Location
London

Hours
Full Time

About the Role
NALA is building Payments for the Next Billion: faster, smarter, and fairer transfers for everyone. Since 2022, we have grown 120x, expanded the team from 9 to 150+, raised over $50M from top-tier investors, and were named to the Forbes Fintech 50 in 2025. Our core products include NALA, a consumer app enabling cheaper, faster, and more reliable cross-border payments from the UK, US, and EU to Africa and Asia, and Rafiki, our B2B payments infrastructure powering global payments.

As Strategy & Operations Manager, you will be at the heart of NALA's Global Operations, turning ambitious plans into reality. You will own NALA's highest-stakes cross-functional programmes end to end, including driving the EU licence application, launching Rafiki virtual accounts in the UK and EU, and rebuilding cash management across the business. This role requires working closely with Product, Compliance, Finance, Treasury, and entity operations teams across London, Nairobi, and India.

This is a high-impact, special-projects role focused on execution rather than project management or strategy alone. You will be responsible for unblocking challenges, driving alignment without formal authority, and ensuring projects are delivered with clear ownership, runbooks, and measurable outcomes. If you thrive in ambiguous environments and enjoy solving complex operational problems, this role offers the opportunity to make a lasting impact on global payments.

Experience
- 2–3+ years in a fast-paced, problem-solving environment such as top-tier strategy consulting (MBB), investment banking, or a strategy & operations role at a high-growth startup.
- Proven track record of owning complex projects end to end with measurable outcomes.
- Experience inside an operating company, not just advisory roles.

About You
- Strong commercial and operational judgement in regulated or complex environments such as financial services, payments, or compliance-heavy industries.
- Deep understanding of cross-border payments or financial operations including flows, counterparties, reconciliation, and risk.
- Skilled in SQL to independently analyze data and diagnose root causes.
- Structured problem-solving ability to break down vague challenges into actionable questions with clear ownership.
- Cross-functional programme leadership experience, able to coordinate multiple teams without formal authority.
- Root-cause thinker who digs beyond surface-level answers.
- Clear and concise written communication focused on decision-making.

Qualifications
- SQL proficiency is required.
- Python or R skills are a plus but not essential.
- Experience with licensing or regulatory applications (EMI, PI, or equivalent) in the UK or EU is advantageous.
- Knowledge of crypto or stablecoin rails and their role in cross-border payments is beneficial.
- Exposure to treasury, cash management, or FX operations is desirable.
- Experience working with geographically distributed teams, especially in Africa or Asia, is a plus.