Transition Finance Specialist – Sustainable Finance

Salary: National ranging from £51,200 to £59,000 and London from £56,400 to £65,000  

Are you interested in helping to shape the next phase of the FCA’s work within Sustainable Finance?

The team/department  

This is a fast-moving and dynamic space. The Sustainable Finance Division’s Intelligence team is responsible for ensuring that the FCA stays up to date with the latest developments and trends in sustainable finance. The team is working to ensure that the FCA has the right information and data to fully understand these trends and to identify where the FCA may need to intervene. The team maintains relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and also formally contributes to or runs a number of high-profile working groups or networks.

The Sustainable Finance Division has been building its understanding of transition finance and the role that the UK’s financial sector can play in supporting UK and global climate ambitions. The transition finance market is at an early stage in developing, but the environmental and economic opportunities that it presents are increasingly being recognised by policymakers, regulators and financial institutions. This role provides a unique opportunity to shape the development of domestic and international work on and the scaling of transition finance, in line with the FCA’s objectives. 

What you will be doing (the role)  

• Develop your knowledge regarding financial services and financial products aimed at supporting the transition to net zero (‘transition finance’) 

• Provide technical insights and advice to colleagues and FCA seniors in respect of transition finance 

• Provide input into the FCA’s strategic thinking on, and approach to, transition finance – you will drive forward work to deliver positive domestic and international outcomes for the FCA as the market develops, (this may include policy-related analysis) 

• Build connections with internal and external stakeholders 

• Represent the Sustainable Finance Division in internal and external meetings 

• Contribute to the on-going work of the Sustainable Finance Division’s Intelligence Team including gathering market intelligence, horizon scanning and analysis of issues and recommendations for FCA action - this may include research, drafting analysis reports, taking papers to FCA governance boards, briefing seniors, attending events and building relationships with stakeholders 
   

What you will get from the role  

• This role will provide you with a unique opportunity to help shape the next phase of the FCA’s work in this interesting and important area 

• As a subject matter expert you will build your skills in advising colleagues and seniors within the FCA  

• Gain a deeper understanding of how the regulator gathers intelligence, identifies and analyses risks and determines its response 

• Have a good understanding of the broader sustainable finance sector and its stakeholders 

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  

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.  

• Experience of sustainable finance policy or sustainable finance research/analysis in a work-related role 

• Work experience in or related to the financial services sector  

• Evidence of working independently and delivering against challenging workloads and deadlines, maintaining a clear focus on target outcomes   

Essential  

• Deep understanding of key industry or regulatory priorities in sustainable finance and their relevance for both the FCA’s regulated communities and the FCA’s strategic and operational goals

• Understanding of the key financial services products used to finance the transition and priority issues that are relevant to the FCA to consider supporting the market to scale in line with the FCA’s goals

• A proven track record of managing complex projects, building relationships and drawing on expertise from multiple internal and external stakeholders   

• Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken 

• A team player with the ability to command trust and influence effectively  

• The ability to ‘think outside the box’ with experience of delivering projects that include complex and/or new and emerging issues and require strategic thought  

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 senior associate 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 1st September 2024

This role is graded as Senior Associate – Regulatory

Got a question?    

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

For internal applicants, please contact Sara Holland at [email protected]

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

What to expect from our interview process  

The assessment process consists of an initial screening call with one our Recruitment Partners.  If successful, you will be invited to attend a competency-based interview, with a potential for a follow up interview.

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