Card Consulting Program Lead

Job Title: Card Consulting Program Lead Term: 12 months Location: Riyadh, KSA Relevant experience: - 15 + years' experience in consulting, program management, payments/cards or financial services transformation. - Proven delivery of complex multi-workstream programs from strategy through execution and benefit realization. Mandatory requirements: - Senior consulting and program leadership experience, including problem structuring, C-level stakeholder management, governance, risk/dependency management, analytics-led decision-making and execution oversight. - Knowledge in cards, CVM, product launch, digital banking, and SAMA regulations. - English and Arabic proficiency is mandatory. Purpose of Job: The Cards Consulting Program Lead will oversee the end-to-end delivery of a large cards' transformation program, covering consumer and corporate cards, CVM, analytics, governance, controls, product launch, digital enablement and portfolio optimization. The role requires a senior strategic advisor and hands on program lead who can manage cross-functional teams, engage C-level stakeholders and ensure delivery of measurable commercial, operational, customer and risk-management outcomes. TASKS Core Responsibilities And Accountabilities 1. Program Leadership and Governance - Lead end-to-end delivery of a complex cards consulting program across multiple workstreams, ensuring alignment to objectives, timelines, budget, quality criteria and benefit realization. - Establish governance routines including steering committees, working groups, RAID management, escalation, dependency tracking and executive reporting. - Translate strategic priorities into an integrated roadmap with clear milestones, owners and deliverables, while resolving risks, issues and scope changes to maintain execution momentum. 2. Cards Strategy and Portfolio Management - Support execution of cards strategy across consumer, corporate and SME segments, with focus on spend growth, activation, retention, engagement, profitability and CVM. - Monitor portfolio performance across acquisition quality, activation, spend, attrition, profitability, credit performance, digital adoption and campaign ROI. - Ensure recommendations balance customer value, commercial economics, operational feasibility, and risk while adhering to regulatory requirements. 3. Product, Digital and Customer Value Delivery - Oversee product launches, CVP enhancements, feature upgrades, pricing changes, loyalty/rewards improvements, campaign execution and portfolio interventions. - Design and improve customer and operational journeys across onboarding, servicing, disputes, controls, campaign execution, portfolio monitoring and post-launch management. - Drive digital enablement and customer engagement initiatives that improve usage, experience, adoption and performance. 4. Consulting, Analytics and Business Case Development - Structure business problems into clear workplans, hypotheses, analytical requirements and decision-ready outputs for senior leadership. - Lead market research, benchmarking, customer needs assessment, business cases, revenue projections and cost-benefit analysis. - Identify portfolio opportunities, product gaps, customer segments, operational bottlenecks and performance levers, translating insights into executable plans 5. Cross-Functional Execution and Change Management - Lead cross-functional teams internally within the client alongside external stakeholders to provide business?focused solutions and recommendations that drive client value. - Manage change impacts across people, process, technology, controls and governance, ensuring readiness before launch and adoption after implementation. - Support capability building through playbooks, operating routines, training, knowledge transfer and performance management disciplines. 6. Risk, Controls and Stakeholder Management - Identify delivery, operational, compliance, financial, technology and customer risks early and maintain effective mitigation actions. - Ensure deliverables align with business, technical, control and SAMA regulations. - Oversee testing, readiness assessments, go-live planning, issue resolution, stabilization and post-launch performance improvement. - Act as a trusted advisor to senior client and Mastercard stakeholders through clear executive updates, steering materials, recommendations, trade-offs and decision support. Knowledge And Experience - 15–20+ years' relevant experience combining consulting, payments/cards, financial services transformation and senior program delivery. - Proven ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder programs from strategy through governance, execution, launch and benefit realization. - Strong cards expertise across consumer, corporate and SME segments, including portfolio management, CVM, product launch, loyalty, digital servicing, analytics and performance optimization. - Excellent consulting, analytical and communication skills, including problem structuring, business case development and C-level stakeholder engagement. - Demonstrated experience managing cross-functional delivery, risks, dependencies, controls and change across business, technology, operations, risk, compliance and analytics teams. - Knowledge of SAMA regulations and regional payments trends. - Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree and PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, Scrum or equivalent certification are preferred. - Arabic and English proficiency is mandatory.