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Form of workSalary: London up to £70,000 and National up to £67,000 per annum
Could you play a leading role in protecting UK financial services consumers during the cost-of-living crisis?
The Consumer Finance Policy team sits in the Markets, Policy, and Analysis Department in the Consumer Finance Directorate. Our team plays a critical role in protecting consumers through the design and ownership of regulatory standards for a wide range of credit products used across the UK.
As we respond to the Cost-of-Living crisis our work has never been more important. Our current activities include introducing measures to support borrowers in financial difficulty, working with government on a new regime for ‘buy now pay later’ products, and ensuring debt advice markets work well for consumers. We are also contributing to the government review of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and supporting the FCA market study into credit information services.
More broadly we support our supervisory and authorisations teams in addressing harm & risks to consumers from credit products, e.g., through helping to embed the new Consumer Duty. We collaborate closely with external stakeholders, including the Treasury, industry, and consumer groups.
We are currently expanding the team up to support our work. To meet this, we are seeking to bring in two Senior Policy Advisors. As an advisor, you will be responsible for leading one or more policy projects with the objective of enhancing consumer protection or ensuring credit & debt markets work effectively in the interests of UK consumers.
What you will be doing
• Supporting delivery on high profile policy issues in Consumer Finance
• Development of policy proposals
• Preparing high-quality policy papers for senior management and Board approval, and for public consultation
• The communication of these proposals externally
• You will also be providing quality input, advice and support to supervisors, firms, consumers and trade and consumer bodies
You will work across the FCA to help develop and maintain a coherent approach to Consumer Finance issues. You will maintain key external and internal stakeholder relationships, including HM Treasury, Bank of England/Prudential Regulation Authority, consumer and trade bodies, and regulated firms.
What you will get from the role
The Policy Advisor will have the opportunity to:
• Work on challenging issues, in an intellectually stimulating environment, where creative thinking and problem solving are essential
• Interact with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders at senior level including government, industry, and consumer representatives
• Help support firms and the compensation framework put things right for consumers when things go wrong
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
• Proven experience of policy making OR experience of credit and debt issues
• Proven experience of building and managing relationships with stakeholders
• Experience of analysing information, forming judgements, and presenting on key issues
Essential
• A collaborative and flexible approach, and the ability to think creatively about new regulatory approaches
• Strong analytical skills
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Distil complex issues into succinct messages
• Present confidently to a variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Function as a credible representative for FCA externally
• An understanding of the wider impact of regulation on consumers and businesses, and the ability to look at issues from the perspective of the consumer
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.
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 on 14th February 2024
This role is graded Senior Associate – Regulatory
This is a permanent role
Got a question?
If you are external and interested learning more about the role, please contact Aaron Ward at [email protected]
If you are internal and interested learning more about the role, please contact Kezia Downie at [email protected]
What to expect from our assessment and selection process
The assessment process consists of an initial screening call with Sourcer. If successful, you will be invited to attend a competency-based interview.
Please note that all applications must be submitted through our online portal before the closing date, applications sent via email will not be accepted.
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.
