Our Purpose

We work to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. We cultivate a culture of inclusion (https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/vision/who-we-are/diversity-inclusion.html) for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences enable us to be a better team – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation and delivers better business results.

Title and Summary

Director, Public Policy Southern Africa Cluster

An experienced government relations practitioner to lead MasterCard’s government affairs and public policy advocacy efforts in EEMEA's Southern Africa Cluster with a primary focus on South Africa.

The jobholder will bring a positive commitment to joining a management team focused on rapid success and growth. He or she will have a track record at building competence and confidence in the strategic use of public policy campaigns. A trusted strategic advisor to the local management team, they will be responsible for delivering the government relations disciplines, acting as point person for relationships with MasterCard’s legislative and regulatory audiences and for building other, third party, allies. The jobholder will be focusing on developing how MasterCard’s interests could be advanced through engagement with the Government and other influencers in the market. This role will, in consultation with the business, drive the development of a strategic engagement plan with government stakeholders and play the lead role in the execution of such plan.

Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, the role reports to the EEMEA regional lead for Public Policy based in Dubai and will engage in continuous consultation with the Divisional Presidents and their direct reports.

Responsibilities:

• Develop a public policy strategy and an implementable program for the cluster and each of the major markets. This program will be designed to proactively engage with government and public office entities, build bridges with them, and both lead and respond to regulatory and legislative threats to MasterCard and/or the payment industry

• Develop and lead a proactive public policy outreach program working in conjunction with MasterCard’s public policy teams both regionally and globally

• Coordinate industry cooperation on non-competitive public policy matters and represent MasterCard on various industry forums as required

• Act as 'tip of the spear' and primary business contact for regulators and government in each of the cluster’s markets

• Brief local, regional and global executive management of policy, legislative and geopolitical developments and recommend organization’s response.

• Lead the government affairs program in an effort to establish MasterCard as a recognized expert and resource in the payments industry.

• Manage government affairs agencies and tracking firms to represent and advocate the company's interests.

Experience Required:

• The ideal candidate will have a distinguished track record as a high achieving government relations senior professional with a demonstrated capacity to build and execute public affairs programs that support business growth within a dynamic and changing corporation.

• Educated to degree level, with a minimum of 10 years management experience in similar Public Policy/Government Relations roles in a major multinational business or agency or high-profile association and with strong background in dealing with Government in terms of frequency and quality of relationships.

• An intimate working knowledge of the processes and inner workings of the legislative and political process and an ability to analyze the impact of legislation on the company and develop strategies to move their interests forward.

• Strong leadership skills with particular success building and enhancing credibility for the function with the organization.

• A team player who will work well with senior business and functional leaders of MasterCard. Must be able to work independently and also constructively as a collaborative team-player. High-energy, self-motivated, results-driven.

• Must possess strong analytical approach to problem solving, ability to develop creative solutions to complex problems, able to deal with short deadlines and work productively in high pressure situations in dynamic commercial and policy environments.

• Excellent written and spoken English communication and interpersonal skills as a foundation for developing and maintaining strong internal relationships at all levels, cross-functionally and across business units and geographies within the Company

• Willing to travel both within Africa, and as necessary to regional headquarters in Dubai, and global headquarters in Purchase, New York.

• While knowledge and experience of the financial services and payments sector is valued, candidates need not be currently working in these sectors. Experience in technology sector also a plus.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.