At a Glance
- Tasks: Drive growth by leading impactful projects and optimising operations with data-driven strategies.
- Company: NALA, a fast-growing fintech revolutionising global payments for the next billion users.
- Benefits: 23 days off, private medical, birthday leave, learning budget, and free lunch.
- Other info: Exciting opportunity to relocate to Nairobi and work with top-tier professionals.
- Why this job: Join a dynamic team and make a real impact in the financial industry.
- Qualifications: 2+ years in a fast-paced environment and experience with SQL or Python.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
About Us
NALA is building Payments for the Next Billion. Faster, smarter, and fairer transfers for everyone. Since 2022, we've grown our business 120x, grown the team from 9 to 150+, raised $50M+ from top-tier investors, and were named to the Forbes Fintech 50 in 2025.
We operate two core products:
- NALA, our consumer app making cross-border payments cheaper, faster and more reliable for the global diaspora. Allowing users to send money from the UK, US and EU to Africa and Asia.
- Rafiki, our B2B payments infrastructure, is powering global payments.
Our team includes alumni from Wise, Stripe, Monzo, Revolut, and CashApp — operators who’ve scaled world-class products. We act with urgency, think deeply, and put our customers first always.
At NALA, this isn’t just a job. It’s ownership, impact, and the chance to change global payments forever.
Join us in building Payments for the Next Billion
Your Mission
Global Ops is where NALA's ambitions meet reality. Every new market we open, every licence we win, every account we go live with — someone has to actually land it, across a dozen teams, on a deadline that doesn't move.
That's this role. You'll be the person we hand NALA's hardest cross-functional bets to: getting our EU licence over the line, taking Rafiki virtual accounts live across the UK and EU, and rebuilding how cash moves through the business. You'll sit in London, work across Product, Compliance, Finance, Treasury and our entity ops teams in Nairobi and India, and you'll be measured on whether the thing shipped — not on how good the deck was.
This is a special-projects seat, not a project-management seat. If the interesting part of a project for you is the slide pack rather than the unblocking, this isn't your role.
Your Responsibilities in this Role
- Own NALA's highest-stakes cross-functional programmes end to end: EU licensing, Rafiki virtual accounts going live in the UK and EU, stablecoin rails, from problem definition through to the thing actually being live.
- Drive the EU licence application to completion, coordinating Compliance, Legal, Finance and our EU entity, and holding the timeline when a dozen other priorities pull at it.
- Rebuild how we manage cash across entities and corridors, diagnose where money is trapped, design a better structure, and get Finance and Treasury to adopt it.
- Tighten the entity ops structure: Across Nairobi and India, clearer ownership, fewer handoffs, processes that survive the next 2x of volume.
- Decide what we work on next, pressure-test the portfolio of ops projects, force-rank by impact, and kill the ones that aren't earning their place.
- Get to root cause: Use data (you'll be writing your own SQL) to find why a process is breaking rather than papering over the symptom.
- Make senior stakeholders move: Most of your stakeholders are in London and senior; a large part of the job is landing alignment without authority.
- Leave the process behind you: Every project should end with an owner, a runbook and a metric, not with you still holding it.
What this role is not
- It isn't a strategy seat. You will build the plan, and then you will be the one chasing the last five things that stop it shipping. Roughly 70% execution, 30% strategy and the 70% is the point.
- It isn't a PMO seat either. We're not looking for someone to move cards across a board and chase status. You're expected to have a view, argue it, and own the outcome.
- It's ambiguous by design. You'll be handed problems that nobody has scoped yet, in a business that changes shape every quarter. If you need a clean brief to start, you'll find this hard.
- Alignment is part of the job, not a blocker to it. Getting Compliance, Finance and Product to a shared answer is the work.
Must-have requirements
Experience
- 2–3+ years in a high-calibre, fast-paced problem-solving environment, top-tier strategy consulting (MBB), top-tier IB, or a founder's-associate / strategy & ops seat at a high-growth startup.
- Crucially, time inside an operating company, not just advising one. We're looking for consultant-grade structure paired with a genuine bias to execution. Pure advisory backgrounds with no in-house delivery experience will struggle here.
- A track record of owning complex projects end to end, with outcomes you can point to shipped, live, measurably better.
Knowledge
- Strong commercial and operational judgement in a regulated or otherwise complex environment, financial services, payments, compliance-heavy industries, or similar. You understand why the constraints exist.
- Working understanding of how a cross-border payments or financial operation actually runs: flows, counterparties, reconciliation, risk.
Skills
- SQL — this is a must. You pull your own data, build your own view of the problem, and don't wait on an analyst to tell you what's happening.
- Structured problem-solving. You can take something vague and large ("our cash management is inefficient") and break it into a sequence of answerable questions with owners and dates.
- Cross-functional programme leadership. You can run a programme spanning Compliance, Product, Finance and an offshore ops team, and keep all of them moving without formal authority over any of them.
- Root-cause thinking. You're the person who asks "why" a fourth time when everyone else has settled for the first answer.
- Clear written communication. Short docs that make a decision easy, not decks that defer one.
Nice to have requirements
- Python or R alongside SQL — useful, not essential.
- Direct exposure to licensing or regulatory applications (EMI, PI, or equivalent) in the UK or EU.
- Experience with crypto or stablecoin rails, or an informed view on where they fit in cross-border payments.
- Treasury, cash management or FX operations exposure.
- Experience working with teams across multiple geographies and time zones — particularly Africa or Asia.
