Head of Department Change Directorate in London

About the FCA

At the FCA, we’re creating a fair and more resilient financial system. We’re establishing more transparent relationships between financial services and customers, building trust in financial markets and protecting vulnerable consumers. We’re currently on an exciting journey as we drive forward significant organisational, people, process, and technology transformation to become a more forward-thinking, proactive regulator. We will use data more effectively to drive better regulatory decisions and build greater cohesion across our broad financial services remit. Significant improvements in digital enablement, business intelligence, market data and information management maturity are all being pursued to maintain our position as a world leader in financial services regulation.

At the same time, the type of firms that we regulate continue to grow and our approach to these firms needs to maintain a balance across all our main statutory objectives whilst being proportionate. Artificial Intelligence, Crypto, ESG and Quantum computing are only some of the areas of fast development. In March 2025, the FCA launched a new 5-year strategy to deepen trust, rebalance risk, support growth and improve lives. The FCA will focus on four priorities:

• Be a smarter regulator; predictable, purposeful and proportionate.
• Support sustained economic growth; by enabling investment, innovation and ensuring the continued competitiveness of the UK’s world-leading financial services.
• Help consumers navigate their financial lives; by working with industry to boost trust, product innovation and ensuring the right information and support is available for people to take financial decisions.
• Fight financial crime; focusing on those who seek to use the fact they are regulated to do harm.

About the department

The Change Directorate is the custodian of the FCA’s Change Agenda. It plays a unique role in understanding the requirement of divisions and ensuring change is effectively managed by deploying change specialisms to effectively design and deliver change projects across the whole organisation. This is an exciting time of change for the FCA and as such our work has never been more important to ensure that we can support the organisation in delivering its ambitious change agenda.

The role

We’re looking for a talented and influential Head of Department to play a key strategic partnership role as we transform into a more innovative, adaptive, and assertive regulator. The Change Directorate partners across the FCA to execute high quality change in an environment where our people thrive and grow. Our purpose is to enable delivery of the FCA’s strategy and Change Portfolio safely, on time and to budget, in partnership with the business to deliver the FCA’s strategic outcomes and regulatory obligations. If we get it right, every one of our FCA colleagues should directly benefit from our efforts – that’s a challenge and a responsibility we take seriously. This role reports to the Change Director and is a key role within our senior leadership team.

What will the candidate get from the role?

• Joining the Senior Leadership Team at the FCA during an exciting and challenging time of great change in financial services and its regulation.
• Leading a department of talented and committed people (c. 70-100) through significant projects, working in collaboration across the FCA to achieve outcomes.
• As a member of Change Directorate SLT, you will benefit from an opportunity to lead a department which makes a difference on both a national and international scale.
• Enabling our organisation to perform at its best, you will be implementing change that affects millions of consumers and thousands of businesses across the financial services industry.
• You will get exposure to a broad range of issues, contributing to the senior leadership team, helping to shape and influence our strategy and its impact on financial services.
• Gain insights into how a world class regulator uses innovation and great change management to drive operational excellence and efficiency in partnership with others.
• Deepen your knowledge about how the FCA’s front line business divisions interface with key central operational and technology functions to deliver – in partnership – business requirements.
• The chance to develop and broaden your networks right across the FCA and advise the Executive Committee and the FCA Board on the evolution of business-led change delivery.

If you can bring a positive can-do attitude, proven delivery track record, commitment to exceptional business partnering and have a strong drive to innovate as part of a highly performing team, in return we will create opportunities for everybody in a diverse, inclusive, and inventive environment.

Skills/Experience required

Minimum

• Relevant experience of collaboration and planning strategically and creatively in the development and delivery of business and technology orientated solutions.
• Substantial experience shaping change & project delivery within complex, public-facing or regulatory organisations.
• Significant experience of managing and influencing key stakeholders, including senior decision makers, internally and externally to achieve business outcomes.

