Division – Consumer Finance

Department – High-cost Lending

Salary - National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £57,600 to £69,000 and London £63,300 to £71,000 per annum (Salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

About the FCA   

The FCA regulates the conduct of 45,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. Follow this link to find out more About the FCA.

The Consumer Finance division's role is to deliver supervisory strategies and conduct interventions with firms we regulate to prevent harm to consumers and financial markets and promote competition in the UK consumer credit market.

The High-cost Lending supervision team is responsible for the supervision of c.700 high-cost lenders, from larger firms with a national presence to local high-street pawnbrokers. The teams carry out a range of reactive and proactive supervisory work as well as setting and delivering the overall supervisory strategy for a portfolio that serves some of the most vulnerable and financially stretched consumers. The work has a high profile and involves engagement with internal and external stakeholders.

We are hiring a Lead Supervisor in the Consumer Lending department. In addition to high-cost lenders, the department is responsible for supervising Mainstream (credit card and personal loan) providers, and credit unions. This role is expected to be primarily working on the High-Cost lending portfolio.

What you will be doing?

• Supporting the Manager to plan, prioritise and allocate work across the team and coach the team to support their development. Deputising for Manager during periods of absence
• Working through others, ensuring risk based supervisory strategies are developed for the firms we supervise and ensuring they are effectively executed
• Exercising strong judgement and advising firms’ senior management to deliver better customer outcomes
• Designing and delivering a range of market level strategies, including business model analysis, the identification and diagnosis of harm and appropriate remedies
• Overseeing the work of the team to ensure timely progress is made to achieve our supervisory outcomes
• Maintaining and influencing a wide network of internal stakeholders
• Leading external engagements with senior stakeholders
• Supporting team members through coaching and development
• Responsibility for line management of at least one team member

What will you get from the role?

• Obtaining a unique insight into the workings of firms across the sector and getting the opportunity to engage with senior stakeholders at firms to discuss their strategy and influence positive change
• Engaging with senior stakeholders across the FCA approach that includes Resolution and insolvency, Legal and enforcement teams
• The chance to make a real difference to consumers

Which skills are required?

We are a Disability Confident Employer; therefore, disabled people or individuals with long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. (To learn more about the Disability Confident Scheme Click Here)

Minimum

• Proven experience of reviewing complex information, making judgements and presenting key issues and recommendations to senior stakeholders
• Experience in effectively engaging with a range of internal and external senior stakeholders
• Leading and supporting on complex, cross-cutting projects to mitigate consumer harm

Essential

• A good understanding of the consumer credit market and/or strong understanding of FCA’s approach to supervision, tools and powers
• Strong management capability (e.g. project management) to help plan, prioritise and allocate work within the team
• A strong team player who demonstrates an inclusive approach and the impact and influence to deliver against their own objectives, and to the wider organisational objectives
• Ability to make strong personal impact, persuading with well-reasoned arguments and challenging where appropriate
• Proven experience of strategic thinking and decision making. Ability to think critically about the strengths and weaknesses of firms' business models and strategies to identify relevant risks, issues and themes and arrive at appropriate judgements
• Ability to present complex information to stakeholders (internal and external) in a clear, concise and compelling way
• Ability to balance and manage conflicting priorities in a resource-constrained environment, and work flexibly and pragmatically when priorities change

Our Values & Diversity
We are proud to be an inclusive employer and our ambition is to cultivate a culture 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.

Within the workplace you will have access to various employee resource groups which aim to promote and achieve a healthy work / life balance and support our diversity ambitions.

Did you know? 50% of our ExCo are women (4 in 8)

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

Benefits of working at the FCA

• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
• Hybrid working (work from home up to 60% of your time)
• Private healthcare with Bupa 
• A non-contributory Pension of at least 8%
• Life assurance
• Income protection

We also have a competitive flexible benefits scheme which gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifestyle.

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 can explore what might work best for both sides.

Follow this link to see what life is like at the FCA - Life at the FCA

Application Support

We are dedicated to removing barriers and ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition requiring changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter using the details below and they will be happy to discuss this further with you.

Useful Information and Timeline

This role is graded Lead Associate - Regulatory

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a 90-min competency-based interview which will include a case study or presentation exercise.

• Advert Closing Date: 12th January 2025
• CV Review/Shortlist: 14th to 16th January 2025
• Competency Based Interview: Week commencing 20th January 2025

Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role, therefore, please make them aware if you are going to be unavailable for any date during this time. 

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]

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