Operations Strategy Manager

The company

Imagine a world where every small business has the power to thrive. That's the world we're building at iwoca. Small businesses aren't just statistics – they're the heartbeat of our communities, the character of our high streets, and the engine of our economy. Since 2012, we've revolutionised how these businesses access finance, turning what was once a lengthy, frustrating process into something remarkable: funding that's fast, flexible, and actually works for modern businesses. Our impact speaks for itself: we've provided billions in funding to over 150,000 businesses across Europe, making us one of the continent's leading fintech innovators. But we're just getting started. Our mission? To empower one million businesses with the financial tools they deserve. We combine cutting-edge technology and data science with genuine human understanding to make finance feel less like a barrier and more like a superpower. Whether it's managing cash flow or seizing unexpected opportunities, we ensure businesses get the funds they need – often within minutes.

The team

Our Operations teams strive to deliver exceptional customer service, each customer interaction is an opportunity for excellence and we want to ensure our teams are set up for success. The Operations Strategy team helps to make this possible - we exist to understand Operations performance, drive efficiencies and improve customer service. We work closely with teams such as Customer Success, Credit Analysts, Collections & Legal, and People Operations, to identify opportunities and drive meaningful impact.

The role

As an Operations Strategy Manager, you will support the development and implementation of strategies to improve efficiency and service quality across our Operations teams, while adequately supporting iwoca's profitable growth. Each day brings new challenges, and you’ll be involved in a variety of fast-paced projects, learning about new opportunities and implementing impactful changes. This will include:

• Collaborating with Operations to solve critical business problems, such as:

  • Exploring how we can make use of AI to make our teams more efficient and effective

  • Forecasting capacity needs for each team to eliminate operational bottlenecks.

  • Evaluating the value of contacting customers at different points in the customer journey and testing these approaches.

• Conducting data analysis to inform your work and shape effective solutions. This involves conducting your own analysis and working with our Operations Strategy Data Scientists to get even more analytical power from your data.

• Take responsibility for implementing operational changes in close coordination with Operations and Tech teams.

• Understanding strategic developments across the business, helping to assess their impact on Operations, and supporting the adaptation of our department’s processes to align with future strategies.

• Using your problem solving skills to help shape iwoca’s People strategy. For example, by analysing our benefits backpage to ensure we’re getting bang-for-buck.

The requirements

Essential:

• Experience working in a top-tier strategy consultancy or a strategic role at a tech or finance company.

• Analytical background, demonstrated through academic qualifications (such as a strong STEM degree) and through professional experience.

• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to challenge and recommend well thought-through and innovative solutions.

• Proven ability to implement findings from your analysis; we need a ‘doer’ who is comfortable rolling up their sleeves and working across the business to see your work come to fruition.

• Ability to distil complex information into key points so that it is succinct and engaging in both written and verbal forms, and accessible to a range of stakeholders (whether that’s Data Scientists, operations managers, C-level, etc.)

Bonus:

• Experience with Python or SQL. If you don’t have commercial experience then we’d want you to have enthusiasm to learn on the job so that you can get the most out of iwoca’s vast amount of data!

• Proven experience driving operational excellence

The salary

We expect to pay from £70,000 - £90,000 for this role. But, we’re open-minded, so definitely include your salary goals with your application. We routinely benchmark salaries against market rates, and run quarterly performance and salary reviews.