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 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
O'Fallon, Missouri: $156,000 - $265,000 USD