• Job Description

  Req#: JR0020806

  Job title: Policy Advisor
  Division: PSR
  Department: Policy

  • Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £43,100 to £53,700 and London from £47,300 to £59,000 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

  • This role is graded as: Associate - Level 8 - Regulatory

  • Your recruitment contact is Cameron Nunn

  • via Cameron.Nunn@fca.org.uk. Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via social media or email will not be accepted.

  
  About the PSR and team
  The PSR is an independent economic regulator led by Managing Director,
  David Geale – who is also Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Executive
  Director, Payments and Digital Finance. The PSR is a subsidiary of the
  FCA.

  
  In March 2025 the Prime Minister announced that the PSR would be
  consolidated into the FCA, a pragmatic next step in simplifying regulation
  of payments. The Government has been clear that payment systems must continue to be effectively regulated - see the Government’s consultation (which was published in September 2025) - and so the PSR is continuing to focus on delivering its important and impactful programme of work, collaborating closely with the FCA. The transition is taking place in phases, with some teams already moving to the FCA where they continue to support PSR activity.

  
  The policy department you are applying to join will ultimately move into
  the FCA – either when the new legislation takes effect or before.
  Candidates should be aware, therefore, that there may be changes to
  their responsibilities as consolidation into the FCA progresses.
  The policy team drives delivery of our strategy, providing you with an
  exciting opportunity to work on different aspects of policy development
  and analysis, project delivery and stakeholder engagement.

  
  We publish our annual Plan and Budget which sets out our work
  programme in detail. The policy project you will be involved in focuses on
  realising the opportunities of open banking in the UK, including through
  unlocking the full potential of Variable Recurring Payments. This will give
  consumers and businesses more choice and control over how they pay
  and get paid.

  
  Role responsibilities

  • Contribute to delivering policy projects and analytical work, both when managing your own workload and collaboratively, ensuring decisions are grounded in robust evidence and contribute meaningfully to high-quality regulatory outcomes

  • Work within multi-disciplinary project teams, building strong relationships with colleagues in policy, economics, legal and communications, so that diverse expertise is brought together to produce well-rounded, high-impact work

  • Engage professionally with a wide range of stakeholders, including firms, government bodies, regulators and consumer groups, to gather vital insights, test policy options and clearly communicate our approach, ensuring well-informed and transparent policymaking

  • Conduct thorough policy analysis, using data and evidence to shape recommendations, so that our work is both credible and aligned with the needs of consumers and the wider market

  • Draft clear, concise briefings that explain complex issues, often to demanding deadlines, enabling project teams and senior PSR leaders to make timely, well-informed decisions that strengthen our policy direction

  Skills required
  Minimum:

  • Experience of working in a policy or regulatory environment

  • Experience of project delivery – including ability to plan and work to

  • deadlines, and understand risks and opportunities

  Essential:

  • Prior working experience a policy or regulatory environment role and familiarity with the policy development cycle

  • Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to distil complex issues into succinct messages and present confidently to a variety of internal and external stakeholders

  • Strong relationship and influencing skills and an ability to work with other team members and experts, internally and externally

  • Excellent prioritisation skills with the ability to define priorities and provide high quality contributions where it is most needed

  • An ability to exercise judgement in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team, including economists, lawyers, payment specialists and other policy advisors

  • An ability to take into account potentially conflicting views without losing sight of overall strategic aims and objectives

  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

  • Advert Closing: Tuesday 10th March

  • CV Review/Shortlist: Thursday 12th March

  • Interviews: W/C 23rd March

  • 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.

• 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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