Vice President, People Strategy, Operations & Chief of Staff to the CPO

About Us
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.

Job Description

The Vice President, People Strategy, Operations & Chief of Staff will be responsible for evolving and driving the People Strategy, leading the People for People business partner team, as well as the operations team that supports the People organization. The successful candidate will also stand up a new function within Visa, Enterprise Change Leadership, which will drive deep expertise in change management and act as thought partners to the PBP team as we build that skill. The role will also serve as the Chief of Staff to the Chief People Officer and Head of Corporate Affairs (Kelly).

Reporting directly to the Chief People Officer and Head of Corporate Affairs, this role serves as:

• Principal advisor and Chief of Staff to the Chief People Officer
• Architect of the HR operating system (strategy, governance, analytics, execution)
• Owner of Enterprise Change Leadership (builds expertise in this key discipline)
• Leader of the People for People team

This leader ensures the HR organization operates as a disciplined, insight driven, enterprise aligned function-capable of delivering at scale while enabling business growth and innovation.

Core Accountabilities

1. People Strategy & Alignment

• Partner with the VPLT to define and continuously evolve a multi year global people strategy aligned to Visa's enterprise strategy, growth priorities, and geographic footprint.
• Translate business and revenue strategies into a clear People Strategy, ensuring coherent execution across regions and functions. Partner with the COEs in the integration of their strategies into one cohesive People Strategy.
• Serve as the strategic integrator across People functions (Talent, Rewards, People Partners, Inclusion, Analytics, People Operations), ensuring priorities are aligned, sequenced, tracked, and resourced appropriately.

2. Chief of Staff to the CPO

• Act as the CPO's primary thought partner and extension, enabling focus on highest value enterprise matters.
• Shape agendas, materials, and narratives for:
  • People Leadership Team
  • Executive Committee as appropriate
  • Board of Directors and Compensation Committee as appropriate
• Drive cadence, discipline, and follow through across the People Leadership Team, ensuring decisions translate into execution.
• Anticipate risks, conflicts, and dependencies across the enterprise and surface options proactively to the CPO.
• Represent the CPO as appropriate

3. People Team Operating Model, Governance & Execution Discipline

• Design, evolve, and sustain a global People operating model appropriate for Visa's scale, and growth ambitions.
• Establish and run governance mechanisms that drive:
  • Enterprise prioritization
  • Decision clarity and speed
  • Clear ownership and escalation paths
• Lead People Leadership Team operating rhythms (quarterly reviews, strategic offsites, performance reviews).
• Ensure consistency, clarity, and accountability across regional and functional leaders.

4. Business Management & Operations

• Own the People function's business management framework, including:
  • Global budget and headcount governance
  • Workforce cost modeling and analysis
  • Capacity planning and demand management
• Partner closely with Finance to align people investments with enterprise financial targets and productivity expectations
• Establish transparent performance dashboards that articulate People team value creation and efficiency.
• Partner with Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Internal Audit to manage people related risk exposure through leadership of the People team Audit and Governance team

5. Transformation, Digital & AI Enablement

• Lead large scale People transformation initiatives in partnership with the VPLT, including:
  • Digital and AI enablement
  • Process simplification and automation
  • Capability transformation within the People team
  • Operating model optimization
• Serve as the orchestrator across People team, Technology, and Finance to ensure adoption, value realization, and enterprise readiness.
• Embed continuous improvement and modernization as core People team capabilities

7. Leadership & Talent Development

• Build and lead a high performing Strategy, Operations & Chief of Staff team with strong capabilities in:
  • Strategy and analytics
  • Program and change leadership
  • Executive communications
  • Business operations

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

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
• Experience in People Strategy development and Execution with a strong consulting background.
• Experience leading in a business partnering role, driving and influencing leaders in the development and delivery of People Strategy
• Demonstrated effectiveness operating with C suite leaders and Boards in a global, regulated enterprise.
• Proven experience designing and scaling operating models and governance frameworks.
• Strong financial, analytical, and commercial acumen with clear linkage between people strategy and business outcomes.
• Executive level communication skills and gravitas.

Preferred Qualifications

• 15 or more years of progressive leadership experience across HR, strategy, operations, transformation, or management consulting.
• Experience in payments, financial services, or similarly regulated global companies.
• Prior Chief of Staff experience to a C suite executive.
• MBA or advanced degree.
• Experience leading digital or AI enabled transformation.

U.S. Applicants Only

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