Director, Market Expansion
Tala
United States · Remote
Posted on Jan 18, 2025
About Tala
Tala is on a mission to unleash the economic power of the Global Majority – the 4 billion people overlooked by existing financial systems. With nearly half a billion dollars raised from equity and debt, we are serving millions of customers across three continents. Tala has been named by the Fortune Impact 20 list, CNBC’s Disruptor 50 five years in a row, CNBC’s World's Top Fintech Company, Forbes’ Fintech 50 list for eight years running, and Chief's The New Era of Leadership Award. We are expanding across product offerings, countries and crypto and are looking for people who have an entrepreneurial spirit and are passionate about our mission.
By creating a unique platform that enables lending and other financial services around the globe, people in emerging markets are able to start and expand small businesses, manage day-to-day needs, and pursue their financial goals with confidence. Currently, over nine million people across Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India have used Tala products. Due to our global team, we have a remote-first approach, and also have offices in Santa Monica, CA (HQ); Nairobi, Kenya; Mexico City, Mexico; Manila, the Philippines; and Bangalore, India.
Most Talazens join us because they connect with our mission. If you are energized by the impact you can make at Tala, we’d love to hear from you!
The Role
Tala is seeking a results-driven leader to spearhead our entry into new emerging markets globally, starting with Latin America (LatAm) and expanding into additional regions. You will work closely with executive and regional leadership to define and execute strategies and operations that unlock exponential total addressable market (TAM) growth and revenue opportunities.
As the Director of Market Expansion, you will own, organize, and accelerate Tala’s market expansion workstreams, collaborating closely with Product & Technology leadership. You’ll develop on-the-ground expertise, establish key relationships, and build the in-market presence necessary for scaling. Operating across disciplines and geographies, you will solve complex challenges, drive outcomes, and serve as a key external voice of Tala in our mission to improve financial inclusion for millions worldwide.
What You'll Do
- Drive Tala’s expansion strategy, charting the course around market selection, go-to-market, partnerships, capabilities, and sequencing that allows Tala to maximize our global reach and new customer growth, beginning in LatAm
- Manage the roll up Expansion P&L, driving efficiency and sound decision-making that balances speed and absolute ROI across a diverse set of inputs
- Define the phases and KPI success criteria for new market entry, with an emphasis on monitoring, rallying the team, and increasing the probability of hitting these KPI targets for each expansion market
- Lead effective cross-functional go-to-market working groups capable of moving into new countries reliably and efficiently, with an eye toward both speed to market and absolute scale of the business
- Deeply collaborate with Product & Program leadership to set aligned business and roadmap objectives, informing and influencing our Product and Technology strategy toward expansion and building out Tala’s Expansion Playbook
- Establish Tala’s on-the-ground presence in new markets, building key relationships and standing up operations as necessary that enable successful scaling
- Evaluate, prioritize, and execute strategic partnership opportunities at the local and regional level that can accelerate entry and scaling in new markets
- Amplify Tala’s industry presence through deliberate and proactive external engagement and relationship-building
- Collaborate with Tala’s leadership teams in established markets to build out regional operating capabilities that can act as a springboard for operations in new markets
What You'll Need
- Bilingual in English and have a business-level proficiency in Spanish.
- 7+ years of business leadership experience in a high-growth, technology-enabled organization
- Track record of taking a product or service to multiple new markets and scaling successfully
- Willingness to travel, move fast, and self-start, comfortable being on the ground for extended periods of time and opening new doors in markets where Tala does not have existing team members or infrastructure
- Deep network and ability to make strong connections within Fintech, Finance, and adjacent industries spanning across LatAM, with experience in other regions is a plus
- Aptitude for identifying and onboarding new business partners and local talent when and where needed, with an eye toward lean scaling
- Strong data-driven approach coupled with an ability to build and utilize frameworks efficiently to rapidly process and react to new information
- Excellent communication skills (written & oral) and an ability to drive strategic alignment while also communicating complex issues and nuanced considerations clearly to both internal and external stakeholders
- Demonstrated ability to work across diverse disciplines such as Product, Marketing, Credit, Finance, Operations, and Technology
- Comfort and capability to work effectively across diverse cultures and time zones
- Deep customer empathy and a solutions-oriented problem solver
Our vision is to build a new financial ecosystem where everyone can participate on equal footing and access the tools they need to be financially healthy. We strongly believe that inclusion fosters innovation and we’re proud to have a diverse global team that represents a multitude of backgrounds, cultures, and experience. We hire talented people regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.