Senior Policy Advisor - Consumer Finance

National £51,200 - £64,000 (depending on experience)  

London £56,400 - £70,400 (depending on experience)  
 

Could you play a leading role in protecting UK financial services consumers? 

The Consumer Finance Policy team is responsible for the rules and guidance that apply to firms providing consumer credit products. Our rules cover products such as motor finance, personal loans and credit cards, as well as related activities like debt advice, credit broking and debt collecting. We also help FCA supervisors hold firms to account against the standards we set, as well as supporting colleagues across the FCA, for example in authorisations and enforcement. 

Since the FCA took over regulation of consumer credit in 2014, the team has led on developing and implementing rules to prevent credit brokers charging unexpected upfront fees, to ensure customers in difficulties are treated fairly, to tackle persistent debt on credit cards, and introducing price caps for rent to own and payday lending firms. 

Our current activities include embedding the consumer duty in consumer credit policy development, working with government on a new regime for ‘buy now pay later’ products, and ensuring debt advice markets work well for consumers. We will also be contributing to the government’s review of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and supporting the FCA market study into credit information services.

To support this busy agenda we are seeking to bring in a Senior Policy Advisor. As an advisor, you will be responsible for leading one or more policy projects with the objective of enhancing consumer protection or ensuring credit and debt markets work effectively in the interests of UK consumers.

The FCA has staff from a very diverse set of backgrounds and career histories, and the wider Consumer Finance Division – which the Policy team sits in – has people who have joined from the financial services industry (including people who worked in branches), from other regulators, civil service, charities as well as teaching, and varied other previous roles. The Policy team comprises individuals from various backgrounds, including from other FCA roles, industry compliance, policy roles in other organisations, consumer groups, and civil service positions both in the UK and abroad. Our focus is on being able to demonstrate transferrable skills rather than your current job description. What matters is your ability to get to grips with complex issues, to communicate clearly, to take the lead on managing projects and stakeholders and work with others to make change happen. 

What you will be doing

• Taking responsibility for delivery on high profile policy issues in consumer finance 
• Contributing and leading on development of policy proposals, and presenting recommendations to more senior colleagues 
• Preparing high-quality policy papers for senior management and Board approval, and for public consultation
• Maintaining external and internal stakeholder relationships, including HM Treasury, consumer and trade bodies, and regulated firms
• Supporting colleagues across the FCA to help develop and maintain a coherent approach to consumer finance issues and contributing to work on cross-cutting policy issues
• You will also be providing input, advice and support to supervisors, firms, consumers and trade and consumer bodies

What will you get from the role?

• Work on challenging issues, taking an active role in solving difficult policy issues
• Spend your working hours in a stimulating environment with collaborative colleagues, where creative thinking and problem solving are essential 
• Contribute to the implementation of policies that deliver real change for consumers of financial products  
• Interact with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders at senior level including government, industry, and consumer representatives 
• Help support the work of the FCA to put things right for consumers when things go wrong 

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 will 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 experience of policy making or experience of the consumer credit regulatory regime
• Proven experience of building and managing relationships with stakeholders from government departments and industry lobbyists
• Experience of analysing information, forming independent judgements, making recommendations and presenting on key issues
   

Essential

• A collaborative and flexible approach, and the ability to think creatively about new regulatory approaches and familiarise yourself with new issues quickly 
• A strong eye for detail as well as the ability to recognise when the bigger picture might mean compromise is necessary to move an issue forward 
• Strong analytical skills and ability to develop evidence-based policy drawing on quantitative and qualitative sources 
• Strong written and oral communication skills 
• The ability to distil complex issues into succinct messages 
• Presenting to a variety of internal and external stakeholders 
• Function as a credible representative for the FCA externally 
• An understanding of the wider impact of regulation on consumers and businesses, and the ability to look at issues from the perspective of the consumer 

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 Senior Associate - Regulatory 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.  

Multi-location

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 23:59 on 15th October 2024

This role is graded as Senior Associate – Regulatory (Level 7)

What to expect from our interview process 

All applications will be reviewed once the advert has closed.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a 60-min competency-based interview. 

Got a question?   

If you are interested in learning more about the role please contact:

For Internal applicants, please contact Cheryl Cheung at [email protected]

For External applicants, please contact Aaron Ward at [email protected]

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.

Please note – Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via email will not be accepted.