Lead Open Banking Policy Advisor in London

Division: Supervision, Policy & Competition

Department: Payments and Digital Assets

Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £60,700 to £75,600 and London from £66,600 to £83,100 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

This role is graded as: Lead Associate - 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. SPC oversees firms and individuals (supervision), creates and reviews the rules by which they operate (policy) and identifies and remedies ineffective competition in markets (competition).

Open Banking is a core priority within the FCA’s 2025–2030 strategy and is central to us delivering our vision of enabling a flourishing and sustainable open banking ecosystem that drives competition, innovation and growth in the UK. It has the potential to improve outcomes for consumers and businesses by empowering them to access new and better services than they do today through consented data sharing and by introducing a scalable payment method that meets their needs, offers choice with security and trust, and improves the cost of value of payments in the UK.

You will join the Open Banking policy team within the Payments & Digital Assets division, working on one of the FCA’s highest priority strategic programmes. The team is responsible for designing and implementing a stable long-term regulatory framework for open banking as the government introduces legislation giving the FCA new powers to set open banking rules. You will work in close partnership with the Open Banking Manager and help line manage a team to ensure delivery of the overall Open Banking programme is coordinated, high quality, and delivered at pace, with outputs grounded in robust evidence and a structured approach.

Role responsibilities:

• Responsible for line management and work allocation of associates in the team
• Leading work to gather evidence and analyse information to develop policy proposals, seek approval for these through governance, and draft public consultations on the introduction of and changes to FCA rules and guidance
• Taking charge of engagement with teams and leadership across the FCA, and external stakeholders including Government, other regulators, industry, consumer and business groups, international regulators, and other opinion formers shaping the market
• Demonstrating effective project management, ensuring our policy proposals are delivered to challenging timelines, and risks, issues and dependencies are managed effectively
• Building and owning effective working relationships with external stakeholders including HM Treasury and stakeholders across the financial services sector
• Working with industry participants to deliver voluntary initiatives in line with the outcomes set in the FCA’s strategy

Skills required:

• Minimum: Experience in leading work to deliver on high profile and complex strategic initiatives, including planning and working to deadlines, understanding risks and opportunities and being able to respond to changing circumstances
• Prior policy making experience or demonstrated experience of analysing and using information from a range of sources to form a judgement in a regulated field and experience of presenting key issues succinctly to decision makers
• Prior experience of building and managing relationships with wide range of stakeholders at senior management and leadership level

Essential:

• Experience of analysing information and contributing to the development of policy in financial services or other regulated network sectors
• Experience of leading the design of policy options and regulatory framework and working with structured, competition and legal teams
• Prior problem solving and organisational skills with the ability to manage a variety of competing priorities and issues
• Good stakeholder management experience with the ability to build a network across and beyond the organisation and demonstrated experience working collaboratively on strategic initiatives and delivering high priority work
• An ability to consider potentially very different views which may be conflicting, without losing sight of the overall strategic aims and objectives
• Effective interpersonal skills and the ability to provide advice and opinions with confidence
• A collaborative colleague, with a positive approach and outlook to their work with experience of motivating others, mentoring and coaching less experienced team members, sharing knowledge and giving high-quality feedback
• Previous experience delivering through others or solid evidence of your ability to work well with others to reach goals

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

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:

• Job advert close: Sunday 2nd August at 23:59pm
• CV Review/Shortlist: Tuesday 4th August
• Case Study Assessment & Interview: w/c 10th 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.