Risk & Assurance Lead

Salary: National up to £71,900 and London up to £79,100

An exciting role for anyone who is keen in playing a pivotal role in shaping the approach to operational risk management within a division at the FCA!

We are recruiting for a Risk & Assurance Lead to join the Risk & Assurance Team in the Controls, Capabilities & Frameworks (CCF) Directorate, to lead the broader Supervision, Policy & Competition (SPC) Division’s approach to operational risk management.

CCF is focused on driving change and delivering operational excellence across SPC. The breadth of work in CCF is varied and the directorate has a range of skills and expertise to help SPC achieve its maximum potential. The directorate provides an excellent opportunity to work closely with SPC’s senior leadership and gain a deeper understanding of how one of the FCA’s largest divisions operates.

The Risk & Assurance team lead the development and delivery of SPC’s operational management information and approach to operational risk management. The team helps us to better understand how the division is performing across a wide range of operational metrics and SLAs, and how effectively we are managing our risks. They provide a suite of regular reporting and analysis to the Directors, Executive Directors and the FCA Board and coordinate the Annual Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) across the Division. The work of the team is high profile and would give the candidate an opportunity to work with senior stakeholders across SPC and the wider FCA.

What you will be doing

The successful candidate, along with the rest of the team, will be pivotal in shaping the approach to operational risk management across the SPC Division. We are looking for someone with practical experience of embedding effective risk management and who can lead and drive continuous improvements in our approach.

The role involves:

• People management and coaching of team members, including recruitment, talent and performance management and helping our staff develop and further their careers, making the most of the support and opportunities the FCA has to offer
• Steering the coordination and delivery of SPC’s Risk & Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) across the Division to enable Senior Management to understand, and have oversight of, it’s key operational risks
• Preparing and delivering regular, high-profile papers and presentations on SPC’s operational risks, management of Internal Audit/ Risk Assurance actions and approach to risk management which discuss your insights and pose recommendations to Divisional Leadership and Operational Committees
• Working with the broader Risk & Assurance team to automate and enhance the approach to quantitative and qualitative analysis of risk data, supported by effective data visualisation (e.g. Tableau).
• Providing clear direction to the network of Risk Coordinators across the Division to drive improvements (and greater consistency) in SPC’s approach to risk management; shaping the agenda and chairing regular Risk Coordinator Meetings
• Providing direction and oversight with respect to the Division’s use of CammsRisk (Risk Management System)

What will you get from the role?

• Opportunity to work in a varied role with a unique aerial view of the financial services industry, as well as the performance of the FCA, with the opportunity to do meaningful work that makes a real difference
• Opportunity to work in a high-profile role and engage with senior stakeholders to embed and seek feedback on the Division’s approach to risk management and to incorporate this into the design and delivery of the team
• Opportunity to develop your people management skills and shape the future direction of the operational risk management approach in one of the FCA’s largest divisions
• Cultivating excellent working relationships within SPC and across the FCA (including working with central teams in Risk & Compliance Oversight and Internal Audit) to ensure the development of the Division’s approach to risk management is aligned to broader organisational frameworks and initiatives
• As an Academy business, we place great value on learning and offer development opportunities which will assist you in achieving your career aspirations

Our competitive flexible benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifecycle. You can use this allowance to purchase additional benefits such as dental or cycle to work or you have the option top up your base salary by taking this as cash. 

Core benefits that you will receive as standard are: 

• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
• 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

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.

Minimum

• Strong written communication skills
• Experience in senior stakeholder management
• Experience in risk management

Essential

• Excellent knowledge of best-practice risk management and practical experience of embedding this in a large organisation
• Ability to manage, motivate and develop individuals and teams to deliver to a high standard through effective delegation, support and coaching
• Focused on outcomes and committed to delivering high quality work on time and presenting analysis in a clear and compelling way and produce high quality reports/ committee papers.
• Forward thinking, with excellent initiative to diagnose problems and propose solutions considering the bigger picture
• Ability and willingness to adapt to change, positively embracing new approaches and opportunities to drive improvements and working with a range of stakeholders, and influence and challenge people to achieve desired outcomes, including senior management
• Understanding of FCA’s regulatory and operational activity and the business priorities

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 as a whole. 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 Lead Associate - Regulatory 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 can’t promise to give you exactly what you want but we won’t 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 

Applications for this role close at midnight on Sunday 25th February 2024

This role is graded as Lead Associate – Regulatory

What to expect from our interview process 

All applications will be reviewed once the advert has closed.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview which will consist of 2 parts:

• Case study/Presentation
• 60-min competency-based interview

Got a question?   

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

For Internal applicants, please contact Cheryl Cheung at [email protected]

For External applicants, please contact Aaron Ward at [email protected]

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.

Please note – Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via email will not be accepted.