VP, Regional Strategy, Middle East & Africa

Circle (NYSE: CRCL) is one of the world's leading internet financial platform companies, building the foundation of a more open, global economy through digital assets, payment applications, and programmable blockchain infrastructure. Circle's platform includes the world's largest regulated stablecoin network anchored by USDC, Circle Payments Network for global money movement, and Arc, an enterprise-grade blockchain designed to become the Economic OS for the internet. Enterprises, financial institutions, and developers use Circle to power trusted, internet-scale financial innovation. Learn more at circle.com .
What you'll be part of:
Circle is committed to visibility and stability in everything we do. As we grow as an organization, we're expanding into some of the world's strongest jurisdictions. Speed and efficiency are motivators for our success and our employees live by our company values : High Integrity, Future Forward, Multistakeholder, Mindful, and Driven by Excellence. We have built a flexible work environment where new ideas are encouraged and everyone is a stakeholder.
What you'll be responsible for:
This is a senior individual contributor role for a hands-on strategic operator. The VP, Regional Strategy partners closely with the MEA Managing Director to research, frame, and evaluate the strategic choices facing the region, translating complex market, regulatory, and organizational inputs into clear options and recommendations.
The role owns regional strategy development, market and competitive intelligence, scenario analysis, and decision preparation. You will build narratives, models, and materials to support informed trade-offs around where to invest, what to prioritize, and how to sequence growth.
Success is measured by the quality of insights delivered, the clarity with which strategic choices are framed, and how effectively leadership decisions are informed by rigorous analysis and a deep understanding of the MEA landscape. This is a builder role suited for someone who values ownership, rigor, and follow-through. It is not a purely advisory position, and expectations center on producing tangible outputs and meaningful decision leverage for the MEA Managing Director.
What you'll work on:
Regional Strategy Data & Decision Framing

• Lead the analytical work underpinning regional planning, including assumptions, risks, dependencies, and investment considerations
• Develop and maintain the MEA regional strategy narrative (annual and rolling multi-year), including market prioritization, growth opportunities, and explicit trade-offs
• Build scenario analyses (e.g., regulatory changes, product launches, macro shifts) that surface options, implications, and recommended paths forward
• Produce clear, structured decision memos for material strategic choices (where to invest, what to deprioritize, sequencing)

Key outputs: Annual MEA strategy narrative; periodic strategy updates; decision memos and scenario models
Strategic Alignment & Cross-Functional Planning Support

• Partner with Product, Finance, Compliance, Policy, and Business teams to ensure regional strategy is grounded in accurate inputs, constraints, and opportunities
• Support planning discussions by providing strategic context, analysis, and clarity on priorities and trade-offs
• Surface strategic risks, interdependencies, and implications to inform leadership decision-making

Key outputs: Strategic planning inputs; risk and dependency summaries; leadership planning materials
Cross-Functional Strategy Enablement:

• Translate regional strategy into clear strategic guidance for Product, Legal, Compliance, Marketing, Partnerships, and Business
• Clarify decision questions, ownership, and escalation paths to reduce ambiguity
• Frame cross-functional initiatives to ensure objectives, success criteria, and decision context are clear before handoff

Key outputs: Strategic initiative briefs; decision and ownership frameworks; alignment materials
Market, Regulatory & Competitive Intelligence:

• Work closely with the Policy team, which owns regulatory engagement and policy strategy, to ensure decisions are informed by the right data and context
• Develop and maintain market and regulatory intelligence for MEA, focused on implications for growth, product, and partnerships
• Maintain a clear view of the competitive landscape to inform strategic and GTM choices
• Synthesize insights into actionable, decision-relevant guidance

Key outputs: Market and regulatory briefs; competitive landscape updates; strategic implications summaries
Strategic Communications & Executive Enablement:

• Draft strategic materials for the MD, including board updates, executive readouts, and leadership briefings
• Ensure consistency across strategy narratives, priorities, and executive messaging
• Prepare the MD for high-stakes meetings with clear options and data-driven narratives

Key outputs: Executive decks and briefs; talking points; post-meeting summaries
Strategic Client & Ecosystem Insight Support:

• Work closely with Business Development leaders, who own account and partner relationships, to identify priority accounts, partners, and ecosystems
• Act as a force multiplier for BD through data-driven perspectives on market potential, use cases, and strategic fit
• Support senior engagements by clarifying objectives, hypotheses, and desired insights
• Capture insights from key engagements to inform ongoing strategy and MD decision-making

Key outputs: Strategic account and ecosystem perspectives; engagement prep materials; post-engagement insight summaries
What you'll bring to Circle:

• 14+ years in strategy, business operations, GTM strategy, or management consulting
• Significant experience in the Middle East; Africa experience strongly preferred
• Proven track record as a senior individual contributor
• Strong analytical skills and comfort operating in ambiguity
• Ability to influence without authority in matrixed organizations
• Experience in fintech, payments, SaaS, or regulated financial services

Core Requirements:

• MEA strategy is explicit, documented, and actively used to guide decisions
• Fewer ambiguous initiatives and clearer ownership across teams
• Faster, more focused decision-making by regional leadership
• MD time is spent on decisions and external leadership, not synthesis and coordination
• Cross-functional teams report higher clarity and alignment

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience in emerging or regulated markets
• Exposure to AI-enabled operating models
• MBA or equivalent

Circle is on a mission to create an inclusive financial future, with transparency at our core. We consider a wide variety of elements when crafting our compensation ranges and total compensation packages.
Starting pay is determined by various factors, including but not limited to: relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, and other business and organizational needs. Please note that compensation ranges may differ for candidates in other locations.
We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, or any other protected status required by the laws in the locations where we hire. Additionally, Circle participates in the E-Verify Program in certain locations, as required by law.
Should you require accommodations or assistance in our interview process because of a disability, please reach out to [email protected] for support. We respect your privacy and will connect with you separately from our interview process to accommodate your needs.
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