• Job Description

  Req#: JR0017926

  Consumer Panel Secretariat Lead

  Division – Corporate Governance

  Department – Consumer Panel Secretariat

  Salary – National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £59,100 – £80,233 and London £64,900 – £88,100 (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 Corporate Governance division comprises the following functions:

  • Consumer Panel Secretariat

  • Practitioner Panels Secretariat

  • Central Secretariat

  • Decision-Making Committees Secretariat

  The Consumer Panel Secretariat

  We’re recruiting for a Lead Associate to support the Financial Services Consumer Panel (FSCP). This role would suit a talented and ambitious individual who wants to develop and broaden their policy knowledge and skills and who is comfortable engaging with stakeholders across the FCA and externally.

  The FCA consults the Panels on a confidential basis, and at an early stage, to help them understand the impact of their proposals on consumers and more widely. The FSCP provides external input on our policies and practices from the consumer perspective and conducts independent research. Follow this link for more information on the Panel and its current members.

  What will you be doing?

  The post-holder will work alongside other members of the team to provide secretariat support and policy advice to the FSCP, to enable them to contribute high-quality and timely input to the FCA’s policy development and implementation. They will proactively manage relationships with key panel members and stakeholders across the FCA and externally.

  Key responsibilities include:

  • Supporting the Secretariat’s relationship with the Panel Chair and the FCA’s relationship with the Panel more broadly

  • Liaising with key FCA stakeholders, to ensure that the FSCP’s work reflects its strategic priorities and the FCA’s work programme

  • Managing formal and informal panel meetings, including developing agendas and providing briefings, meeting notes and minutes as necessary

  • Analysing and evaluating policy issues and drafting feedback from the FSCP to the FCA, including the FCA Board and responses to consultations, and other reports by the FSCP

  • Liaising with key external contacts (consumer groups, Government Departments, other regulators, financial services firms, etc.) as necessary to assist the Panel’s work

  • Possibility of line management responsibilities

  • Liaising with other team members and the secretariats of other Panels to coordinate with their work, and providing ad hoc assistance for other Panel work as required

  What will you get from the role?

  • The chance to work at the centre of the FCA and gain a unique overview of all the major policy priorities

  • An opportunity to advise and work with a senior group of consumer representatives/experts, seeking to ensure that the consumer interest is well represented and understood within the FCA

  • The opportunity to focus on particular FCA policy development that affect UK consumers

  • The opportunity to be part of a high-performing team, and to develop and enhance your skillset

  • The chance to enhance the Consumer Panel's reputation within the FCA, with its external stakeholders, and within financial services generally

  • An opportunity to work with colleagues from across the FCA, and with external contacts to raise the consumer perspective

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

  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

  • Proven experience of stakeholder management skills – able to deal with a wide range of stakeholders at all levels including at a senior level

  • Direct Financial Services experience – providing advice in a regulatory and/or policy role to drive better outcomes

  Essential

  • Strong communication skills – can explain issues clearly and succinctly, both orally and in writing

  • Teamworking - ability to work well with and support others to achieve goals

  • Focus - good attention to detail and commitment to performing to high standards

  • Delivery - ability to work proactively to deliver successful outcomes to agreed deadlines

  • Drive – positive and flexible in response to changing needs and requirements and to new challenges

  • Continuous improvement – able to constructively challenge ideas and processes to enable better decisions and ways of working

  • Secretariat experience - managing and supporting senior-level formal meetings

  • Financial services regulation - a good understanding of the FCA’s role and objectives and the impact of regulation on consumers, firms and markets

  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 are women.

  The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisation. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from men, minority ethnic, disabled, and neurodivergent candidates for our Lead Associate role.

  Benefits of working at the FCA

  • 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays

  • Hybrid working (work from home up to 60% of your time)

  • Private healthcare with Bupa

  • A non-contributory Pension of at least 8%

  • Life assurance

  • 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 Lead Associate – Regulatory

  • Whilst we are open to this role being based in London, Edinburgh or Leeds, the post-holder will be required to attend in-person panel meetings in London approximately once a month, with dates agreed in advance

  • Advert Closing Date: 13th May

  • CV Review/Shortlist: 16th May

  • Competency Based Interview: W/C 19th 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.

  Got a question?

  If you are interested in learning more about the role, please contact: Rumana.Hussain@fca.org.uk

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

• About the company

  The Financial Conduct Authority is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry.

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