Case Officer, Authorisations

Division - Authorisations

Department - Approved Persons & Mutuals Team (APM)

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.

Casework teams in APM assess applications from firms for individuals to perform senior manager functions and determine their fitness and propriety under our regime.

We are looking for two Case Officers to join a high performing team. Our Case Officers have responsibility for assessing and managing senior manager applications from firms through to decision in a timely manner and in doing so, helping to prevent harm to consumers and markets.

What will you be doing?

You will be responsible for assessing applications from firms for individuals to perform senior manager functions (e.g., Directors, CEOs, Board Chairs/Directors and Chief Risk Officers) and determine their fitness and propriety under the Senior Managers & Certification Regime.

This is a crucial role, as the individuals related to the applications that you will be assessing often play a key role in shaping the culture at their firm and consequently, the wider financial services industry. Ensuring these individuals meet our standards at the point of Authorisation (and beyond) is key to helping ensure that financial markets work well and that consumers are adequately protected.

Successful candidates will handle a varied portfolio of applications 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 senior internal stakeholders (and the applicant firms themselves) to reach a determination in each application. For certain applications, this may also involve the need for you to conduct a competency-based interview with the individual concerned.

In addition, you will be proactive in getting involved a variety of Departmental and Divisional-wide activities and initiatives, collaborating and supporting colleagues to ensure the Authorisations gateway (through which applications are received) is sufficiently robust, efficient, and effective.

What will you get from the role?

• An opportunity to learn 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, support and shape the workings of the financial services industry at a time of considerable change, whilst benefitting from a unique aerial view of the industry

• Responsible for varied work and exposure to interesting and high-profile issues, coupled with the opportunity to work with and influence a wide range of industry professionals, both internally and externally to the FCA

• Extensive support 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

• Previous experience managing a varied, high volume and demanding workload, ensuring actions are completed to the standards expected in a timely manner at pace

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

• Prior experience building and managing relationships with stakeholders at all levels, including supporting senior management

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 outcomes. Engage fully in collective problem solving, sharing own expertise and insights to help develop the best way forward. Curiosity and motivation to investigate issues relating to individual applications

• Engagement: Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex information & analysis to senior 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

• 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 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 alone 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 roles.

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

• We are looking for two full time Case Officers

• Advert Closing Date: Sunday 15th December

• CVs will be reviewed by the Recruiting Team from Monday 16th December onwards

• Interviews to be run early January 2025

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 jennifer.wishart@fca.org.uk

For external applicants, please contact Aaron Ward on Aaron.ward@fca.org.uk

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