Credit Rating Agency Specialist

Job title: Credit Rating Agency Specialist
Division: Supervision, Policy and Competition
Department: Capital Markets

• Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £80,000 to 100,000 and London from £90,000 to £110,000 per annum (Salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

• This role is graded as: Technical Specialist, Regulatory

• Your recruitment contact is Shafika via [email protected]  Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via social media or email will not be accepted.

About the FCA and team

We regulate financial services firms in the UK, to keep financial markets fair, thriving and effective. By joining us, you’ll play a key part in protecting consumers, driving economic growth, and shaping the future of UK finance services. 

SPC oversees firms and individuals (supervision), creates and reviews the rules by which they operate (policy) and identifies and remedies ineffective competition in markets (competition). Sitting in the Infrastructure & Exchanges directorate, the Capital Markets department oversees policy and supervision related to primary markets, post-trade activities, market abuse, short selling, wholesale cryptoassets, and benchmarks and credit ratings, including the regulation of benchmark administrators and credit rating agencies.

Role responsibilities

• Leverage deep knowledge of credit ratings to guide supervisory and policy decisions, shaping high quality interventions and prompting firms to improve practices that reinforce the regulatory framework and enhance market resilience.

• Deliver across a diverse and challenging workload, maintaining momentum and prioritising effectively to ensure critical regulatory outcomes are delivered.

• Communicate complex ideas clearly in writing and in person, enabling informed decisions, productive engagement, and high stakeholder confidence.

• Collaborate effectively across matrix teams, using effective interpersonal and soft leadership skills to align diverse groups and deliver cohesive, joined up regulatory outcomes.

• Share knowledge and mentor colleagues, building capability across teams and contributing to a culture of continuous learning and skills within the FCA.

Skills required

Minimum:

• Demonstratable experience in credit ratings (either in a credit rating agency or related firm or experience of regulating credit rating agencies)

• Prior experience of coaching and mentoring junior staff – passing on knowledge and advising on complex cases while empowering junior staff to make their own judgements and take accountability for their work

• Prior experience leading complex projects and delivery

Essential:

• Ability to work with minimal direction and oversight for long periods of time, aligning your work to the organisation’s strategic goals. At the same time, a willingness to take direction and work in close collaboration with more senior staff and the manager of the team where required

• Role model FCA values for more junior staff and help the manager to run the team

• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively within a matrix management environment, collaborating across multiple teams and stakeholders

• Clear and professional written and oral communication skills, with the capacity to convey ideas effectively

• Effective interpersonal skills, enabling the development of positive and productive working relationships

• High level of personal motivation, accountability, and ownership, with a solution-focused approach to delivering results

Benefits

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays

• Non-contributory pension (8–12% depending on age) and life assurance at eight times your salary

• Private healthcare with Bupa, income protection, and 24/7 Employee Assistance

• 35 hours of paid volunteering annually

• Hybrid model where employees work a minimum of 40% in the office each month (expectation of 50% for senior leaders).Changing from September to a minimum of 50% in the office each month (expectation of 60% for Directors and Executive Directors) 

• A flexible benefits scheme designed around your lifestyle

For a full list of our benefits, and our recruitment process as a whole visit our benefits page.

Our values and culture

Our colleagues are the key to our success as a regulator. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture: one that’s free from discrimination and bias, celebrates difference, and supports colleagues to deliver at their best. 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.

If you require any adjustments due to a disability or condition, your recruiter is here to help - reach out for tailored support.

We welcome diverse working styles and aim to find flexible solutions that suit both the role and individual needs, including options like part-time and job sharing where applicable.
 

Disability confident: our hiring approach
We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, and therefore, people or individuals with disabilities and long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. In cases of high application volumes  we may progress applicants whose experience most closely matches the role’s key requirements.

Useful information and timelines

• Advert Close Date: Sunday 26th April at Midnight

• CV Review/Shortlist: Tuesday 28th April

• First Interview: W/C 4th May

• 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.