Case Officer, Asset Management & Custody Team, Wholesale Authorisations

Salary

National ranging £40,600 - £45,000 and London £44,900 - £50,000

We have an exciting opportunity for an individual with a strong interest in wholesale markets and good critical thinking skills to join our Wholesale Authorisations department within the Authorisations division as an Associate.

The role is within the Asset Management & Custody team, which focuses on assessing applications from asset managers (e.g., hedge funds, private equity and venture capital fund managers) and custody services providers.

The successful candidates will need to be well-organised, intellectually curious, self-starters who can pick up the job quickly, manage internal and external stakeholders, work to deadlines and take decisions.

We are interested in hearing from candidates who have knowledge of wholesale markets and regulation, but also from candidates who have a broader range of complementary knowledge, skills, and experience. This could have been gained in a variety of ways such as working for wholesale/financial services firms; working for a regulator or law enforcement body; working in a law firm or in financial analysis or other advisory/consultancy roles.

This Associate role is varied, challenging and stimulating. You will be the project manager for your cases and the face of the FCA to the firms making applications. You will need to be able to use influencing skills to deliver robust and candid messages to firms as you determine their applications to undertake regulated activities.

What you will be doing

Associates in Wholesale Authorisations are tasked with:

• Managing their own caseload of applications in a well-organised, time-sensitive way while keeping appropriate records
• Assessing applications from firms against relevant standards
• Having robust conversations with firms (which could include telling a firm its application is being refused)
• Making recommendations and taking decisions in a manner which mitigates against risks of harm for consumers and markets, in line with FCA objectives
• Applying judgement, and working well with internal and external stakeholders (e.g., in Enforcement, Supervision, etc.)
• Determining applications in an efficient and effective manner in line with the required deadlines, and quickly identifying and acting upon ineligible or inappropriate applications

What will the candidate get from the role?

The roles will provide exposure to a wide variety of firms and issues, and the opportunity for frequent interaction with senior FCA stakeholders. You can work in collaboration with and influence a wide range of industry professionals, both internally and externally.

Working in Wholesale Authorisations, you will have a rare opportunity to understand and shape the workings of the financial sector at a time of considerable change. You will enjoy a unique perspective on the financial services industry, with the opportunity to do meaningful work that makes a real difference.

Core benefits that you will receive as standard are:

• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays (pro-rata)
• Private healthcare with Bupa
• A non-contributory Pension of at least 8% of basic salary each month (there are several contribution levels that increase depending on your age – up to 12% a month once you reach age 35)
• Life assurance of eight times your basic salary
• Income protection

We support hybrid working which means you will be able to work from home up to 60% of the time over a month, with the remainder of your time in one of our three office locations

The skills and experience you will have

Minimum

We are a signatory to the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. This means that we will offer an interview to disabled candidates entering under the scheme, should they meet the minimum criteria for a role.

• Prior experience in managing several tasks simultaneously with competing deadlines
• Prior experience of presenting to stakeholders at all levels

• Prior experience of working both collaboratively within team and also independently

Essential

• Good critical thinking skills
• Ability to meet deadlines and make sense of complex situations
• Ability to act on your own initiative, to make logical and timely decisions, and to see the big picture

• The ability to understand, identify and manage key stakeholders, and to develop a network of relationships you can draw upon
• A good team player who demonstrates an inclusive approach, and the ability to influence to deliver shared goals
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• A keen interest in learning how financial markets operate and the types of firms within the financial services industry

About the FCA

The FCA regulates the conduct of 50,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair, and competitive. We do this to make sure markets work well for individuals, businesses, and the economy. For more information on what we do, our three-year strategy can be found here.

The FCA's Values & Diversity

Our ambition is to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation.

The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisations. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, disabled and minority ethnic candidates for our Associate role.

Flexible working

We welcome applications from candidates who are looking for flexible arrangements.  Many of our staff work flexibly including working part-time, staggered hours, and job shares.  We cannot promise to give you exactly what you want but we will not judge you for asking.   
 

Multi-location

As part of the FCA’s on-going commitment to develop our national presence, most of our vacancies are now open to working in our Edinburgh, Leeds, or London offices.  This means that as part of the application process you will be able to select your preference of which office location you would like to work from.  

Useful information

• This role is graded as Associate – Regulatory
• Applications for this role close on Monday 26th February (midnight)
• CVs will be reviewed by the Recruiting Team from Tuesday 27th February onwards

Got a question?

If you are interested in learning more about the role, please contact:

For internal candidates, please speak to Jen Wishart on [email protected]

For external applicants, please contact Aaron Ward on [email protected]

What to expect from our interview process 

The process will involve two stages:

• A Case Study
• A Competency Based Interview

Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role. 

Application support

We want to remove any possible barriers and are committed to providing a wide range of reasonable adjustments so that you can keep the focus on your conversations and be at your best.

If you have an accessibility requirement, disability, or condition that means you might require changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter to discuss this further. Our aim is to make your application as easy and comfortable as possible, and your recruiter will be happy to work with you to make any necessary arrangements where possible.