Address
Form of work
Salary Salary: London up to £90,000 and National up to £80,000
Are you interested in joining a team that performs a key role in leading the strategy for digital assets, crypto and helps shape and deliver the future of the Payments and Digital Assets directorate at the FCA?
The Department
The department performs an integral role in defining the FCA strategies for Digital Assets / Crypto and Payments. It is designing and implementing the data strategy, identifying, managing, and mitigating risk through data. It also includes training, external engagement, horizon scanning and initiative-taking identification of trends, amongst other things. The role is a fantastic opportunity to have influence in the fascinating world of digital assets and payments and to shape and deliver the future of the sectors.
What you will be doing?
As a Technical Specialist, you would play a key role in leading the strategy for digital assets / crypto and payments. You will analyse the sectors, helping evidence and inform the FCA’s strategy. The key responsibilities will be:
- Leading material workstreams to shape and develop the strategy, and its delivery across the FCA, for digital assets and payments, including the data strategy
- Playing a key role in representing the FCA in a range of internal and external stakeholder engagements, including private sector and industry bodies, law enforcement, and other public authorities and domestic and international regulators
- Driving improvements in the collection, analysis, development, and use of market intelligence and data to inform our assessment of the payments and digital assets sectors, trends, and the potential future state to ensure that the Directorate focuses its efforts on highest priority threats and opportunities
- Providing specialist support for FCA staff engaging with senior and technical personnel internally and externally, including preparing technical briefings for senior colleagues, acting as technical expert, and researching / briefing on complex risks or emerging technologies
What will you get from the role?
- Leading and delivering training programmes to develop colleagues’ knowledge and skills
- Establishing and maintaining effective relationships with a wide range of internal stakeholders, including specialists, intelligence, other sector teams
- Working across the Payments & Digital Assets Directorate to drive the identification, assessment and management of risks and opportunities arising in the sector
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:
- 28 days holiday per year
- Private healthcare with Bupa
- A non-contributory Pension of at least 8% of your basic salary each month (there are several contribution levels that increase depending on your age – up to 12% a month once you reach the age of 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.
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.
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
- The successful candidate will hold or will be required to obtain Security Clearance (SC) level vetting at a minimum
- Proven experience of the planning, development, implementation, and delivery of a strategy within the public sector
- Evidence of spearheading complex projects, dealing with conflicting priorities, to prioritise effectively and deliver results on time with minimal supervision
Essential
- Some knowledge of the digital assets, payments, and e-money sectors
- A bold thinker with an analytical mind-set, a risk-based approach to making judgements and a high standard of problem solving and strategic thinking with sound judgement
- Excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills with a clear ability to influence and collaborate with stakeholders at all levels, with very strong written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate with confidence and credibility when representing the FCA
- Willingness to learn and develop, taking on new responsibilities and adopting a flexible and pragmatic approach to your work
- Proven analytical skills with experience of analysing complex information or data; exercising robust, consistent judgements that balance a range of factors, and conveying their implications in a concise manner
- Ability to work at pace and under pressure, using sound judgement and escalating issues appropriately
- Comfortable with responsibility and managing ambiguity
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. We particularly welcome applications from women, disabled, and minority ethnic candidates, as under-represented groups.
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 Technical Specialist 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
This role is graded as Technical Specialist – Regulatory
Applications for this role close on
This is a permanent role
Got a question?
If you are external and are interested in learning more about the role, please contact Chhavi Bartaria at c
hhavi.bartaria@fca.org.uk
If you are internal and are interested in learning more about the role, please contact Kezia Downie at
kezia.downie@fca.org.uk
What to expect from our assessment and selection process
The assessment process will consist of a competency-based interview with the completion of a technical exercise in advance.
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.
Security Clearance/Vetting
The successful candidate will hold or will be required to obtain Security Clearance (SC) level vetting. (If applicable to role)
Please note that all applications must be submitted through our online portal before the closing date, applications sent via email will not be accepted.
