Job description

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Principal, Advisors & Consulting Services, Sub-Cluster Lead - KSA, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen
Principal, Advisors & Consulting Services, Sub-Cluster Lead
Overview –
The Services organization drives Mastercard's growth by providing innovative services to customers. Services focuses on customer needs by integrating our data, technology, insights, and expertise and boosts business growth. Representing over a third of Mastercard revenues, services are crucial to our success. We are looking for someone to lead the growing Advisors and Consulting team in the SBJY Sub-Cluster which includes 4 (KSA, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen) markets. The ideal candidate will be an inspirational, experienced leader with a strong record in leading high-performing, cross-functional teams. Consulting experience is required, and familiarity with payments or financial institutions is preferred.



As Sub-Cluster Lead for KSA Lead you will drive the delivery of Mastercard Advisors’ consulting and analytics engagements across your markets, ensuring every project delivers measurable client impact and supports Mastercard’s strategic objectives. You will oversee project execution, coach team members, and work closely with country managers and the Arabia's Head of Advisors to strengthen client relationships and grow the practice.

Team: KSA Sub-Cluster Lead for Advisors 

Location: KSA


Role –
• Engagement & Delivery Leadership – Lead project teams to deliver high-quality analyses, creative solutions, and actionable recommendations that generate tangible business value. Provide subject-matter or industry expertise and guide teams toward efficient, business-focused outcomes.

• Client Impact – Own mid- to senior-level client relationships, proactively shaping client agendas and managing relationship risks to ensure sustained trust and impact.

• People & Team Development – Manage and grow a diverse consulting team across KSA, mentoring junior teammates both within and beyond engagement teams. Foster a collaborative, high-performance culture and contribute to Mastercard’s knowledge management and best practices.

• Internal Collaboration – Partner with Country Managers, Global Markets, and Business Development teams to align priorities, share market intelligence, and support regional go-to-market initiatives.

• Financial & Operational Accountability – Manage engagement budgets, staffing, and risk; maintain forecast accuracy and ensure compliance with firm policies and profitability goals.

• Thought Leadership – Act as a thought partner to clients and internal stakeholders, supporting the growth of the Mastercard Advisors & Consulting Services brand through market insights and contributions to internal and external forums.


All About You –
Core Competencies

• Passion – Actively seeks responsibility and takes pride in guiding project teams toward delivering the highest-quality results and recommendations.
• Problem Solving – Leads teams to identify the most critical aspects of a problem and guides them to business-focused solutions and recommendations that drive client value; initiates course corrections where required.

• Analytic Excellence – Demonstrates strong structured-problem-solving and quantitative skills; ensures efficient use of technical capabilities regardless of context.

• Project Management – Deep interest in project delivery with business clients and strong intuition for how companies make decisions.

• Client Management – Inspires client confidence through timely, reliable execution; develops stakeholder management plans to align priorities and address support or resistance.

• Communication & Presence – Crafts clear, complete deliverables and communicates effectively—verbally and in writing—across complex scenarios up to senior management levels.

• Teamwork – Motivates medium-sized teams or key workstreams on regional engagements to produce superior deliverables while fostering open collaboration and a “will-to-win” attitude.

• Commercial Orientation – Identifies opportunities to leverage internal capabilities, including cross-sell opportunities beyond direct project work; partners with broader Services teams on contracting and solution design.

• Leadership – Instills a sense of urgency, ownership, empowerment, and thoughtful risk-taking in leaders at all levels; structures work to align with team members’ goals and motivators.

• Integrity – Models Mastercard’s values of honesty and integrity; follows through on commitments and holds others accountable to do the same.

• Diverse Perspective – Brings unique skills or approaches to every client engagement and internal activity.


Qualifications

• Undergraduate or master’s degree and significant post-graduate work experience in payments and consulting.

• Deep understanding of the KSA , including regulatory frameworks, competitive dynamics, and cultural nuances that influence financial services and payments adoption

• Strong knowledge of Mastercard’s products, data assets, and ecosystem partnerships, and how these capabilities create competitive advantage and drive client value in KSA 

• Experience in coaching and leading teams across large, strategic consulting engagements that involve structured problem solving and stakeholder management

• Deep knowledge of business KPIs, financials, and organizational leadership

• Exceptional analytical and quantitative problem-solving skills; proven ability to guide project teams to structure and resolve ambiguous client challenges.

• Demonstrated success in owning and developing relationships with mid- to executive-level client contacts, inspiring confidence in Mastercard as a trusted partner.

• Strong ability to communicate complex ideas effectively—both verbally and in writing—in English and local market language(s).

•Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, balancing thought with action while maximizing limited resources.

• Advanced proficiency in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

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.

  
  
  

Preferred candidate

Years of experience

8+ years

Degree

Bachelor's degree / higher diploma