About the FCA
At the FCA, we’re creating a fair and more resilient financial system. We’re establishing more transparent relationships between financial services and customers, building trust in financial markets and protecting vulnerable consumers.
We’re currently on an exciting journey as we drive forward significant organisational, people, process, and technology transformation to become a more forward-thinking, proactive regulator. We will use data more effectively to drive better regulatory decisions and build greater cohesion across our broad financial services remit.
Significant improvements in digital enablement, business intelligence, market data and information management maturity are all being pursued to maintain our position as a world leader in financial services regulation.
The Role
To enable us to realise the enormous opportunities for Open Banking and Open Finance, we are delighted to advertise a role to head up a brand new Department. The Open Banking and Open Finance department will oversee the FCA’s work on Open Banking and Open Finance, and will sit within the Payments and Digital Assets Directorate.
This is an exciting opportunity, to be at the heart of driving transformational change across a wide range of financial markets. The government recently published the National Payments Vision, where Open Banking is at the heart of their ambition to enhance innovation and competition, whilst empowering consumers.
The successful candidate will play a key role in driving open banking forward, ensuring that there is a regulatory framework in place that is sustainable, equitable and agile, to accommodate a wide range of innovative services. We are seeking a motivated candidate to work closely with other regulators, government, and industry to shape a new commercial model for data sharing and payments, and to provide technical expertise and support to the teams delivering on these workstreams.
Furthermore, the new Head of Department will significantly contribute to the FCA’s work on Open Finance, bringing together expertise across the organisation to develop a Roadmap that signals our clear intent to introduce new Smart Data schemes across financial markets.
The role sits within SPC division and will directly work with a number of other directorates including Innovation, Competition and Economics. The new Head of Department will also work closely with the existing policy, Strategy and Supervision departments, ensuring that there is coordination and join up across existing payments and crypto regimes.
As well as leading a Department, the successful candidate will be a member of the Division's senior team. They will be expected to take a full role in supporting and challenging others to deliver the full range of the Division's responsibilities, in ensuring that the Division offers its staff a challenging and high-performance place to work and that we are constantly focussed on improving efficiency and innovation in our work and contributing to the leadership and strategy of the FCA as a whole.
What will the candidate get from the role?
Key responsibilities:
Skills/Experience Required
The FCA are a signatory to the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. This means that the FCA guarantees an interview to any disabled candidates entering under the scheme, should they meet the minimum criteria for a role. A minimum criterion needs to be measurable from reviewing a candidate’s CV.
Minimum
Essential
Desirable
The FCA’s Values & Diversity
Our ambition is to create a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the society we serve, helping us to be a better regulator. We serve the public and our decisions directly affect the wellbeing of people, businesses and the UK economy. So, our values matter. They represent the culture we aspire to every day, guiding our judgements, building trust and helping us to be ‘At our best’.
The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of our organisation. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, disabled, and minority ethnic candidates, as under-represented groups.
As an inclusive employer, we are open to considering flexible working arrangements, including job shares. Please inform your recruiter if you wish to apply for this role on a flexible basis.
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.
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 you application as easy as possible, and your recruiter will be happy to work with you to make any necessary arrangements where possible.
Benefits
Our competitive benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifecycle. You can this this allowance to purchase additional benefits such as dental or cycle to work, or you have the option to top up your base salary by taking this as cash.
Core benefits that you will receive as standard are:
30 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
Conflicts of interest
All applicants to the FCA are required to demonstrate that they do not have other interests likely to conflict with their responsibilities as an employee of the FCA. You should declare any potential conflict of interest as early as possible in the selection process, and also disclose information or personal connections that, if appointed, might be open to misperception.
Any potential conflicts of interest will not prevent candidates going forward to interview but may, if appropriate, be explored during the interview to establish how the candidate would address the issue(s) should they be successful in their application.
Useful information
To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter via the FCA careers page (workday). Please note we are unable to accept applications by email.
For further information about the role, please contact tara.cassar@fca.org.uk