Vice President, Global Head of Executive Recruiting
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. We are 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.
About the role
Visa's Global Executive Talent Acquisition function is seeking an exceptional executive talent leader to serve as Vice President, Global Head of Executive Recruiting. This strategically critical role has full global ownership of executive talent acquisition from strategic sourcing to delivery across all five regions: North America, Latin America & Caribbean (LAC), Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa (CEMEA), Europe, and Asia Pacific (AP), as well as the Technology Organization.
Reporting directly to the Global Head of Talent Acquisition, this individual serves as the chief architect of Visa's enterprise executive search model, overseeing a geographically distributed team responsible for recruiting VP, SVP, and C-suite-level talent globally. This leader partners directly with senior stakeholders to shape and execute the talent strategies that define Visa's future leadership.
This role demands a blend of strategic vision, operational rigor, executive presence, and deep global market expertise. Visa requires at least 3 days in office per week; specific expectations will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.
Responsibilities
- Global Executive TA Strategy & Governance
- Design, own, and continuously evolve Visa's Global Executive Search Operating Model—defining standards, processes, intake methodology, talent mapping frameworks, and selection criteria for all VP+ and C-suite searches worldwide.
- Set the enterprise-wide strategic direction for executive talent acquisition, ensuring alignment with Visa's long-term business priorities, growth ambitions, and leadership succession imperatives.
- Establish consistent governance, quality, and compliance standards across all five regions while enabling regional teams to tailor approaches to local labor market dynamics.
- Drive innovation in executive search methodology, championing the adoption of AI-enabled tools, advanced assessment platforms, and data-driven decision-making to raise the bar on executive hiring quality and efficiency.
- Define and monitor global executive TA metrics, SLAs, and KPIs; deliver regular executive-level reporting on pipeline health, time-to-fill, diversity outcomes, and market intelligence.
- Executive Partnership & Strategic Advising
- Serve as the primary strategic talent advisor to the C-suite and senior business leadership globally, building deep trust and credibility through consistently excellent delivery and proactive market intelligence.
- Act as a thought partner to regional People leaders and executive stakeholders on organizational design, leadership capability gaps, succession planning, and internal vs. external talent decisions.
- Anticipate future leadership needs by maintaining a continuous dialogue with business leaders, translating enterprise strategy into proactive executive hiring and succession pipelines.
- Advise on role definition, level calibration, candidate assessment frameworks, and compensation considerations for leadership appointments.
- Represent the Global Executive TA function in senior leadership forums and cross-functional strategic planning processes.
- Global Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, inspire, and develop a high-performing, globally distributed team.
- Establish a clear vision, operating principles, and culture of excellence, accountability, inclusion, and continuous development across the global executive TA organization.
- Manage total team capacity, search prioritization, and resource allocation across concurrent, high-impact global executive searches.
- Coach and upskill regional leaders and executive recruiters on advanced sourcing, executive assessment, stakeholder management, and the responsible use of AI and data tools.
- Foster a collaborative, globally connected Executive TA Community of Practice, ensuring consistent application of search standards and knowledge-sharing across all regions.
- Executive Search Delivery & Quality
- Maintain direct delivery accountability for a select portfolio of the most strategically critical, complex, or sensitive global executive searches.
- Champion a premium, high-touch, differentiated candidate experience globally—ensuring all senior candidates, regardless of outcome, receive an experience that reflects and reinforces Visa's employer brand.
- Partner closely with Workforce Planning, Total Rewards, People Business Partners (PBPs), Talent Management, and Preboarding teams to deliver a seamless, best-in-class end-to-end executive hiring experience.
- Oversee relationships with external executive search partners where utilized, ensuring partner alignment, governance, and cost effectiveness.
- Global Succession Planning & Talent Pipeline
- Develop and govern a multi-year proactive talent mapping strategy, building and nurturing relationships with external leadership talent pools to address Visa's long-term succession planning and capability needs across functions and geographies.
- Identify and monitor competitor talent movements, emerging leadership trends, and global compensation benchmarks to inform proactive pipeline development.
- Insights, Analytics & Market Intelligence
- Drive a data-first culture within the global executive TA team, leveraging advanced analytics, talent intelligence platforms, and reporting tools to assess performance, mitigate risks, and inform executive hiring decisions.
- Provide the C-suite and People leadership with regular, forward-looking insights on executive talent availability, competitor activity, leadership hiring trends, and macro market dynamics across all five regions.
- Maintain deep expertise across regional and global executive labor markets, cross-border regulatory considerations, cultural nuances, and executive compensation dynamics.
Qualifications
- Basic Qualifications
- 12 or more years of work experience with a bachelor’s degree, or
- At least 10 years of experience with an advanced degree (e.g., Masters, MBA, JD, MD), or
- At least 8 years of work experience with a PhD.
- Preferred Qualifications
- 15 or more years of experience with an advanced degree (e.g., Masters, MBA, JD, MD, PhD).
- Demonstrated success leading and closing VP, SVP, EVP, and C-suite-level executive searches in large, highly matrixed, global enterprises.
- Significant people leadership experience, with a track record of building, developing, and inspiring geographically distributed executive recruiting teams across multiple regions and cultures.
- Proven experience designing and elevating a global executive search operating model, including process and governance frameworks, executive talent assessment practices, and technology enablement.
- Exceptional executive presence and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to partner, advise, influence, and build lasting credibility with C-suite executives.
- Strong capability in advanced data analytics, executive hiring metrics, talent intelligence platforms, and AI-enabled recruiting tools to drive continuous improvement and evidence-based decision-making.
- Extensive executive TA or executive search leadership experience spanning multiple global regions and functions.
- Deep understanding of cross-border executive hiring, international labor markets, regulatory considerations, cultural talent dynamics, and executive compensation frameworks across diverse geographies.
- Background in financial services, payments, fintech, or technology industries strongly preferred; experience in similarly complex, global, regulated enterprises also considered.
- Demonstrated commitment to inclusive hiring practices, diverse talent pipelines, and creating equitable executive assessment processes.
- Passion for innovation, continuous improvement, and elevating the standard of executive talent acquisition as a strategic business function.
Pay
For roles located in the US, the estimated salary range for this position is $216,300 to $400,900 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity.
Benefits
Visa offers a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible, including:
- Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan
- FSA/HSA accounts
- Life Insurance
- Paid Time Off
- Wellness Program
Schedule
- This is a hybrid position requiring at least 3 days in office per week; specific expectations will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.
- Work hours vary based on the needs of the department.
- Travel is required 5-10% of the time.
Work Environment
This position will be performed in an office setting. The role requires the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, and frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.