Lead Market Conduct and Post Trade Policy Associate

Join to apply for the Lead Market Conduct and Post Trade Policy Associate role at Financial Conduct Authority.

Division: Capital Markets Division

Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £59,100 to £80,233 and London £64,900 to £88,100 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.

We have an exciting opportunity for a skilled, ambitious and proactive individual with project management and policymaking experience to join the Market Conduct and Post Trade Policy team within the Capital Markets Department. You will join a dedicated team of policy professionals who are focused on shaping creative and evidence-based policy solutions that benefit consumers, markets and competition. We work collaboratively, including stakeholders across the FCA and externally, to solve problems and deliver market integrity. We are committed to sharing our knowledge and encouraging new ideas.

Our team is responsible for making policy relevant to a diverse portfolio including market abuse, short selling, derivatives and settlement. This includes work to support growth and innovation as well as the wider Government reform agenda including the repeal and replace of the Short Selling Regulation (UK SSR) and the UK version of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (UK EMIR), the Digital Securities Sandbox, the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange (PISCES), the UK move to T+1 settlement and dematerialisation. We are particularly looking for candidates with an understanding of the legal framework relating to any of these policy areas and/or a regulatory or policy background.

What will you be doing?

• Supporting the manager in overseeing the activity of the team whilst helping to motivate and set direction and allocating and tracking delivery of tasks whilst pushing forward high-quality performance.
• Line managing 1/2 associates, coaching and developing members of the team and sharing knowledge actively across the team.
• Driving and overseeing policy workstreams to support the Government agenda to lead innovation and efficiency in the UK markets.
• Critical and creative thinking as the UK moves into a new phase of policymaking in wholesale markets.
• Helping to manage relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders as well as engaging effectively with key internal and other regulatory stakeholders, including international regulators, HM Treasury, Prudential Regulation Authority, the Bank of England and our independent panels, to communicate FCA policy views and influence others.

What will you get from the role?

This role is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of policy in the FCA in an evolving area. As part of this role, you will have the opportunity to:

• Develop line management skills.
• Get significant exposure to UK capital markets, working closely with a wide array of stakeholders, including market participants, trade bodies and other regulatory and government bodies.
• Play an important role in shaping wholesale markets in the UK at a time of significant change.
• Gain exposure to FCA Senior Management, with periodic discussions at both the executive regulation and policy committee and FCA board.
• Develop a deep understanding of relevant policy portfolios in the Market Conduct and Post Trade Policy team and how they function.
• Contribute and support wider strategic issues across Capital Markets.

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.

• Proven experience of leading and delivering complex pieces of work using a project-based approach.
• Proven policy-making experience within wholesale financial markets.
• Prior leadership skills and the ability to work collaboratively and act as a role model.
• Experience of exercising judgement in complex situations and of senior stakeholder management and influencing effectively.
• Good self-management skills to plan and drive forward work to meet deadlines, while also having the flexibility to change priorities when required.
• Good knowledge of the UK policy and legislative processes.
• Working effectively and inclusively as part of a team.
• Familiarity with policy and/or regulations relating to market abuse, short selling, derivatives and/or settlement whether gained in industry, research, economics, insight or policy work.

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 this 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% 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 as Lead Associate - Regulatory.

Advert Closing Date: Sunday 18th May.

CV Review/Shortlist: Tuesday 20th May.

First Round Case Studies: Starting on week beginning 26th 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 Cameron Nunn at Cameron.Nunn@fca.org.uk.

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