Director, Strategic Initiatives

Director, Strategic Execution And Growth InitiativesThis role leads strategic execution and growth initiatives across PayPal's SMB ecosystem. The Director will drive the design and orchestration of high-impact go-to-market programs, define new SMB growth levers, and ensure operational alignment across teams. This person will partner across Product, Sales, Marketing, and Operations to translate strategy into action, ensuring priorities are connected, resourced, and delivering measurable outcomes. The role requires a leader who can balance strategic vision with operational excellence, influence at the executive level, and develop a high-performing team that drives impact across global SMB segments.Essential Responsibilities:Drive revenue growth and global market expansion by identifying and cultivating strategic partnerships, channels, and opportunitiesLead the negotiation with external partners and engage cross-functional support colleagues to ensure the successful delivery of solutions for large complex partnerships.Develop and execute an overall business strategy to identify and cultivate strategic partnerships, channels, and opportunities to drive revenue growth and global market expansion.Influence the negotiation with external partners, engaging cross-functional support colleagues, to ensure successful delivery of solutions for large complex partnerships.Align product and business levers (such as pricing and FX) to maximize revenue and market expansion opportunities.Engage closely with product, engineering, and architecture teams to drive the architectural runway and determine the best technical implementation/design.Represent the end customer on an ongoing basis and use this knowledge to drive effective prioritization and decision-making.Collaborate and influence product outcomes in a matrix organization with multiple stakeholders such as Engineering, Operations, Risk, Legal, Sales, Business Development, Marketing, Finance, and Banking Partners.Expected Qualifications:10+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience.Additional Responsibilities & Preferred Qualifications: Lead and coordinate SMB-wide strategic initiatives that cut across products, segments, and geographies Partner with Product, Sales, Marketing, and Operations to design and launch new go-to-market plays such as vertical strategies, geo expansions, or cross-product pilots Identify, test, and scale short- and mid-term growth levers that unlock SMB acceleration and engagement Translate enterprise and SMB strategies into executable programs with clear objectives, KPIs, and ownership models Drive alignment, prioritization, and sequencing of initiatives across cross-functional teams to ensure focus on the most impactful opportunities Over time, lead and develop a small, high-performing team responsible for execution excellence and stakeholder alignment Partner with Finance and Analytics to monitor business performance, identify acceleration opportunities, and recommend tactical actions Provide senior-level visibility into SMB-wide progress and outcomes, fostering transparency, accountability, and collaboration across functionsExpected Qualifications:10-12+ years of relevant experience in strategic execution, go-to-market, or business operations rolesStrong ability to connect strategic thinking with hands-on execution and organizational influenceDemonstrated experience managing cross-functional initiatives in dynamic, multi-product environmentsProven people management experience, leading and developing teamsExcellent analytical, communication, and executive storytelling skillsExperience working in SMB, product, or growth environments preferredStrong ability to operate in a matrixed, fast-paced global organization and deliver measurable business results