8 Market Specialist jobs in Canada

Job Description

Company Description

Visa is a world leader in payments and technology, with over 259 billion payments transactions flowing safely between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities in more than 200 countries and territories each year. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive while driven by a common purpose – to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

Make an impact with a purpose-driven industry leader. Join us today and experience #LifeatVisa.

Team Summary

The Market Strategy team is instrumental in shaping the company’s medium- and long-term direction. Working in close partnership with executives and business leaders across the organization, the team identifies and solves country-specific challenges and opportunities. Recent initiatives have included national market strategy, multi-year business planning, and exploring both organic and inorganic growth opportunities. Alongside strategy development, the team collaborates with cross-functional groups to drive successful implementation and ensure effective, ongoing business operations. The team’s remit also includes evaluating and supporting strategic partnerships that align with Visa’s market objectives.

What a Director, Market Strategy & Partnerships does at Visa Canada:

The Director, Market Strategy & Partnerships is a key leader on the Market Strategy team, responsible for shaping and executing Visa Canada’s growth agenda through both market strategy initiatives and strategic partnerships. This role blends high-level strategic planning with hands-on partnership development to deliver measurable business results. The Director reports to the Vice President, Market Strategy & Operations and works closely with executive management, product, and business development teams. This position is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy and collaboration, and is eager to drive innovation in the payments landscape

Key Responsibilities

Market Strategy:

• Strategy Development: Drive the development and execution of market entry, growth, and expansion strategies for Visa Canada – drawing on data-driven insights from the payments and financial services sectors to advance Visa’s market position

• Market Analysis : Analyze industry trends, competitor actions, and disruptive technologies to inform actionable recommendations, ensuring Visa stays ahead of market shifts

• Thought Leadership : Act as an internal consultant and thought leader by proactively researching emerging topics (such as artificial intelligence or stablecoins) and formulating independent perspectives on their implications for Visa

• Cross-Market Collaboration: Coordinate with Visa teams in other markets to identify opportunities where Canada – as a digitally mature market – can adopt and scale innovative payment solutions and value-added services

• Client Engagement : Provide strategic support for executive client engagement forums including preparing presentation materials and orchestrating follow-ups to ensure outcomes are driven forward

Strategic Partnerships:

• Partnership Development : Identify, establish, and manage high-impact partnerships with key external organizations – such as industry associations, payment networks, and technology companies – that align with Visa’s strategic priorities and can drive transformative business outcomes

• Relationship Management : Serve as the primary liaison for strategic partners, ensuring effective day-to-day collaboration, clear alignment on objectives, and delivery of mutually beneficial results

• Joint Initiatives: Lead the co-creation of joint go-to-market initiatives with partners, aligning internal functions (marketing, product, sales) with partner teams to maximize commercial success and market reach for joint programs

• Partnership Execution: Drive the implementation, and oversight of partnership agreements from inception through integration. Monitor partnership performance and KPIs, and ensure each relationship delivers strategic value

Why this is important to Visa 

The Market Strategy & Partnerships function plays a central role in helping Visa Canada’s senior leadership set and execute the strategic agenda, in close alignment with North American and global teams. Your efforts in this role will be instrumental in defining, planning, and executing long-term strategic priorities – and in forging partnerships – that drive Visa’s success in the Canadian market. By effectively blending strategy and partnerships, you will help create greater value for the organization and contribute to Visa’s mission of being the best way to pay and be paid

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager.

Basic Qualifications:

• 10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD

Preferred Qualifications:

• 12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD
• 10+ years of experience in leading strategy projects and partnerships at top-tier management consulting firms or in a corporate strategy group in a multinational environment
• Pro-active and effective communicator, experienced in presenting information to all levels and with ability to facilitate group discussions and debate
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and proven experience of project management
• Strong interpersonal and execution skills
• Strong analytical and strategic acumen
• Excellent presentation and verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to be recognized as thought leader
• Ability to influence the organization in order to make strategy happen
• Professional, confident and outgoing with the ability to maintain good communication with wide internal and external audiences
• Team player possessing a strong drive to add value to the business direction
• Highly numerate with attention to detail and ability to structure and analyze databases and strong knowledge of financial modelling, scenario-building and analysis

What will also help:

• Financial Services / FinTech / Payment industry experience would be a distinct advantage
• Broad understanding / experience in financial services and / or payments a plus

This opportunity offers the chance to shape Visa Canada’s strategic direction and drive high-impact partnerships that influence the future of payments. If you are excited about leveraging strategy and partnerships to drive innovation and growth – and meet the qualifications above – we encourage you to apply and join our team!

Visa is an EEO Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.

