Payment Operations Specialist

Company Description

Tembo is making the dream of ownership possible for a new generation of home buyers. We are a disruptive, award winning savings and mortgage platform powered by a proprietary technology platform - with the result of enabling buyers to buy their home years ahead of the alternative.

We recently acquired a savings company to help us capture customers earlier in their home buying journey, nurture them through saving for a deposit and ultimately to match them with the best mortgage product to get them onto the ladder more quickly.  Our savings business is growing very rapidly and we’ve recently launched a Cash ISA to complement our existing Lifetime ISA products.  We have huge plans for new products and innovation in the future.

We’re a mission centric organisation that holds our values close:

• Find a way - representing our desire to innovate and also leave no stone unturned to help find a customer a way to get on the ladder

• It's all about the people - customers, colleagues, partners - we’re all human and without them we are nothing

• If you don’t like it change it - as a startup we’re constantly listening to every source of data and evolving, every opinion counts

We are rated 5* on Trustpilot with every single customer review celebrated and we are determined to find a way to ensure we retain that customer love as we scale.

We are well funded by Goodwater Capital, Aviva, McPike Family Global Office, Ascension, Love Ventures as well as a suite of ethical backers such as Fair by Design, Barrow Cadbury, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Big Society Capital.

Job Description

We’re looking for an experienced, customer-centric Payment Operations Specialist who isn’t afraid to roll their sleeves up, to help deliver the best, most trusted customer service as we grow our business.  

In this role, you’ll be responsible for handling complaints and inbound and outbound communication with customers. This includes liaising with internal and external stakeholders to ensure deposits and withdrawals into and for our customers happen seamlessly and without delay.

You will successfully collaborate with our operations, technology and compliance teams to ensure we achieve our company growth objectives.

As a tech-enabled business there is a big focus on innovative AI/technology focused solutions to create the optimum customer experience whilst also enabling Tembo to scale quickly.  At Tembo we utilise the latest tools and systems to deliver top class service, you’ll own the ongoing training and utilisation of these tools to ensure the team are making the most of the tools at their fingertips (eg Using Intercom AI to automatically resolve as many tickets as possible without human intervention).

You will live and breathe our values and ensure they are embedded across the team and into every customer interaction.  You will also provide data insights and reporting on performance to inform strategic decisions around future investment, products and technology developments.

Qualifications

• Prior experience in payments operations role within financial services and or the fintech space (within a regulated environment)

• Understanding of ISA product flows — including customer deposits, withdrawals, and reconciliations

• Confident processing and validating customer withdrawals and deposits accurately and efficiently

• Experience communicating directly with customers via in-app chat and email regarding payment statuses and queries

• Skilled at triaging and resolving payment-related issues raised by the Customer Service team and internal stakeholders

• Comfortable working closely with Finance teams to reconcile transactions and maintain financial accuracy

• Ability to liaise cross-functionally with key internal departments and stakeholders (such as ISA Transfers, Home Purchases, Complaints, and wider operational teams)

• High attention to detail when dealing with financial information and customer records

• Analytical and proactive — able to spot transaction errors, inconsistencies, and escalate appropriately

• Strong organisational skills to manage multiple simultaneous payment requests while ensuring compliance with internal SLAs

• Clear and empathetic communicator, especially when explaining payment timelines or resolving sensitive customer issues

However, the right mindset and attitude is more important than ticking every single box on our checklist. So, if you’re interested in what we’re doing, excited by our mission, and the description largely fits you - then get in touch!

Additional Information

Location: Hybrid, with an office in Central London (1-2 days per week in the office)