Director, Data Acquisition

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, Data Acquisition Overview The Data Sources team in the Data Strategy & Management organization (AI and Data Office) is responsible for the management, acquisition, ingestion and evaluation of enterprise data and data capabilities utilized by a wide range of Mastercard product teams. The Director, Data Acquisition will lead the global strategy for acquiring and integrating partner and third-party data, driving the development of data products and services. The Role: • Develop and execute the enterprise strategy for acquiring external and partner data aligned with product, analytics, and business objectives. • Act as Mastercard’s subject matter expert on third party data, data rights, usage terms, pricing, and commercialization potential. • Lead vendor evaluations and negotiations, assessing data value, contractual risks, supplier capabilities, and competitive pricing. • Conduct market and competitive research to identify emerging data sources and industry trends. • Partner with data quality, governance, risk, and security teams to define standards and ensure compliant, high integrity data ingestion. • Contribute to modernizing Mastercard’s third party data ecosystem, including governance, analytics, and discovery processes. • Communicate acquisition insights, strategic recommendations, and value outcomes to senior leadership. • Assess, acquire, and ingest third party data into cloud and on prem environments in collaboration with engineering and platform teams. • Manage vendor relationships end to end, including pipeline oversight, timelines, deliverables, data quality, and commercial outcomes. • Maintain documentation, dashboards, and KPIs to track acquisition performance and operational effectiveness. • Gather and validate business requirements with product teams to ensure effective use of third-party data. • Ensure compliance with privacy and regulatory requirements (GDPR, CCPA) through proper governance and documentation. • Facilitate stakeholder workshops and provide education on data acquisition tools, processes, and best practices. All About You: • Significant professional history in data acquisition, data commercialization, or vendor management. • Proven expertise in third party data contracts, pricing models, and negotiation strategy. • Strong understanding of data ecosystems, data management, and analytics. • Experience with data products (acquisition, evaluation, pricing, commercialization). • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; ability to translate complex data concepts clearly. • Analytical problem solver with a commercial, product driven mindset. • Program/project management experience preferred. • Familiarity with cloud data environments, ML/AI, and data marketplaces is a plus. • Preferred experience with Mastercard products, data visualization, and cloud-based processing. • Bachelor’s degree required, master’s preferred. 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 a ... (truncated, view full listing at source)