Senior Pensions Policy Advisor

Salary:  National ranging from £51,200 to £64,000 and London £56,400 to £70,000 per annum – Salary offered will be based on skills and experience

We are looking for a talented Policy Adviser to join our Pensions Policy team

The team/department

The Pensions Policy team sits within the Asset Management, Funds and Pensions Market Analysis and Policy Department, in the Supervision, Policy and Competition Division at the FCA.

The pensions and retirement income sector has a significant and wide-ranging impact on everyone’s lives. FCA regulated pensions contain hundreds of billions of pounds of assets which people will rely on to fund their retirement. Pensions are therefore a key priority for the FCA, working in partnership with government and The Pensions Regulator on high profile and far-reaching interventions in the interests of consumers. 

This is a critical and exciting time for the pensions sector and wider system. The FCA’s Pensions Policy team is at the forefront of developing policy solutions to ensure that our regulatory framework is fit for the future, as well as supporting Government’s significant reform agenda.

You will join a dedicated team of policy professionals, who work collaboratively and are focused on developing creative and evidence-based policy solutions that benefit consumers, markets and competition. We are committed to sharing our knowledge and encouraging new ideas.

What will you be doing? 

We are looking for an experienced policymaker to join our department. You will play an integral role in developing policy and providing expert advice on our rules.

You will:

• Develop and deliver robust and practical policy solutions by using data and evidence

• Proactively manage and lead complex policy projects by making good judgements, prioritising effectively and managing competing tasks and deadlines

• Identify and manage a range of internal and external stakeholders, building rapport and constructive relationships and taking a collaborative and flexible approach

• Distil complex issues into succinct messages and present clearly and concisely to a variety of stakeholders, orally and in writing

• Work as part of a team and support and assist others. This includes supporting team members to achieve shared goals and adjusting your approach for different situations

What will the candidate get from the role?

This role is an exciting opportunity to lead on developing policy in these important sectors. You’ll be at the heart of regulatory decision-making and work on significant and high-profile issues, in an environment where creative thinking and problem solving are essential. You’ll work closely with internal and external stakeholders to develop policies that will have a real impact on consumer outcomes and UK markets.

As a team, we have several key projects to deliver. These include the pensions aspects of the Advice Guidance Boundary Review, developing our regulatory framework for the future and our Strategic Focus for the retirement income market. You will make a significant contribution to our delivery, by leading complex policy projects and working collaboratively with talented and committed colleagues to ensure relevant issues are identified, and optimal solutions are delivered at pace.

Our competitive flexible 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 top up your base salary by taking this as cash. 

Core benefits that you will receive as standard are: 

• 25 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 

We support hybrid working which means you will be able to work from home up to 60% of the time over a month with the remainder of your time in one of our three office locations.

The skills and experience you’ll have 

We are a signatory to the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. This means that we will offer an interview to disabled candidates entering under the scheme, who best meet the minimum criteria for a role. 

Minimum 

• Proven policy making experience

• Experience coordinating and delivering cross-cutting projects

Essential

• Outstanding organisational skills, including the ability to proactively manage complex policy projects by planning, prioritising and managing competing tasks and deadlines

• Making good judgements and being open minded in approach

• Strong stakeholder management skills, building rapport and constructive relationships, taking a collaborative and flexible approach

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including an ability to distil complex issues into succinct messages and present clearly and concisely to a variety of stakeholders

• Working effectively as part of a team and supporting and assisting others. This includes supporting team members to achieve shared goals and adjusting your approach for different situations

• Flexibility and the ability to deliver effective outcomes in an environment of dynamic change and complexity, by prioritising work and resource to successfully deliver at pace

• Strong commitment to collaborative working, including willingness to respond positively to challenge from others

About the FCA 

The FCA regulates the conduct of 50,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. We do this to make sure markets work well for individuals, businesses and the economy as a whole. For more information on what we do, our three-year strategy can be found here. 

The FCA's Values & Diversity 

Our ambition is to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. 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.

The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisations. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, disabled and minority ethnic candidates for our lead associate role.  

Flexible working  

We welcome applications from candidates who are looking for flexible arrangements. Many of our staff work flexibly including working part-time, staggered hours, and job shares. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want but we won’t judge you for asking. 

Multilocation

As part of the FCA’s on-going 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.  

Useful information  

Applications for this role close at midnight on 20th October

This role is graded as Senior Associate – Regulatory

What to expect from our interview process  

The process will involve the below stages:

• First round: A timed case study to complete and return followed by a competency interview

• Second round: A competency-based interview

Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role.

Recruitment Timetable   

Advert closing date: 20th October

First round interviews: 30th October – 1st November

Second round interviews:  6th-8th November

Please make the recruiter aware if you are going to be unavailable for any date during this time.

Got a question?  

If you are an external candidate and you are interested in learning more about the role, please contact Aaron Ward on [email protected]

If you are an internal candidate and you are interested in learning more about the role, please contact Lucy Matthews on [email protected]

Please note that all applications must be submitted through our online portal before the closing date, applications sent via email will not be accepted.

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 and comfortable as possible, and your recruiter will be happy to work with you to make any necessary arrangements where possible.