Lead Freedom of Information Specialist

Salary: National – ranging from £48,900 – £64,000 and London from £53,700 – £70,000 per annum

In the Communications directorate at the FCA we change opinions and behaviours to enable a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy. It’s an exciting time as we’re expanding our team and changing how we do things to deliver more engaging, insight-led, audience focused communications. If you want to be part of a supportive and fun team, work across a wide range of issues and are ready to be challenged, curious and creative then come and join us.

The team/department 

The Information Disclosure Team (IDT), based within the Communications directorate, is responsible for a variety of high profile and public facing work, including compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and other areas of information-based activity, such as compliance with the Environmental Information Regulations and the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations.  

The team’s role is crucial to the success of the relationship between the FCA, the public and the regulated community. 

As a public body the FCA is subject to Disclosure legislation. If we get things wrong in this area we could face damage to reputation, risk of fines from the Information Regulator (ICO), foster lack of confidence and diminish the FCAs authority to regulate, if cannot meet regulatory information requirements. 

What you will be doing (the role)  

• To be the Specialist Adviser on Freedom of Information, advising case managers, case officers and senior leaders. Provide strategic support to the IDT Manager on their specialist area

• Line management (including matrix) and development of the team, including providing coaching, training, and performance appraisals

• Building and managing senior stakeholder relationships across the FCA and with external bodies, such as the Information Regulator, managing expectations in terms of disclosure cases 

• Deputising for the IDT Manager, including leading on drafting and presentation of relevant reports and committee papers

• Developing improvement processes, providing appropriate, accurate and timely advice and guidance for team members, the wider FCA and internal and external stakeholders

• Active participant in the community of practice, engaged in professional development, including horizon scanning, intelligence gathering and external stakeholders

• Monitoring relevant legislative developments and notifying the FCA of changing requirements

What you will get from the role  

• Working with senior leadership of the FCA to manage responses to sensitive and high-profile issues

• Experience working across a diverse range of policy and regulatory topics

• Develop people management and leadership skills

Our competitive flexible benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifestyle. 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  

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, who best meet the minimum criteria for a role. 

• Proven experience in similar role with strong technical knowledge of relevant legislation and related guidance, including FOI Act and Information regulators code of practice

• Excellent writing and verbal skills for both internal and external audiences with experience of explaining complex issues to those who do not have a background in disclosure

• Previous line management experience and/or demonstrable experience of supporting and coaching more junior team members

Essential

• Experience of undertaking research into regulatory issues 

• Strong organisational capabilities, with the ability to manage multiple, competing tasks

• Ability to deliver tasks in a timely manner and ensure service standards are maintained 
  Excellent attention to detail when drafting responses, with good decision-making skills 
  A proven track record of developing strong relationships and networks across an organisation to ensure a joined-up approach and to deliver to strict deadlines 

• Experience in gathering of intelligence from multiple sources to identify risks and trends 

• Able to influence senior colleagues by providing clear and persuasive guidance

• Ability to redact documents using various applications and software

• Practitioner Certificate in FOI would be advantageous

About the FCA   

The FCA regulates the conduct of nearly 45,000 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 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 23:59 on Thursday 5th September 2024.

This role is graded as Lead Associate – Corporate.

Got a question?    

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

• For internal applicants, please contact Melanie Dubock at [email protected]

• For external applicants, please contact Ifrah Azam at [email protected]

What to expect from our interview process  

The interview process will be over one or two stages where your core competencies will be assessed.

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.

Please note that all applications must be submitted through our online portal, applications sent via email will not be accepted.