Meet Operations Analyst, Robert

We recently sat down with Robert, Operations Analyst at fire.com, to find out what it’s like working in the Operations team and what led him to fire.com. Check out the full interview:

Hi Robert! So tell us, how long have you been with the company?
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve just passed my two-year anniversary working with fire.com.

What does your job involve?
Operations Analyst is quite a wide-ranging role in a fintech company like fire.com. When I describe it to my friends, I tell them that the role encompasses four main areas: Customer Support, Customer Onboarding, Treasury & Fraud Analysis and Prevention.

I enjoy how varied the role is. Every day brings new challenges and learnings which is great as fire.com was my first full time job after graduating from college. Being able to learn so much early on in my career is fantastic and puts me in good stead for the future.

So what do you find most rewarding about your role?
It’s certainly satisfying when you’ve successfully prevented and pre-empted fraudulent activity. I take great pride in protecting our customers and ensuring they don’t become victims.

And the most exciting challenge you’ve worked on yet?
One of the most exciting and interesting parts of my job is corporate account management. As more and more businesses are discovering the advantages of fire.com, managing and helping these companies has become a larger part of my role. Discovering how different business models work is really interesting, then problem solving as to how we can best help them is challenging but rewarding.

What’s your background? Why did you want to join a company like fire.com?
My background is actually in education and music. After studying music for a year in BIMM Dublin, I took up a BSc in Education Studies with Marino Institute of Education. Going into college I had the thought that I might one day become a music teacher, however after six years of secondary school and five years of college, I decided that a break from the education sector would be beneficial.

I heard about fire.com through a friend and loved the idea of working for tech startup, though I was conscious that my experience up until that point was unrelated. Fortunately, I had a few transferable skills and backed myself to learn fast. fire.com put their faith in me and I’m still here two years later – so I guess I’m doing something right!

How would you summarise the culture in three words?
Honest, Hardworking, Teamwork.

What do you like about working in the payments industry?
Banking and payments are something everybody has in common. Being at the forefront of the fintech sector is an exciting and a competitive space to be in. I like being able to tell my friends about the new ways in which fintech is going to benefit their everyday lives in the future.

Any hobbies and interests outside of work you’d like to share?
I love music. Guitar is my instrument of choice. If I ever won the lotto, there’s a good chance I’d spend most of the money filling my house with guitars.

Sport is another big one. I’d be happy to talk about sport all day (anybody who has sat in the canteen with me at lunch can attest!) Football would be my main obsession: watching it, playing it, listening to sport radio or podcasts and reading football writers – I’m completely addicted.