Senior Manager, Marketing Strategy (International Travel)

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.

The Senior Manager of Marketing Strategy (International Travel) is primarily responsible for driving cross‑border payment volume growth for our business units, products, and markets that seek to build relevance and preference among international travelers. This role requires a deep understanding of the international travel payments industry, as well as the ability to translate complex insights from consumer travel behaviors, market dynamics, and travel payments economics into clear, actionable marketing strategies for global business units and markets around the world.

Success in this role depends on strong cross‑functional partnership with the Cross-border Business Unit, regional marketing partners, Corporate Strategy, and creative agencies, and the ability to influence marketing planning, investment prioritization, and execution at scale. Importantly, this position serves as a core contributor to the cross-border Marketing Center of Excellence, driving thought leadership, strategic rigor, and market enablement across all priority travel initiatives.

The position reports to the Senior Director – Travel Experiences and will be based in Visa’s San Francisco office.

Essential Functions:

Manage and execute the marketing strategy for international travel:

• Lead the day-to-day operations of strategy development for growth travel corridors aligned to Visa’s strategic goals by translating actionable frameworks into scalable creative platforms and innovation initiatives across priority travel corridors.
• Partner with regional marketing leads to optimize and evolve corridor‑level strategies, in lock step with changes to the business strategy, competitive dynamics or macro economic changes.
• Refine traveler journey stages, trip motivations and consumer spend behavior as new learnings and insights are unlocked from priority travel cohorts.
• Optimize marketing programs for ‘sending’ and ‘receiving’ markets to ensure ‘two-hands’ clapping in close coordination with Regional teams to minimize region-to-region coordination and efforts.
• In collaboration with Global Brand Creative Studio, support strategy development for global cross border campaigns that are centrally managed, studio built and regionally executed.
• Influence annual operating plans to ensure cross-border initiatives are appropriately prioritized and funded, and oversee budget management for global marketing workstreams.
• Brief cross-border based executions within sponsorships to improve brand campaign business driven results – FIFA, OLY and F1 programs – going beyond the sponsorship itself and the full travel experience.

Act as the Cross-border subject matter expert and enable markets to deliver effectively and efficiently:

• Evaluate and build new global channel strategy (e.g. airports) to determine new central optimization of media planning and buying.
• Assess regionally led deals (e.g, sponsorships) to deploy more effective non-host market advertising of ‘sending markets’ and lift preference and usage of Visa – includes marketing strategy for Visa owned properties, such as Visa Live.
• Build and advance cross-border thought leadership through research, market intelligence, and industry trend analysis, translating insights into best practices that improve marketing effectiveness.
• Lead global‑to‑regional enablement and change management by hosting regular regional share‑outs and evolving the operating model and go‑to‑market approach
• Develop and implement a global messaging framework that enables regions to confidently and consistently activate compliant, high‑impact brand and product claims across priority corridors.
• Partner with Regions and Insights & Analytics to define a measurement framework and learning agenda for Travel initiatives, ensuring insights inform current optimization and future strategy development.
• Support innovation pilots in partnership with the BU and Regions to drive new growth and acquisition for Visa and Visa clients
• Drive innovation sprints with new AI platforms, partner platforms to push category superiority over competitive set.

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

This position is not eligible for Sponsorship.

Basic Qualifications:

• 8 or more years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor Degree or at least 5 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 2 years of work experience with a PhD

Preferred Qualifications:

• 9 or more years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor Degree or 7 or more relevant years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 3 or more years of experience with a PhD
• Degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field. MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in global brand strategy, brand marketing, or related field - travel related industry (airlines, hospitality, OTAs, etc.) strongly preferred.
• Thought leader of effective creative, brand development, and multichannel marketing campaigns, with a focus on international travelers, as a subject matter expert.
• Agency-side or client-side experience working with or at global brands focus on the international travel segments, such as OTAs, airlines, or hospitality companies, and having held a combination of global, regional or local market positions.
• Experience working and living in multiple countries as well as collaborating with teams across geographies to have an informed market-first view to global marketing.
• Embodies aspirational behaviors of leading courageously, obsessing about customers, collaborating as one Visa, and executing with excellence.
• Strong executive presence with highly effective written and verbal communication skills including the ability to present with impact.
• Self-motivated, resourceful and results oriented individual.
• Strong planning, organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to drive opportunities independently across multiple complex projects that have strategic implications for the brand and company, while operating in an environment that changes quickly.

Work Hours: Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements: This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements: This position will be performed in an office setting. The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.

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.

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.

U.S. APPLICANTS ONLY: The estimated salary range for this position is 153,700.00 to 246,200.00 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401 (k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.