Director, Research and Insights

Director, Research and Insights

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.

Overview

The Director, Research and Insights is a senior research leader responsible for developing a deep, evidence‑based understanding of innovation across payments, banking, fintech and adjacent industries. This role focuses on identifying structural shifts, emerging market trends, and technology‑driven change, and ensuring the organisation has a rigorous, forward‑looking view of how the financial services landscape is evolving.

Role

The role leads research on key trends shaping the global payments and financial services ecosystem, including market analysis, and trend forecasting. The Director will analyse developments across technology, regulation, consumer behaviour, and competitive dynamics, synthesising findings into clear insights and perspectives for published research and senior leaders. The role requires strong analytical judgement, the ability to work with complex and ambiguous data, and confidence forming defensible points of view on where markets are heading.

All About You / Experience

• You bring deep expertise in payments, fintech, banking, and adjacent industries, with a strong track record in research, analysis, or strategy roles.
• You are highly analytical, comfortable working with qualitative and quantitative data, and skilled at identifying meaningful patterns and signals amid market noise.
• You have experience researching emerging technologies and business models, assessing their implications, and developing informed perspectives on future trends.
• You are intellectually curious, methodical, and credible with senior stakeholders, with the ability to translate rigorous analysis into clear, well‑reasoned insights.

Corporate Security Responsibility

• 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.

Key skills/competency

• Payments industry expertise
• Fintech knowledge
• Market analysis
• Trend forecasting
• Quantitative analysis
• Qualitative analysis
• Strategic insights
• Research methodology
• Senior stakeholder communication
• Financial services ecosystem