Payments Data & Policy Lead in Leeds

Department: Payment Systems Market Interventions

Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £53,800 to £62,733 and London from £59,200 to £69,000 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

This role is graded as: Senior Associate - Regulatory

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

About the PSR and team

Every time anyone uses a cash machine, transfers money, uses contactless, or gets paid, they use a payment system. Payment systems are always evolving and the PSR is here to make sure they work well for everyone.

The PSR is an independent economic regulator led by interim Managing Director, David Geale – who is also FCA Executive Director, Payments and Digital Finance. Operationally the PSR is currently an independent subsidiary of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), however 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. This transition will likely take some time and will follow a Government consultation, although the Government has already been clear that payment systems must continue to be effectively regulated. For the time being, therefore, the PSR continues to focus on delivering its important and impactful programme of work, collaborating closely with the FCA.

The supervision team you are applying to join will ultimately move into the FCA when the new legislation takes effect. Candidates should be aware, therefore, that there may be changes to their responsibilities as consolidation into the FCA progresses.

This position involves supporting the PSR’s work on APP scams, with a focus on prevention and consumer protection. In October 2024, we introduced a world-first mandatory reimbursement requirement, alongside publishing performance data on how firms reimburse victims and respond to APP scams. We have also published transparency data highlighting the platforms and services most commonly exploited by fraudsters to contact victims and provided regular updates on implementation.

These publications provide market insights, inform consumers and encourage firms to strengthen fraud prevention. They have generated significant interest from firms, government and regulators and have directly supported the FCA’s supervisory activity.

As we consider the future direction of our performance and data transparency strategy, this is a great opportunity for a self-starter to lead and shape this high-priority work, helping to deliver valuable insights for consumers, firms and regulators.

Role responsibilities

• Work closely with internal stakeholders (including policy, legal, data and communications teams) to review consultation responses, resolve issues and ensure alignment on the future data reporting approach, methodology as well as delivery plans
• Project manage the end-to-end delivery process, from data collection through to publication, including managing a dedicated inbox, implementing a data quality framework, overseeing governance processes and proactively identifying and escalating risks
• Collaborate with data analysts to analyse submitted data, interpret findings, identify trends and investigate emerging or potential issues
• Engage professionally with PSPs and other external stakeholders (including industry, government and regulatory partners) to clarify data requirements, resolve discrepancies and errors and support effective data submission
• Communicate complex data clearly and confidently in plain English, including preparing written responses, drafting reports and presenting findings in senior-level, working-level and external stakeholder meetings
• Take ownership of drafting the final report, ensuring clear, concise and well-evidenced findings supported by robust data
• Support wider Payment Systems Regulator supervision and policy priorities as required, contributing to related analytical, reporting and regulatory work across the team

Skills required

Minimum:

• Data analysis experience, including identifying trends and issues in complex datasets, with experience working with large-scale and complex data environments
• Experience of working in a supervisory, policy or regulatory environment
• Experience of project delivery – including ability to plan and work to deadlines, understand risks, opportunities and dependencies

Essential:

• Effective written, oral communication and presentation skills, including the ability to distil complex issues into succinct messages and present confidently to a variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Highly developed relationship building and influencing skills and an ability to work with other team members and experts, internally and externally
• Effective prioritisation skills with the ability to manage competing demands and focus effort where it delivers greatest impact
• 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
• 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
• 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)
• 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.