Finance & Reconciliation Analyst / Safeguarding

ABOUT PLEO

Messy spend management is tricky business. And tedious processes are a lose-lose situation for all involved, not just finance. At Pleo, we're changing that. We build spend solutions that make managing money seamless, empowering, and surprisingly effective for finance teams and employees alike - with a vision to help all businesses ‘go beyond’.

The word ‘Pleo’ actually means ‘more than you’d expect’, and living by that mantra has been the secret to our success over the last 10 years.

Now, we’re at a pivotal moment in our journey; every move we make has a direct impact on our 40,000+ customers, our business, and our collective success. We need people who take pride in uncovering customer needs, who turn complex problems into simple solutions, challenge the way things are done (respectfully), and always aim high. With great ambitions driving us forward, we can’t say we’ve got this whole thing figured out. And frankly, that’s half the fun! What we can say is that we’re a driven, progressive, and, importantly, a kind bunch of 850+ people from over 100 nationalities, all committed to delivering the future of business spending, together.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We're looking for a Finance & Reconciliations Analyst to join our Safeguarding function at Pleo.

In this role, you'll be at the heart of how we meet our safeguarding obligations under FCA rules. You'll perform daily and periodic reconciliations across customer funds, balances and transactions, contribute to process improvement initiatives, and support our external audit activity. You'll also help produce the management information that feeds into our governance oversight. If you're genuinely curious about payments and financial infrastructure, good with data, and keen to learn and improve as you go, then this could be the perfect opportunity for you!

WHO YOU'LL BE WORKING WITH AND REPORTING TO

You'll report to our Head of Safeguarding and work closely with teams across Finance Operations, Compliance, and Product.

Our Finance function is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of safeguarding and financial control. You'll also have the opportunity to partner with colleagues across our operations, audit, and leadership teams to help drive strong governance and regulatory compliance.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

As a Finance & Reconciliations Analyst in Safeguarding, you will:

• Perform and support the review of daily and periodic safeguarding reconciliations across customer funds, balances and transactions

• Monitor reconciliation outputs and carry out post-review checks and manual follow-up activity

• Investigate breaks and exceptions, escalating where needed and tracking issues through to resolution

• Maintain accurate records, supporting documentation and clear audit trails

• Help collate and prepare management information on reconciliations and exceptions for governance forums including the Safeguarding Committee

• Work with data in spreadsheets and internal systems to extract, check and present information clearly

• Spot patterns in exceptions or recurring issues and flag them to the team

• Contribute to reconciliations-related projects, including system changes, tooling improvements and process redesign

• Flag inefficiencies or recurring control weaknesses and bring forward practical ideas to address them

• Support the development and automation of reporting processes over time

• Help prepare and organise documentation, evidence packs and reconciliation outputs for external audit

• Respond to auditor queries and requests in a timely and accurate manner

WHAT YOU BRING

You'll thrive in this role if you have:

• 2+ years of experience in a reconciliations, payments, finance operations or similar role

• Comfort working with data and spreadsheets (Google Sheets or Excel) and a keen interest to develop further

• A methodical and accurate approach — you take care with the details and notice when something doesn't look right

• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain what you've found clearly to colleagues and, where needed, to external auditors

• Genuine interest in how financial services and payments regulation works in practice

• A passion for solving problems in practical and innovative ways

• Excellent time management and the ability to prioritise tasks effectively

WHY IS THIS ROLE A GOOD FIT FOR YOU

This role is a good fit for you if:

• You're genuinely curious about fintech and how payments infrastructure actually works

• You enjoy working with data and understanding systems, not just using them

• You're excited by the responsibility of maintaining financial controls and regulatory compliance

• You thrive in a collaborative environment and enjoy improving processes and ways of working

• You bring a self-starter attitude — you don't wait to be told what to do next

This role is not a good fit for you if:

• You struggle working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities

• You do not enjoy detailed analytical or investigative work

• You prefer working in isolation rather than collaborating with colleagues across teams

• You're not interested in the practical application of financial regulation

HOW YOU'LL DEVELOP IN THIS ROLE

In your first 6 months at Pleo, you'll:

