgeting, program cost accounting, and sourcing practices.
• Proven leadership in annual planning for complex, cross-functional programs.
• Deep collaboration, analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to effectively communicate technical and business issues and solutions at all organizational levels.
• Skilled in conflict management and negotiation to achieve project goals and build trust with stakeholders.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, SharePoint, Copilot) and experienced with Jira Align, Jira, Clarity, and Wiki.
• Strong process orientation with demonstrated knowledge of program and project management methodologies and best practices.
• Proficient in software and product development lifecycles (SDLC, PDLC), agile, scrum, and lean principles.
• Proven ability to drive operational efficiencies through automation and process redesign.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in the payments network is a plus.
• Knowledge of Visa's financial practices and technology processes is advantageous but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of organizational workforce planning strategy aligned with business objective for an org of 4000+.
• Analyze internal workforce data and external labor market trends to forecast talent needs and identify gaps in skills and capacity.
• Partner with the People team and business leaders to develop short- and long-term staffing capability and capacity plans, including permanent employees and contractors.
• Oversee workforce dashboards and reporting tools to track key metrics and inform decision-making.
• Support change management initiatives related to organizational design, restructuring, or talent redeployment.
• Develop and oversee governance frameworks for managing third-party contractors, ensuring compliance with company policies, legal requirements, and industry standards.
• Partner with Procurement and Legal to negotiate and manage contracts, service-level agreements (SLAs), and performance metrics for external partners.
• Monitor contractor performance, quality of work, and budget adherence, address performance issues as needed.
• Ensure onboarding, training, and offboarding processes for contractors are efficient and consistent.
• Drive cost optimization and risk mitigation in third-party engagements.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive university relations strategy.
• Design and manage structured internship programs that provide meaningful work, skill development, and high conversion rates to full-time roles.
• Partner with business leaders to forecast early-career hiring needs and align campus recruiting efforts to workforce plans.
• Create and maintain an annual intern and graduate hiring calendar, including recruiting events, career fairs, and on-campus activities.
• Oversee the onboarding, training, and mentorship programs for interns and university hires to ensure a positive experience and high retention.
• Track and report key metrics for early-career hiring.
• Work with Marketing and Communications to enhance the employer brand among students and universities.
• Drive the adoption of standardized processes, tools, and reporting frameworks across vertical PMOs to ensure consistency and transparency.
• Establish and maintain a central repository of best practices, templates, and methodologies.
• Define and track productivity metrics to measure efficiency improvements and identify areas for optimization.
• Facilitate cross-PMO knowledge sharing and capability building to enhance delivery performance.
• Partner with PMO leaders to ensure alignment with strategic goals, business priorities, and resource capacity plans.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on workforce structure, talent sourcing strategies, vendor partnerships, and program delivery effectiveness.
• Foster strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners to ensure alignment with organizational priorities.

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401 (k)
• FSA/HSA
• Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Wellness Program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Credit Intermediation and Related Activities
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree