Senior Consumer Finance Policy Advisor

Job title: Senior Consumer Finance Policy Advisor
Division: Supervision, Policy & Competition
Department: Consumer Finance

• Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £52,400 to £68,000 and London from £57,700 to £75,000 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

• This role is graded as: Senior Associate - Regulatory

• Your Internal recruitment contact is Rumana Hussain via [email protected].

• Your external recruitment contact is Tahir Khan 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). The Consumer Finance Directorate is responsible for the supervision and policy making for the consumer finance market encompassing 30,000 firms across 8 portfolios. It also encompasses 3 additional portfolios claims management companies, credit unions and mortgage intermediaries. 
 

The successful candidate will play a vital role in the critical work the Consumer Finance Policy team undertakes in protecting consumers in the UK. Our work is frequently concerned with issues facing the most vulnerable in society and their use of credit and debt products. As a Senior Policy Advisor, you will have the opportunity to make an impact through ownership of one or more projects and in supporting the work of the wider team. 

Role responsibilities:

• Collaboratively work with colleagues to develop policy proposals and take them through internal and external processes 

• Draft briefings and papers to explain complex issues 

• Present recommendations to the FCA Board and Executive Committees 

• Help manage the team’s reactive workload (supporting other teams, responding to MPs letter & queries) 

• Work with external stakeholders (e.g., the consumer credit industry, HM Treasury, consumer bodies) to promote our objectives 

• Share your knowledge and best practice with colleagues 

• Work on high-profile projects including reform of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the Credit Information Market Study, and our review of our CONC 3 financial promotion roles

Skills required:

Minimum:

• Prior experience of assessing data and intelligence and identifying relevant issues and themes 

• Demonstrable experience of analysing and resolving policy issues

• Experience of communicating complex policy developments effectively to internal and external stakeholders

Essential:

• Knowledge derived from direct and recent experience of working in the consumer finance market or in the regulation of similar markets

• Experience of leading projects to deliver strategy, framework, risk strategy and controls

• Good understanding of the wider business, economic and market environment 

• Well-developed analytical capability with the ability to quickly and clearly draw out key implications from a broad and varied range of information

• A self-managed thinker with a collaborative mind-set and a risk-based approach, including the ability to reach sound and timely judgements which can be justified in a concise and effective manner

• An ability to produce consistently high-quality outputs to tight deadlines 

• Effective communications skills with experience in stakeholder management and persuasion

Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

• 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) 

• 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

• 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 & 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 Timeline 

• Job advert close: w/c Sunday 7th June at 23:59pm

• CV Review/Shortlist: Tuesday 9th June

• Interview: w/c 15th June

• 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.