Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing - Marketing - job 19 of 24

The Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing at Visa is critical to shaping the sourcing strategy for key marketing categories, including media planning, digital marketing, and sponsorships. They are responsible for establishing strong relationships with suppliers, managing agency performance, and identifying cost-saving opportunities while ensuring compliance with corporate policies.

Candidates should have extensive experience in marketing procurement, exceptional leadership skills, and a proven track record of delivering value through strategic sourcing. A deep understanding of the marketing landscape, strong negotiation skills, and decision-making expertise are critical in this role at Visa.

Collaboration is essential for the Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing at Visa. They work with marketing, finance, legal, and agency teams to align sourcing strategies with business requirements and ensure seamless execution of marketing initiatives.

At Visa, career growth for the Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing is robust. The role offers opportunities for leadership development, mentorship, and involvement in strategic decision-making, providing a platform to influence the company's financial performance and marketing success.

The interview process for the Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing at Visa will likely include discussions on strategic sourcing methodologies, collaboration with internal teams, and your approach to vendor management. Expect to showcase your negotiation skills and your vision for driving procurement efficiencies.

When answering this question, highlight specific experiences where you've developed and executed sourcing strategies in marketing. Discuss the outcomes and value you created through your strategies, showcasing your understanding of the marketing procurement landscape.

Emphasize your relationship-building skills. Discuss how you establish clear communication, mutual goals, and performance metrics, which help maintain positive partnerships while ensuring that both parties work toward common objectives.

Talk about your approach to identifying potential risks, assessing their implications, and developing mitigation strategies. Be sure to mention how you adapt these strategies based on different vendor landscapes and regulatory requirements.

Share a specific scenario where you implemented a successful sourcing strategy or negotiated terms that yielded significant savings. Utilize metrics to quantify the results to provide evidence of your capabilities.

Detail your process for aligning sourcing strategies with business objectives, including collaborating with key stakeholders across departments to gather insights, concerns, and goals to tailor your approach.

Identify relevant KPIs such as cost savings, supplier performance, compliance rates, and the overall impact on marketing effectiveness. Explain how you use these metrics to inform ongoing sourcing strategies.

Discuss methods such as regular team trainings, feedback loops, and encouraging innovative ideas to enhance processes and practices. Demonstrating a commitment to developing your team’s skills and methodologies is vital.

Explain your negotiation style. Talk about how you prepare, establish rapport with stakeholders, find common ground, and remain flexible to achieve mutually beneficial agreements while ensuring the company's best interests.

Demonstrate your analytical skills by discussing how you leverage spend data and market trends to derive insights that guide sourcing strategies. Emphasize the importance of data in making informed, strategic sourcing decisions.

Discuss current trends, such as digital transformation in marketing and the increasing importance of data privacy, highlighting how these trends will shape sourcing strategies and general procurement dynamics in the near future.