Associate Consultant, Launch Graduate Program 2026

Associate Consultant, Launch Graduate Program Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Application deadline: December 22 Introduction Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in a number of 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 As an Associate Consultant at Mastercard, you will collaborate within small teams to help some of the world’s biggest brands answer and implement solutions for their most challenging strategic questions. You will immediately create meaningful contributions through taking ownership of deliverables and building external relationships with clients. Focusing on technology and data, you will gain broad exposure to a range of industries, including financial services, retail, restaurants, hospitality and more. Specialization Track Performance Analytics Use quantitative and qualitative skills and enterprise applications (e.g., Business Intelligence Platforms, SQL, Python, and more) to drive data‑led consulting solutions for customers. Weave together vast amounts of Mastercard, client & third‑party data assets to investigate trends, build propensity models, develop data visualizations, and synthesize millions of data points into a cohesive story. Engage with client stakeholders through virtual and in‑person meetings, leveraging insights to inform strategic recommendations. Core Competencies Passion: Actively seeks responsibility and takes pride in delivering the highest quality results and recommendations to our clients. Proven record of leadership in a work setting and/or through extracurricular activities. Analytic Excellence: Demonstrates a strong aptitude for structured problem solving, analytical and quantitative skills. Experience using data analysis or querying tools (e.g., SQL, SAS, Excel or Tableau) is an asset. Business Interest: Clear interest in the world of business, and intuition for the way that companies make decisions. Rapid Growth: Eagerness to learn quickly, both through Mastercard’s structured training curriculum and organic development opportunities. Teamwork: Willingness to work within small teams to produce outstanding deliverables, with a win attitude. Integrity: Outstanding record of academic achievement. Commitment to Mastercard’s values of honesty and integrity with a willingness to embrace and learn from mistakes. Diverse Perspective: Brings a unique skillset or approach to the table in every client engagement or internal activity. Communication: Ability to communicate complex ideas effectively – both verbally and in writing in English. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Qualifications Undergraduate or master’s degree with an expected graduation date between November and August. Outstanding record of academic achievement. Proven record of leadership in a work setting and/or through extracurricular activities. Exceptional analytical and quantitative problem‑solving skills. Experience using data analysis or querying tools (e.g., SQL, SAS, Excel or Tableau) is an asset. Ability to communicate complex ideas effectively – both verbally and in writing in English. This role is not eligible for Mastercard’s work authorization sponsorship. Candidates must be eligible to work in South Africa, now as well as in the future, without employer sponsorship. Corporate Security Responsibility All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks come 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. Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines. #J-18808-Ljbffr