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 Lead Technical Program Manager - Business Expansion and Transformation
Lead Technical Program Manager (L6) -Business Expansion & Transformation (BET)
Overview
Business Expansion & Transformation (BET) is a strategic growth function within Business & Market Insights (B&MI) focused on identifying, evaluating, and scaling disruptive opportunities that extend beyond existing product portfolios and business lines. BET partners across Product, Engineering, Foundry, Data & AI, Strategy, and external ecosystems to transform innovative ideas into validated businesses, capabilities, and growth platforms.
The team operates at the front end of the growth lifecycle, defining opportunity spaces, sourcing and qualifying new ideas, conducting evaluation and due diligence, and driving opportunities through structured incubation and experimentation processes before transitioning validated initiatives into long-term ownership models.
Technical Program Managers at Mastercard collaborate to define the how and when of strategic outcomes. Within BET, this role serves as the operational backbone for innovation and incubation initiatives, helping transform ambiguous ideas into executable programs while establishing governance, transparency, and delivery discipline across a growing portfolio of opportunities.
About the Role
Operate with a high degree of independence to bring structure, clarity, and execution discipline to highly ambiguous opportunity spaces.
Lead cross-functional initiatives through BET's innovation lifecycle, coordinating activities spanning opportunity sourcing, evaluation, concept development, prototyping, market testing, and commercialization readiness.
Partner with BET leadership, Foundry, Product, Engineering, Data & AI, and business stakeholders to:
• Drive opportunity intake, evaluation, and prioritization processes.
• Establish and manage stage-gate governance across BET initiatives.
• Coordinate opportunity framing, due diligence, and concept development activities.
• Build transparency into portfolio status, risks, dependencies, decisions, and outcomes.
• Ensure initiatives progress efficiently through the BET operating model.
• Drive alignment across stakeholders with differing objectives, priorities, and ownership models.
• Develop and maintain program artifacts, executive reporting, and portfolio dashboards.
• Manage initiative-level planning, resource coordination, and operational readiness activities.
• Support commercialization planning and transition of validated opportunities into permanent B&MI teams and business structures.
• Continuously improve operational processes, governance models, tools, and ways of working used across the BET portfolio.
Responsibilities:
Portfolio & Program Leadership
• Manage a portfolio of strategic innovation initiatives at varying stages of maturity.
• Coordinate activities across multiple concurrent workstreams with significant organizational complexity.
• Develop execution plans, operating cadences, and governance structures for emerging opportunities.
• Drive accountability for milestones, decisions, risks, and dependencies.
Innovation Lifecycle Management
• Support sourcing, intake, and evaluation of new opportunities.
• Drive progression of initiatives through BET's structured stage-gate process.
• Facilitate opportunity reviews, prioritization sessions, and executive decision forums.
• Ensure supporting evidence, business cases, and program documentation are prepared and maintained.
Governance & Operating Model
• Help mature BET's operating model, governance processes, tools, and reporting capabilities.
• Implement scalable mechanisms for portfolio visibility and executive decision-making.
• Partner with leadership to measure portfolio performance and investment outcomes.
• Identify process bottlenecks and opportunities to improve speed, transparency, and effectiveness.
Cross-Functional Coordination
• Build strong partnerships across Foundry, Product, Engineering, Data & AI, Strategy, and external partners.
• Facilitate collaboration among stakeholders with varying priorities and perspectives.
• Translate strategic objectives into actionable plans that can be executed by cross-functional teams.
All About You
The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity and enjoys building structure where none exists. They combine strategic thinking with strong execution discipline and can navigate both business and technical discussions.
Required Experience
• Significant experience managing large-scale technical or business transformation programs.
• Experience leading complex initiatives that involve multiple organizations and stakeholder groups.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in highly ambiguous environments.
• Strong program management fundamentals, including planning, risk management, dependency management, and executive reporting.
• Experience establishing governance frameworks, decision-making processes, and operating rhythms.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to influence without authority and build alignment across diverse teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Preferred Experience
• Experience in innovation, incubation, venture building, product strategy, corporate development, or new business creation.
• Experience evaluating emerging technologies, market opportunities, or strategic investments.
• Familiarity with AI, data products, analytics platforms, and modern technology ecosystems.
• Experience working with stage-gate processes, portfolios, or venture funding models.
• Knowledge of Agile delivery methodologies and modern product development practices.
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.
Job Tags
Permanent employment, Full time, Worldwide