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

Director, Learning & Development

We are seeking a Director of High Potential (HiPo) Leadership Development to accelerate Mastercard’s enterprise leadership pipeline by reimagining how we identify, develop, and prepare HiPo Directors, Vice Presidents, and Senior Vice Presidents for critical roles. In this position, you will design and deliver impactful development experiences that fuel business performance and support succession needs. The ideal candidate is a strategic, data-informed, and outcome-focused talent leader with experience shaping leadership development for executive-ready talent. You bring strong business acumen, a global mindset, and the ability to work across stakeholder groups to translate talent strategy into enterprise impact. This role reports to the Head of Leadership Development.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the enterprise thought leader on HiPo Leadership Development
• Align HiPo development with enterprise talent and succession strategies by partnering with business leaders, People Business Partners, and Talent Consultants.
• Serve as a strategic advisor on pipeline health, development readiness, and targeted talent interventions.
• Design and deliver growth-accelerating experiences for HiPos, including identification and assessments, sponsorship, coaching, and cohort-based learning experiences.
• Promote participation in HiPo programs by developing clear nomination criteria, engaging communication campaigns, and regionally tailored delivery strategies that make global development locally relevant.
• Expand development offerings to other strategic employee segments, including Aspiring People Leaders, Dual People Leaders, and Project Managers.
• Support the enterprise-wide learning strategy to build core professional skills for HiPo and other talents—such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking—through scalable programs and tools.
• Implement outcome-based metrics to track individual progression, pipeline health, and business impact.
• Craft compelling, data-driven narratives to communicate program value to senior stakeholders.
• Stay current on industry trends and integrate best practices into program design and delivery.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Proven experience in leadership development and talent management, with emphasis on enhancing HiPo and enterprise-level talent strategies.
• Strong strategic thinking, project management, and global program delivery skills.
• Proven thought leader, with track record of writing, speaking, and/or consulting on talent trends.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and advise senior leaders across a matrixed organization.
• Experience aligning development with performance, potential, and succession planning.
• Skilled in managing external vendors and translating insights into program improvements.
• Excellent facilitation, communication, and storytelling skills across formats and audiences.
• Collaborative and results-driven, with a track record of delivering measurable talent impact.
• Passion for enabling leadership growth and shaping the future of the organization.

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact reasonable_accommodation@mastercard.com and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

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.

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more. Mastercard benefits for interns generally include: 56 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time; jury duty leave; and on-site fitness facilities in some locations.

Pay Ranges

Purchase, New York: $144,000 – $230,000 USD