Visa welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Toronto, ON, Canada (Hybrid)

What makes this role important at Ipsos:

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Vice President for a one-year contract position to cover a maternity leave in our Toronto office. There is a potential for this role to be extended based on business needs. This strategic role is pivotal in leading key client relationships and driving business growth within our team. The ideal candidate will be a commercially-minded leader with a passion for delivering insights that drive client success.

What you can expect to be doing:

Your role will be focused on three core pillars of responsibility:

• Strategic Client & Account Leadership
• Serve as the strategic lead for a roster of 3-4 key clients, fostering deep, consultative partnerships by understanding their business challenges, organizational culture, and strategic objectives.
• Act as a trusted advisor, designing and delivering research solutions that address core business issues and anticipate future client needs.
• Consult with multiple client contacts to identify and prioritize solutions, ensuring Ipsos delivers exceptional value and service.
• Business Development & Commercial Growth
• Drive business development by identifying and pursuing opportunities with new and existing clients, leading the creation of compelling proposals, and responding effectively to RFPs.
• Partner strategically with internal teams on new business leads to identify and close opportunities.
• Become fully knowledgeable about Ipsos product offerings to be able to recommend the right approaches to tackle the right business questions.
• Go beyond revenue and gross margin, considering the entire P&L for the projects you run, effectively managing resources and costs to meet profitability targets.
• Team Leadership & Operational Excellence
• Understand the client's needs in the context of the broader business issue(s) and design research to address those objectives.
• Lead and guide a high-performing research team, ensuring the delivery of exceptional analytic insights and client deliverables that exceed expectations.
• Promote operational excellence by identifying and implementing more efficient processes, with a focus on improving project profitability and delivering value.
• Have relationships across multiple levels and divisions within the organization; be able to leverage/manage internal resources to help execute on projects.
• Have the technical skills needed to help troubleshoot issues and work with the team and client stakeholders to resolve them.

This might be the job for you if you have:

• At least 10+ years of experience in quantitative market research and consulting.
• Proven ability in strategic client management and business development, including crafting persuasive proposals and growing accounts.
• Strong experience with survey design, sampling plans, and analysis.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills with a talent for translating complex data into easy-to-understand, actionable insights.
• Experience that ideally includes consumer, brand, and shopper insights and techniques.
• Some exposure to other types of research such as qualitative, global research, and use of behavioral science techniques in research.
• Experience managing high performing research teams.

If you don't meet 100% of the requirements, we encourage all who feel they might be a fit for the opportunity to apply. We may consider a variety of backgrounds for a particular role and are also committed to considering candidates for available positions throughout our organization, not just the one you're applying to!

What's in it for you:

At Ipsos you'll experience opportunities for Career Development, an exceptional benefits package (including generous PTO, healthcare plans, wellness benefits), a flexible workplace policy, and a strong collaborative culture.

To find out more about all the great reasons to work at Ipsos, how we're making an impact around the world, and more about our benefits and employee programs, please visit:
Why Work at Ipsos CA

Commitment to diversity:

Ipsos recognizes the necessity of building an inclusive culture that values each employee's individuality and diverse perspectives. For more than 40 years, our mission has been to generate and analyze data about society, markets, brands, and behaviors to provide our clients with the insights that elevate their understanding of the world. This could not be fulfilled without Ipsos' diverse employees who compile and analyze this data-they are the essence of who we are and what we do.

We are committed to providing equal opportunity to all employees, creating an environment that promotes inclusion, and enabling employees from all walks of life to flourish. Ipsos encourages our employees to act in a respectful and responsible manner, in line with code of best practices concerning diversity and inclusion, human rights, equality, and civility for every individual.

Ipsos is An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other protected class and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

The Market Strategy & Understanding (MSU) Service Line performs strategic research to deliver contextual understanding to help clients navigate dynamic markets. Our offer portfolio consists of strategic brand research as well as category & consumer fundamentals. We work with clients to understand the size and composition of a market as well as the segments/profiles/demand spaces therein.We also specialize in brand equity, brand assets, brand stretch and open category opportunities (e.g.whitespace).

Ipsos is one of the world's largest research companies and currently the only one primarily managed by researchers, ranking as a full-service research organization for four consecutive years . With over 75 different data-driven solutions, and presence in 90 markets, Ipsos brings together research, implementation, methodological, and subject-matter experts from around the world, combining thematic and technical experts to deliver top-quality research and insights. Simply speaking, we help the biggest companies solve some of their biggest problems, serving more than 5000 clients across the globe by providing research, data, and insights on their target markets. And we're proud to share we've received our Great Place to Work Certification in 2022 & 2023!