Job DescriptionThe Senior Manager of Marketing Strategy, International Travel is responsible for developing insight-led marketing strategies that drive cross-border payment volume growth and build Visa relevance, preference, and usage among international travelers.
This role requires a strong background in brand strategy, brand planning, consumer insights, and campaign development, with a deep understanding of international travel, traveler behavior, and cross-border commerce. The ideal candidate can translate complex inputs - including consumer research, cultural trends, travel behaviors, market dynamics, competitive activity, and payments economics - into clear, actionable strategies, creative briefs, messaging frameworks, and global-to-regional activation plans.
Success in this role depends on strong cross-functional partnership with the Cross-Border Business Unit, regional marketing partners, Corporate Strategy, Insights & Analytics, Global Brand Creative Studio, creative agencies, media partners, and sponsorship teams. This person will influence marketing planning, investment prioritization, campaign development, and execution across priority travel corridors and markets.
Importantly, this role serves as a core contributor to the Cross-Border Marketing Center of Excellence, helping drive thought leadership, strategic rigor, best-practice sharing, and market enablement across Visa's priority international travel initiatives.
The position reports to the Senior Director, Travel Experiences and will be based in Visa's San Francisco office.
This is a hybrid position. Visa requires at least 3 days in office; specific expectations will be confirmed by the hiring manager.
Essential Functions- Manage and execute the marketing strategy for international travel
- Lead the development of marketing strategies for priority international travel corridors aligned to Visa's cross-border growth objectives.
- Translate consumer insights, travel trends, market dynamics, and business priorities into clear strategic frameworks, creative briefs, campaign platforms, and activation guidance.
- Partners with regional marketing leads to optimizing and evolving corridor-level strategies in response to business priorities, competitive dynamics, macroeconomic shifts, and changing traveler behavior.
- Refine traveler journey stages, trip motivations, audience segments, and consumer spending behaviors as new research, data, and market learnings are developed.
- Develop marketing strategies for both sending and receiving markets, ensuring coordinated planning and execution across regions while reducing unnecessary region-to-region complexity.
- In collaboration with the Global Brand Creative Studio, support strategy development for global cross-border campaigns that are centrally led, studio built and regionally executed.
- Influence annual operating plans to ensure cross-border travel initiatives are appropriately prioritized, funded, and integrated into regional and global marketing plans.
- Support budget planning and management for global marketing workstreams related to international travel and cross-border initiatives.
- Brief and shape cross-border executions within major sponsorship platforms, including FIFA, the Olympics, and Formula 1, to drive stronger business outcomes beyond the sponsorship moment and across the full travel experience.
- Act as the cross-border travel subject matter expert and enable markets to deliver effectively and efficiently
- Serve as a subject matter expert on international travel marketing, traveler behavior, cross-border commerce, and payments usage across priority markets.
- Build and advance cross-border thought leadership through consumer research, market intelligence, competitive analysis, industry trend monitoring, and travel behavior insights.
- Translate research and market intelligence into best practices, strategic recommendations, campaign guidance, and market enablement tools that improve marketing effectiveness.
- Evaluate and develop global channel strategies, including airport, destination, sponsorship, experiential, digital, and Visa-owned channels, to improve engagement with international travelers.
- Assess regionally led sponsorships, partnerships, and market opportunities to identify more effective strategies for reaching non-host and sending-market travelers.
- Develop marketing strategies for Visa-owned properties and experiences, including Visa Live, to increase relevance, preference, and usage among international travelers.
- Develop and implement a global messaging framework that enables regions to activate consistent, compliant, and high-impact brand and product claims across priority corridors.
- Lead global-to-regional enablement and change management through regular regional share-outs, planning forums, toolkits, playbooks, and operating model improvements.
- Partner with Regions and Insights & Analytics to define measurement frameworks, learning agendas, and optimization plans for travel initiatives.
- Ensure campaign learnings and performance insights inform current optimization, future strategy development, and annual planning.
- Support innovation pilots in partnership with the Cross-Border Business Unit, Regions, partners, and clients to drive new growth and acquisition opportunities for Visa.
- Drive innovation sprints using emerging platforms, AI-enabled tools, partner platforms, and new marketing technologies to strengthen Visa's category leadership and competitive differentiation.
Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.
QualificationsBasic Qualifications- 8 or more years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor's Degree; or at least 5 years of experience with an Advanced Degree, such as a Master's, MBA,
Preferred Qualifications- 9 or more years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor's Degree; or 7 or more years of relevant experience with an Advanced Degree, such as a Master's, MBA, JD, or MD; or 3 or more years of experience with a PhD.
- Degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Strategy, or a related field. MBA or advanced degree preferred.
- Progressive experience in brand strategy, brand planning, campaign strategy, marketing strategy, or global brand marketing.
- Agency-side experience as a brand planner, strategist, strategy director, or account planning lead strongly preferred.
- Client-side experience at a global brand with responsibility for brand strategy, campaign development, or global-to-regional marketing activation is also highly relevant.
- Experience in the travel industry is strongly preferred, including online travel agencies, airlines, hospitality, mobility, tourism, travel marketplaces, or destination marketing.
- Demonstrated ability to build brand and campaign strategies from consumer insight through creative brief, campaign development, execution, measurement, and optimization.
- Strong ability to work with research, insights, and analytics teams to identify meaningful consumer, cultural, market, and category trends.
- Experience translating research and data into strategic recommendations, messaging frameworks, campaign platforms, and executive-ready narratives.
- Experience developing multichannel marketing campaigns for global, regional, or local markets, ideally with a focus on international travelers or cross-border consumer behavior.
- Experience working across geographies, regions, or markets, with the ability to balance global brand consistency with local market relevance.
- Experience with sponsorship, experiential, airport, destination, travel, or partnership marketing preferred.
Information for US ApplicantsFor roles located in the US, 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.
Work HoursVaries upon the needs of the department.
Travel RequirementsThis position requires travel 5-10% of the time.
Mental/Physical RequirementsThis 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.
