Director, Specialized Sales, Issuing Solutions & Pismo

In brief

**Overview** Visa is seeking a Director, Specialized Sales, Issuing Solutions & Pismo. This leadership role, based in Johannesburg, is responsible for leading the growth, commercialization, and market adoption of Visa's Issuing Solutions portfolio and the Pismo platform across the Southern & Eastern Africa (SEA) region. The position aims to drive regional sales strategy, pipeline development, and revenue growth by partnering with issuers, banks, digital banks, fintechs, and other financial institutions. The role is part of the broader Specialized Sales organization and focuses on accelerating issuer modernization, digital transformation, and long-term client value creation. **What you will do** * Develop and execute regional growth strategies for Visa Issuing Solutions and Pismo, aligned with business priorities and revenue objectives. * Drive pipeline creation, bookings, and revenue growth across SEA markets and priority client segments. * Identify emerging opportunities and market trends to accelerate adoption of issuer processing, digital banking, and modernization solutions. * Serve as the regional subject matter expert for Issuing Solutions and Pismo, influencing strategic priorities and go-to-market approaches. * Partner with Cluster Managing Directors, Country Managers, and Sales Leaders to develop market-specific growth plans and commercialization strategies. * Establish and maintain senior executive relationships with key decision-makers. * Lead complex, high-value sales engagements and negotiations with strategic clients. * Position Visa and Pismo as trusted partners in clients' modernization, transformation, and growth agendas. * Deliver compelling business cases that articulate business outcomes, operational efficiencies, technology modernization benefits, and commercial value. * Lead commercialization efforts for Visa Issuing Solutions, issuer processing capabilities, and Pismo's cloud-native banking and processing platform. * Drive client adoption of next-generation issuer processing, card issuing, digital banking, and core modernization capabilities. * Partner with product and solution teams to develop tailored client value propositions and solution strategies. * Support strategic accounts throughout the sales lifecycle, from opportunity identification through contract execution and commercialization. * Build and maintain a strong pipeline of modernization opportunities across traditional banks, digital banks, fintechs, and emerging financial institutions. * Maintain deep expertise in issuer processing, card issuing, digital banking, payment technologies, cloud-native platforms, real-time payments, open banking, fintech innovation, and regulatory developments across the SEA region. * Act as a trusted advisor to clients and internal stakeholders on industry trends, competitive dynamics, and transformation opportunities. * Represent Visa and Pismo in industry forums, client events, and strategic market discussions. * Provide market intelligence and client insights to influence product strategy and investment priorities. * Collaborate with Sales, Product, Technology, Finance, Client Services, Marketing, Strategy, and Pismo teams to drive integrated client solutions. * Influence product roadmaps and market strategies through client feedback and competitive intelligence. * Support development of sales enablement materials, commercialization plans, thought leadership content, and marketing initiatives. * Promote best practices and share expertise across the regional and global specialized sales organizations. * Ensure accurate forecasting, pipeline management, and opportunity reporting through Microsoft Dynamics and established sales management processes. * Provide regular business updates, market insights, and growth recommendations to regional and global leadership. * Drive sales discipline, operational excellence, and compliance with Visa governance standards. * Own and deliver Issuing Solutions and Pismo revenue, bookings, and pipeline objectives across Southern & Eastern Africa. * Lead acquisition of new clients and expansion of existing strategic relationships. * Identify and quantify market opportunities and develop commercialization plans to capture growth. * Translate complex client challenges into scalable Visa and Pismo solutions. * Structure and negotiate strategic enterprise agreements with financial institutions, fintechs, processors, and ecosystem partners. * Drive executive alignment across client and Visa stakeholders to achieve successful commercial outcomes. * Champion Visa's value-based sales methodology and client success framework. * Contribute to broader regional growth strategies and long-term business planning. * Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager. **Requirements (from the original advert)** * 10+ years of relevant experience in payments, financial services, banking technology, fintech, issuer processing, or enterprise technology sales. * Bachelor's Degree or equivalent professional experience. * Proven track record of achieving significant revenue growth through strategic enterprise sales and client relationship management. * Experience engaging and influencing senior executives and C-level decision-makers. * Experience managing complex sales opportunities across multiple markets within Africa. **Who should apply** This role is ideal for an experienced and strategic leader with deep expertise in issuer processing, digital banking, payments, and financial technology. The successful candidate will have a proven track record of leading complex enterprise sales engagements and influencing executive stakeholders, specifically in the context of selling payment solutions, issuer processing platforms, banking technology, core banking solutions, SaaS platforms, or digital transformation services. They should possess strong knowledge of issuer processing, card issuing, digital banking, cloud-native technology, and financial services infrastructure, coupled with a deep understanding of the Southern & Eastern Africa payments and banking ecosystem. The ideal candidate demonstrates success leading large, complex, multi-stakeholder sales engagements and commercial negotiations, with strong commercial acumen to build executive-level business cases. Excellent leadership, communication, presentation, and relationship management skills are crucial, along with the ability to influence across highly matrixed organizations and drive alignment among diverse stakeholders. Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities are expected, as is experience managing regional portfolios and contributing to market growth strategies. The role requires the ability to travel across the SEA region and engage effectively with diverse client and stakeholder groups, acting as a trusted advisor on industry trends and transformation opportunities. **Deadline** Not specified **Reference** Original posting: https://www.myjobmag.co.za/job/director-specialized-sales-issuing-solutions-pismo-visa Source: myjobmag

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