Success in the role looks like
3-Month Metrics
- Owning the EU licence programme end to end — you've taken the plan off your manager's plate, know every open item and blocker, and the application is measurably closer to submission than the day you joined.
- A credible read on the ops portfolio — you've mapped what's live, force‑ranked it, and can defend what we should stop doing.
- Trusted by senior stakeholders — Compliance, Finance and Product come to you with problems rather than waiting to be chased.
6-Month Metrics
- Rafiki virtual accounts live in the UK and EU, with you having led the cross‑functional path to get there.
- The EU licence secured or in final‑stage review, with a clear, owned path to the finish line.
- Cash management materially improved — a documented, adopted structure with named owners, and a measurable reduction in trapped or idle cash.
- The entity ops structure clarified across Nairobi and India, running without you needing to be in the middle of it.
Interview Process
You will need to first submit your application through our ATS, Workable. There is no need to submit a cover letter.
If successful, you'll be invited into our interview process:
- [45 mins] Talent Screen — Talent Team
- We'll get to know you, your motivations and your track record, and cover the practical basics of the role. Best preparation: know why you applied, and be ready to talk through what you’ve actually owned.
- [45 mins] Hiring Manager Interview — Head of Global Ops
- A deep dive on your project experience: the impact you've had, how you've solved problems across functions, and how you operate in busy, resource‑constrained environments. Best preparation: know your own CV cold, and bring specifics.
- [Case Study] Live problem‑solve + discussion
- A realistic NALA operations problem, worked through live with the hiring team. We're assessing structure, judgement and how you handle being pushed — not whether you memorised a framework.
- [45 mins] Bar Raiser — Benjamin Fernandes, CEO
- Track record, ambition and cultural fit — and your chance to hear the NALA story from the top and ask anything you like.
- We'll then take references and come back to you with a decision.
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Strategy & Operations Manager employer: Nala
This secondary school in Essex is an exceptional employer, offering a vibrant work culture that fosters collaboration and innovation among its staff. With a strong commitment to professional development, the school provides ample opportunities for growth and advancement, allowing educators to make a meaningful impact on students' lives while leading a dedicated Science team. The supportive environment encourages ambitious leaders to thrive and contribute to raising educational standards across all key stages.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Strategy & Operations Manager
✨Dive Into Corporate Strategy Communities
Get yourself involved in online communities or forums focused on corporate strategy. Places like LinkedIn groups or specific Slack channels can hook you up with industry insights, trends, and many potential job leads. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts or ask questions; it’ll boost your visibility!
✨Attend Industry Conferences and Events
Keep an eye out for corporate strategy conferences or networking events in your area (or online!). These gatherings are gold mines for meeting hiring managers and making impactful connections. Plus, having a few good conversations can lead to job referrals at companies like Nala!
✨Showcase Your Strategy Skills
Create content that showcases your knowledge of corporate strategy—think reports, blogs, or even video discussions. Sharing these on platforms like LinkedIn or Medium can demonstrate your expertise and make you stand out to employers looking for fresh talent.
✨Apply Directly Through Our Website
Don’t forget to apply for the Strategy & Operations Manager position at Nala via our website! This shows your genuine interest, and who knows, you might just land that interview in a matter of days. Keep your application focused on how you can add value to their strategy team.
We think you need these skills to ace Strategy & Operations Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Us Your Strategic Thinking:When crafting your CV and cover letter, highlight your strategic analysis skills. Focus on past experiences where you've effectively assessed market trends or made impactful recommendations. Evidence-based achievements, like improving processes or contributing to significant projects, will help us see your potential for driving corporate strategy at Nala.
Tailor Your Narrative:Don’t just send us a generic application! Personalise your cover letter by connecting your experiences and aspirations to Nala’s mission and goals. We love seeing candidates who genuinely understand what we do; share how your vision aligns with ours and what you can bring to the table.
Highlight Relevant Academic Credentials:In your CV, make sure to showcase your academic background, especially if you have qualifications in business, economics, or analytics. We appreciate candidates who can back up their skills with relevant degrees or certifications, so don’t be shy about flaunting those achievements!
Utilise Professional Language:While we want you to be yourself, remember that corporate strategy roles demand a level of professionalism in communication. Use clear and concise language in your application materials, ensuring that your ideas come across as well-structured and sophisticated. It’s all about making a great impression right from the written application stage!
How to prepare for a job interview at Nala
✨Master the Numbers
Corporate strategy often involves data analysis and financial forecasting. Brush up on your quantitative skills, and be prepared to handle case studies or numerical problems during the interview. We might get questions about how to approach market trends or assess the performance of a hypothetical company — so practice these scenarios!
✨Know Your Frameworks
Familiarity with strategic frameworks like SWOT, PESTLE, or Porter’s Five Forces can set you apart. We should be ready to discuss how we’d apply these tools to real-world business situations — maybe even relating them to Nala. This shows we’re not just theory-happy but can articulate our practical application.
✨Engage in Strategic Conversations
In a full-time role like this, it’s crucial to show that we're engaged and informed about current trends in the industry. Keep up with major news and prepare to discuss how recent developments could impact strategic decisions at Nala. This will demonstrate our passion and proactive approach to the field.
✨Showcase Relevant Experience
Whether through internships or projects, we should highlight any experience that relates to corporate strategy. Have specific examples ready to talk about how we’ve contributed to strategic growth or improvements. It's about showcasing our unique journey and how it will bring value to Nala.
