Finance & Reconciliation Analyst / Safeguarding

Aplaro Ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Pleo, a UK fintech, is seeking a Finance & Reconciliations Analyst to join the Safeguarding team. You will perform daily and periodic reconciliations across customer funds, balances and transactions, and support audit activity.

Reporting to the Head of Safeguarding, you’ll work with Finance Operations, Compliance and Product to strengthen governance and regulatory compliance while developing automation of reporting processes over time.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in a reconciliations, payments, finance operations or similar role
• Comfort working with data and spreadsheets (Google Sheets or Excel)
• 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

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

Data analysis

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Regulatory awareness

Problem solving

Time management

Spreadsheet proficiency

Tools

Google Sheets

Excel

Job description

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

While this is the why, here 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:

If you struggle working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities

You do not enjoy det