Strategy Associate

Key Responsibilities

• Own and improve performance across the end-to-end merchant funnel, from application through funding, identifying bottlenecks, drop-offs, and opportunities to improve conversion, efficiency, and customer experience.
• Lead high-impact strategic initiatives across partner performance, pricing, market expansion, operational optimisation, and new product launches.
• Design, execute, and evaluate experiments and pilots, using data-driven insights to optimise growth, operational efficiency, and commercial outcomes.
• Build and monitor key operational and commercial KPIs, dashboards, forecasts, and business cases that inform decision-making across the organisation.
• Use data to diagnose problems, identify opportunities, and develop actionable recommendations that balance growth, risk, customer experience, and profitability.
• Represent YouLend in discussions with strategic partners, contributing to business reviews, pricing discussions, RFPs, commercial negotiations, and growth initiatives.
• Drive cross-functional execution by aligning Product, Risk, Credit, Operations, Capital Markets, and Partnerships teams around shared objectives and ensuring initiatives are delivered effectively.
• Identify opportunities to automate processes, improve tooling, reduce manual effort, and scale operations while maintaining quality and compliance standards.
• Act as a change leader, embedding new processes and ways of working across teams with strong stakeholder buy-in and minimal disruption.
• Take ownership of ambiguous, high-priority business challenges, stepping in wherever necessary to drive progress and deliver results.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• 2–3 years of experience in consulting, fintech, technology, banking, strategy, operations, or another highly analytical and commercially focused role.
• Experience managing cross-functional projects and driving initiatives from idea through execution.
• Experience in fintech, lending, underwriting, partnerships, or operations strategy is advantageous but not required.

• Strong analytical skills with experience using SQL, Excel, Python, or similar tools to extract insights, build models, and support decision-making.
• Comfortable working with large datasets, identifying patterns, and translating findings into actionable recommendations.
• Ability to make sound decisions using data and judgement, even when information is incomplete or ambiguous.

• Strong commercial acumen with an understanding of how businesses balance growth, risk, customer experience, and profitability.
• Ability to identify opportunities, evaluate trade-offs, and develop practical solutions to complex business challenges.
• Interest in fintech, lending, and the dynamics of scaling a high-growth business.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence both senior internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Comfortable representing YouLend in partner discussions and communicating complex ideas in a clear and compelling way.
• Proven ability to build alignment and drive outcomes without relying on formal authority.

• Strong ownership mindset. You take responsibility for outcomes, not tasks, and proactively drive initiatives to completion.
• Bias for action and a willingness to operate in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
• Naturally curious, adaptable, and eager to learn new concepts, products, and markets.
• Comfortable challenging the status quo and driving change when better solutions exist.

Benefits

• Award-Winning Workplace: YouLend has been recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work in 2024 and 2025” by the Sunday Times for being a supportive, diverse, and rewarding workplace.
• Award-Winning Fintech: YouLend has been recognized as a “Top 250 Fintech Worldwide” company by CNBC.

• We have developed powerful solutions, won some significant partnerships, and are growing at a rapid pace.
• But the global opportunity is still massive, and YouLend is a raw organization where we are only just getting started.

• High-growth (>100% growth during 2022 and 2023), so clear outlook to compensation (bonus or share option appreciation) and career growth (through growth with the business).
• Well-capitalized with supportive private equity backing.
• Part of Banking Circle Group with a fully licensed Luxembourg bank, which can provide a balance sheet and support European expansion in otherwise complex regulated markets.
  
  

• A high-quality team that pushes each other to succeed through direct feedback and aligned incentives.
• Strong and transparent team culture, we have each other’s backs.
• Independent work environment where results matter.
• Data-driven culture and emphasis on speed (anti-red tape).
  
  

• Health Care Coverage. YouLend covers 80%; employee contribution is 20% of the premium.
• Medical Plan (medical insurance and prescription drug coverage)- Choice of 5 different plans through United Healthcare.
• Dental plan coverage
• Vision plan coverage
• Benefits can be for: Employee only; Employee & Spouse; Employee & Child; Employee & Family
• Retirement - 401K match. Employee match $1 for $1 up to 5% of salary.
• Basic Life & AD&D Insurance.
• International travel insurance covered if traveling abroad for work purposes.
• Paid Time Off (PTO)- 20 working days (4 weeks) + US public holidays
• Paid Office Parking