Lead Policy Advisor - Statutory Panels

Salary: National – ranging from £57,600 – £71,000 and London from £63,300 – £79,100 per annum

Do you want to join a high performing team working at the centre of the FCA gaining a unique overview of all the major policy priorities?

The team/department 

We’re recruiting for a Lead Policy Adviser to support the Markets Practitioner Panel (MPP) and the Listing Authority Advisory Panel (LAAP). This role would suit a talented and ambitious individual who wants to develop and broaden their policy knowledge and skills, especially on wholesale markets, and who is comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders across the FCA.

The Panels Secretariat team is part of Corporate Governance Division, a busy and dynamic division working at the centre of the FCA, led by the Company Secretary. We provide policy advice and professional support to the FCA’s statutory panels and the PSR Panel.  The MPP provides external input on our policies and practices, on a confidential basis at an early stage, from the point of view of financial market participants.  Similarly, LAAP provides input on our work relating to primary markets.  More information on the Panels and their current members is available at https://www.fca.org.uk/panels

The post-holder will work alongside other members of the team to provide policy advice and professional support to the MPP and LAAP, to enable them to contribute high-quality and timely input to the FCA’s policy development and implementation.  You will proactively manage relationships with key stakeholders, including senior business leaders and senior executives within the FCA, and the relationship between the Panels and the FCA.   

What you will be doing (the role)  

• Liaising with the Panel Chairs and key FCA stakeholders to ensure that meeting agendas are aligned with the Panels’ agreed strategic priorities and the FCA’s policy work programme

• Identifying policy issues which could impact or influence the FCA’s objectives.  Researching those issues and drawing them to the attention of the Panels in the most appropriate way

• Analysing and evaluating policy issues and drafting feedback from the panels to the FCA, including the FCA Board and responses to consultations

• Preparing high-quality briefing and advice for Panel Chairs and senior FCA executives

• Supporting formal and informal panel meetings, including providing meeting notes and minutes as necessary

• Identifying potential new members as necessary to ensure the panels are represent a broad range of relevant interests, perspectives and backgrounds

• Managing the relationship with panel members, including leading the induction for new members and responding to ad hoc queries

• Liaising with the secretariats of other Panels to coordinate with their work and providing ad hoc support for other Panels as required

What you will get from the role  

• Work at the centre of the FCA and gain a unique overview of all the major priorities for the regulator and wholesale markets

• Advise and work with a wide range of stakeholders, including at CEO/Board level, across the FCA and industry

• Develop your understanding of UK financial markets

• Help ensure that the interests of market practitioners are understood within the FCA

• Be part of a high-performing team, and to develop and enhance your skillset

• Experience a challenging, interesting and extremely wide-ranging workload

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 a regulatory and/or policy role in financial services

• Demonstrable experience of strong stakeholder management skills including engaging at a senior level

• Excellent planning and prioritisation skills gained in similar role

Essential

• Strong drafting skills with the ability to produce clear and concise papers

• Strong team spirit and ability to work well with others to achieve goals

• The professional credibility and gravitas to be able to deal with a broad spectrum of stakeholders

• Good attention to detail and commitment to performing to high standards

• Ability to work proactively to deliver successful outcomes to agreed deadlines

• Flexibility to respond calmly to changing needs and requirements

• Strong organisational skills and experience in managing and supporting senior-level formal meetings

• Knowledge of the impact of regulation on UK financial markets and a good understanding of the FCA’s role and objectives

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 Monday 7th October 2024.

This role is graded as Lead Associate – Regulatory.

Whilst we are advertising this role in agnostic locations, candidates must be willing and able to travel to London for in person meetings as required (approx. once a month).

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 Chhavi Bartaria at [email protected] 

What to expect from our interview process  

The interview process is likely to be one or two stages potentially incorporating a practical case study exercise. The interview will assess technical skills and core competencies.

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.