Case Officer, Authorisations

Division - Authorisations

Department - Approved Persons & Mutuals Team

Salary - National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £41,800 to £50,000 and London £46,000 to £55,000 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 Authorisations Division is the first point of contact for firms and individuals who want to undertake regulated financial services in the UK. We make decisions about applications for authorisations, ensuring firms and individuals meet our standards.

There are several Departments in the Division, one of which is the Approved Person and Mutuals (APM) Department. APM is a very busy and dynamic department comprising several teams of Case Officers managing high volumes of applications that vary in terms of their complexity.

The Mutuals Team is looking for an Associate with responsibility for assessing and managing applications from societies, managing externally facing inboxes, and processing annual return submissions. In addition, there will be plenty of opportunity for successful candidates to get involved in Team, Departmental and Divisional-wide initiatives, collaborating with colleagues.

Ensuring we have a diverse and inclusive workforce is a key aim of the FCA. In order to advance this aim, we welcome applications from individuals outside of the financial services sector.

What will you be doing?

• You will be responsible for assessing applications from societies under seven pieces of Mutuals legislation, manging these to tight timescales while ensuring legal compliance

• Determining whether registered societies continue to comply with mutuals legislation. Acting where there has been a breach of mutuals legislation, including proactive cases involving the use of statutory powers

• Undertake a range of other responsibilities which support the effective running of the Mutuals Team and delivery of our strategy. This will include managing and delivering projects independently

• Successful candidates will handle a demanding and varied portfolio of work and use their curiosity and drive to assess them, investigate related issues and take appropriate action to ensure that the right outcome is achieved in a timely manner, in line with our policies and procedures

• In doing so you will work closely with a range of stakeholders in order to achieve good outcomes

• In addition, you will be proactive in supporting a variety of Team, Departmental and Divisional-wide activities and initiatives

What will you get from the role?

• An opportunity to learn more about the FCA and Authorisations Division by being an integral part of a busy, fast-paced and friendly department undertaking meaningful work that makes a real difference

• The opportunity to understand and shape the workings of the mutual societies sectors

• Varied work and exposure to interesting and high-profile issues

• Extensive support and guidance for your learning and career development (many colleagues have had the opportunity to progress their career within the Organisation)

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

• Prior experience managing a high volume and demanding workload, which has required great organisational skills and where tasks are completed to a high standard and in a timely manner at pace

• Prior experience assessing and analysing information from a range of different sources to arrive at the appropriate outcome

Essential

• Judgement:  Able to quickly identify key insights from a range of information, clarify the nature of the problem, scope and arrive at well-balanced decisions. Engage fully in collective problem solving, sharing own expertise and insights to help develop the best way forward. Curiosity and motivation to investigate issues

• Engagement:  Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present information & analysis to stakeholders in a clear, concise and compelling way. Ability to flex style to communicate effectively, build relationships and build consensus to get buy-in. Ability to engage with empathy and curiosity and use appropriate questioning techniques to strengthen depth of own understanding in person, in calls, and in writing

• Delivery:  Ability to maintain focus on achieving desired outcomes. Strong planning, prioritisation and organisational skills, including proven ability to work under pressure on a diverse set of multiple priorities, tasks and issues. Ability to break work down into structured tasks and coordinate effectively with others to deliver on-time, to the desired quality. Attention to detail, taking pride in work and ensuring it is of the highest standard

• Self-management: Ability to work with minimal oversight. Ability to manage own energy and demonstrate resilience when under pressure. Self-aware and willing to learn and develop, adopting a flexible and pragmatic approach to your work

• Proficient in the use of MS Office applications (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

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 Executive Committee were the first in their family to attend university.

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 Associate role.

Benefits of working at the FCA

• 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 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 Associate, Level 8 Regulatory

• Advert Closing Date:  Sunday 1st December 2024

• CVs will be reviewed from Monday 2nd December onwards

• Process is likely to be a case study, followed by a competency-based interview the week after

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 candidates: please speak to Jen Wishart on [email protected]

For external applicants, please contact Aaron Ward on [email protected]

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