• Develop a strong understanding of Pleo's safeguarding obligations under FCA rules, including the CASS and DFSA safeguarding requirements. Learn how our reconciliation processes work across all our systems and develop expertise in carrying out and reviewing reconciliations

• Collaborate with colleagues to help improve and streamline our reconciliation and reporting processes

• Grow your skills in data handling, financial analysis, and audit preparation

• Take on new challenges as you build confidence and the company continues to scale

We're committed to helping you develop your career, whether that means taking on bigger projects, stepping into process improvement leadership, or acquiring new skills in areas you identify for growth.

THE LOCATION

Please note: We can hire on a hybrid or in-person set-up in any of the locations listed on the advert but you will need to be physically based in the country of your choice with a valid right to work. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role in any of the listed locations.

SHOW ME THE BENEFITS!

• Your own Pleo card (no more out-of-pocket spending!)

• Lunch is on us for your work days - enjoy catered meals or receive a lunch allowance based on your local office

• Comprehensive private healthcare - depending on your location, coverage options include Vitality, Alan or Médis

• We offer 25 days of holiday + your public holidays

• We use MyndUp to give our employees access to free mental health and well-being support with great success so far

• Paid parental leave - we want to make sure that we're supportive of families and help you feel that you don't have to compromise your family due to work

THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

We want to ensure you are set-up for success and understand what will be expected of you. If your application is successful, our interview process is as follows:

• Intro call: A 30-minute chat with our Talent Partner to discuss the role and your background

• Hiring Manager: A 45-minute chat with our Head of Safeguarding & Reconciliation

• Pleo challenge: A 60-minute chat with peers and/or stakeholders to check how you would think and act in the role. Expect some real life examples as well as on the spot challenges

• Final Interview: A 30-minute final chat with one of our senior stakeholders

Transparency is important to us so we also wanted to share some insights about what we're looking for in applications to ensure you can set yourself up for success!

Last time we hired for a similar role, we received a significant number of applications but only a fraction were selected for an intro call. Some of the key reasons why previous candidates didn't make it past the application screening stage include:

• CV writing and content: we receive a lot of CVs, and many of them are AI-generated. We love seeing people leverage AI—it’s a big focus for us internally too—but without human intervention, these CVs can sometimes become generic and fail to show a candidate in the best light. What we're really looking for is the specific details of real impact that only you know from your previous experience. A top tip from us is to use the “Achieved X, as measured by Y, by doing Z” formula (credit: Laszlo Bock, ~2014) to give a really clear picture of what you’ve worked on. A final note: including links to your previous companies' websites is a huge help and allows us to truly understand your background!

• Application care: every single application we receive is reviewed by a human (yes, hundreds of them) because we believe that candidates' efforts should be matched by an equal level of human care. This means that we expect a similar level of attention put into your application. Read and answer the application questions carefully, they make a huge difference in our decision-making process.

• Profile to role fit: highlight most important aspects of the role, points that might get misunderstood, any specific industry requirements etc.

ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION

• English first. Since it's our company language, please submit your application in English. You’ll be using it a lot if you join us.

• A fair look for everyone. Our talent team reads every single application to ensure the process is fair. To keep things running smoothly, we only accept applications through our system—our support team can’t pass on calls or emails.

• Diversity drives us. We can only reach our goals if our team reflects the world around us. That starts with you hitting apply, even if you don't tick every single box. We encourage people from all backgrounds and experiences to join us.

• Interview at your best. We want you to feel comfortable throughout the process. If you have any accessibility requirements or need a specific format, email belonging@pleo.io. We’ll design a process that works for you.

• Your data is safe. When you apply, we process your personal data as a data processor. For more information on how Pleo processes personal data, read our Privacy Policy here https://www.pleo.io/en/legal.

• Applying for multiple roles? Nothing is stopping you, and we assess every role independently. However, we do look for alignment, so make sure you can explain why your interest and experience are right for each specific role.

• Reapplying. If you’re applying for the same role again, please wait six months from your last decision before hitting submit.