Prudential policy lead

Division: Supervision, Policy & Competition

Department: Financial Resilience

Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £59,100 to £90,800 and London from £64,900 to £99,700 (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. The Supervision, Policy & Competition (SPC) Division oversees firms and individuals (supervision), creates and reviews the rules by which they operate (policy) and identifies and remedies ineffective competition in markets (competition). Within SPC, the Prudential Policy team (Specialists Directorate) develops, implements, and maintains prudential regimes for over 46,000 FCA-regulated firms. The team develops and maintains prudential regimes including IFPR/MIFIDPRU, MIPRU, IPRU, and prudential requirements for payments, e‐money and cryptoasset firms. The team works closely with Supervision and other FCA functions to support firm-level assessments and strengthen financial resilience across the sector.

Role responsibilities: This is a senior policy role for an experienced prudential specialist. You will lead the development/enhancement of high-impact prudential policy, exercise significant regulatory judgement, and shape how prudential standards are interpreted and applied across FCA-regulated firms. You will typically own complex policy areas end-to-end, with responsibilities to:

• Lead the design, review, and enhancement of FCA prudential regimes, including IFPR/MIFIDPRU, MIPRU, IPRU, and prudential standards for payments, e‐money and cryptoasset firms
• Conduct deep qualitative and quantitative analysis of prudential risks, capital and liquidity adequacy, and firm behaviour to inform policy decisions and senior leadership advice
• Monitor market developments, supervisory feedback, and emerging cross‐sector risks, translating these into proportionate policy responses
• Engage extensively with Supervision, Enforcement, Data, HM Treasury, industry bodies and firms, including leading consultations and representing the FCA externally
• Provide technical advice and briefings to senior management, support colleagues across the organisation with interpretation and application of policy and offer guidance to firms on compliance with new or amended rules
• Manage multiple workstreams, ensuring timely delivery of policy outputs, identify dependencies and risks, and propose practical solutions
• Review and assure the quality of work of junior staff members, provide structured feedback and training, help build a high-performing team, and line manage 1–2 team members

Skills required:

Minimum:

• Significant experience in prudential regulation or prudential risk management within a financial services regulator or a prudentially regulated firm (e.g. investment firm, bank, payments or e-money firm)
• Strong working knowledge of prudential frameworks, with deep expertise in one or more of: Basel standards (CRR/CRD), IFPR, payments and e-money regimes, ICAAP, ILAAP or ICARA
• Proven ability to lead and deliver multiple high-profile, long-term workstreams, balancing competing priorities, tight deadlines, and resource constraints

Essential:

• Demonstrable experience assessing capital adequacy, liquidity risk, stress testing and risk management frameworks (e.g. ICAAP, ILAAP, ICARA)
• Strong understanding of risk management frameworks, including either operational, market and liquidity risk management
• Senior-level judgement and autonomy, with the ability to rapidly develop expertise, set direction on complex issues, and deliver high-impact initiatives with limited oversight
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex prudential, regulatory and policy issues clearly and persuasively to senior internal and external stakeholders

Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Hybrid model with up to 60% remote work
• 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.