Essential

• Experience leading large change teams (c70-100 people across £B/M budgets) through times of ambiguity and uncertainty by developing a vision, structures and providing direction and a clear plan.
• Delivery focused with a wide range of project and other change examples under your belt, preferably within the regulatory or public-facing context.
• Understand a range of delivery methodologies and can adapt to the organisational context.
• Reputation for being an agent of change with a determined, outward looking mind-set; self-motivated, thorough, diligent, and quality driven with a “can-do” attitude.
• Ability to effectively prioritise work to meet emerging business needs.
• Strong stakeholder management and collaboration skills, ability to develop networks across FCA and ‘join up the dots’ whilst maintaining consensus to an agreed plan with other leaders.
• Able to identify, scope and improve ways of working with a continuous improvement and problem-solving approach.
• Ability to analyse, investigate and evaluate information & data, to make evidenced judgments and trouble shoot where needed.
• Strong personal resilience, gained through experience in working under pressure from competing (and potentially conflicting) priorities and demands.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills with the confidence to develop highly effective relationships with senior stakeholders across the organisational landscape.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen; with proven supplier relationship management skills.
• Able to work at pace, handle ambiguity, creative, driven, committed, and able to collaborate and influence at senior levels.

Desirable

• A thought leader and advocate for innovation, experience in bringing external thinking into organisations setting future vision.
• Knowledge of technology delivery methodologies and emerging tools, preferably with execution in financial markets.
• Relevant delivery accreditation and qualifications.

The FCA’s Values & Diversity

Our ambition is to create a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the society we serve, helping us to be a better regulator. We serve the public and our decisions directly affect the wellbeing of people, businesses and the UK economy. So our values matter. They represent the culture we aspire to every day, guiding our judgements, building trust and helping us to be “At our best”. The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of our organisation. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, disabled, and minority ethnic candidates, as under-represented groups. As an inclusive employer, we are open to considering flexible working arrangements, including job shares. Please inform your recruiter if you wish to apply for this role on a flexible basis.

As part of the FCA’s ongoing commitment to develop our national presence, most of our vacancies are now open to working in our Edinburgh, Leeds or London offices. This means that as part of the application process you will be able to select your preference of which office location you would like to work from.

Application Support

We want to remove any possible barriers and are committed to providing a wide range of reasonable adjustments so that you can keep the focus on your conversations and be at your best. If you have an accessibility requirement, disability, or condition that means you might require changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter to discuss this further. Our aim is to make your application as easy as possible, and your recruiter will be happy to work with you to make any necessary arrangements where possible.

Benefits

Our competitive benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifecycle. You can use this allowance to purchase additional benefits such as dental or cycle to work, or you have the option to top up your base salary by taking this as cash. Core benefits that you will receive as standard are:

• 30 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.

Conflicts of interest

All applicants to the FCA are required to demonstrate that they do not have other interests likely to conflict with their responsibilities as an employee of the FCA. You should declare any potential conflict of interest as early as possible in the selection process, and also disclose information or personal connections that, if appointed, might be open to misperception. Any potential conflicts of interest will not prevent candidates going forward to interview but may, if appropriate, be explored during the interview to establish how the candidate would address the issue(s) should they be successful in their application.

Useful information

The closing date for this role is 23:55 on Wednesday 11 March. Selection will be via a two-stage interview and psychometric assessment. If successful, you will be required to obtain and retain SC Clearance. We currently operate a hybrid working model, working a minimum of 40% in the office each month (50% for senior leaders). This way of working applies in our Stratford, Leeds and Edinburgh offices. From September 2026, FCA employees will be required to spend a minimum of 50% of their working time in the office. Our Executive Director and Directors will be expected to be in a minimum of 60% per month. The salary range for the role is London £130,000-£165,000 & National £118,000-£148,500. To apply please submit your CV and cover letter.

For further information about the role, please contact tara.cassar@fca.org.uk