Capabilities and Controls Manager in London

This role is graded as: Manager – Regulatory.

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. This position sits within the Register and Authorisations Services Department within Authorisations and will lead the Controls and Capabilities team. The purpose of the role is to strengthen Authorisations’ ability to identify, understand and act on issues that affect delivery, control, capability and operational resilience.

Role Responsibilities:

• Manage high-profile, cross-cutting initiatives that improve how Authorisations operates, from identifying problems and analysing evidence through to delivery, implementation and measuring impact.
• Shape and improve key processes, using quality assurance findings, operational data, risk insight and stakeholder feedback to ensure effective and well-controlled ways of working.
• Use data, assurance outcomes and regulatory knowledge to identify themes, question assumptions, drive improvement activity and ensure actions deliver meaningful results.
• Develop clear reporting, management information and governance frameworks that enable senior leaders to understand risks, issues, priorities, decisions and progress at a glance.
• Oversee the implementation of the Authorisations capabilities framework, ensuring training, guidance and expectations support both current performance and future organisational needs.
• Support the practical use of AI, automation and external best practice, assessing opportunities and risks whilst delivering improvements that enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Oversee operational change across Authorisations, ensuring new requirements are understood, embedded into processes and adopted across day-to-day activities.
• Build strong relationships across teams and stakeholders, setting clear priorities, developing capability, improving resilience and holding delivery owners accountable for outcomes and results.

Skills Required:

Minimum:

• Experience of leading complex, cross-cutting delivery in an operational, regulatory, risk, assurance, control, change or improvement environment, with the ability to apply regulatory understanding to practical delivery issues.
• Experience of producing written analysis, reporting or governance material for senior stakeholders.
• Experience of using evidence, data, assurance findings or risk information to support recommendations, decisions or improvement activity.

Essential:

• Ability to set direction, coordinate complex work through others, agree priorities, assign ownership, track progress, hold delivery to account and ensure actions address underlying issues.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to get into the detail, probe evidence, test assumptions, identify themes, apply regulatory understanding, exercise judgement and build clear frameworks for reporting, prioritisation and decision-making.
• Ability to turn complex issues into clear reporting for senior audiences, support escalation and decision-making, influence stakeholders, and apply AI, technology or external practice to improve delivery in a controlled and proportionate way.

Benefits:

• 28 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.

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: Wednesday 29th July (midnight).
• CV Review/Shortlist: Friday 31st July.
• Case Study: w/c 3rd August.
• Interviews w/c: 10th August.
• Manager Psychometric Assessment: w/c 17th August.

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.