Senior Economist – 12 Month Fixed Term Contract
Division: Operations
Department: Economics
Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £52,400 to £65,500 and London from £57,700 to £72,000 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)
This role is graded as: Senior Associate
Your recruitment contact is Riley Fox via Riley.fox@fca.org.uk. Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via social media or email will not be accepted.
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 financial services.
The Economics Division is formed by a vibrant mix of backgrounds and works closely with colleagues across the FCA to ensure high-quality and effective choices across all aspects of FCA regulation.
We are seeking Economists for the following positions:
Growth Strategic Research and Analysis (Strategic Economic Analysis – Growth and Markets Team)
Risk and Rebalancing – Economic Strategy Team
Role responsibilities
Growth Strategic Research and Analysis
Deliver High-Quality Research: Use advanced quantitative and qualitative methods—such as econometrics and causal inference—to uncover how regulation drives growth
Turn Evidence into Action: Translate findings into clear, actionable insights for FCA seniors and the wider policy community, shaping choices that matter
Influence Strategic Direction: Guide economic analysis on policy implications for growth, informing choices at the FCA’s most senior levels, including the Executive Committee and Board
Champion Growth Strategy: Support and communicate the FCA’s Growth Strategy by contributing to speeches, parliamentary hearings, and major industry events
Risk Rebalancing Economics Strategy Team
Own Key Risk Initiatives: Guide elements of the FCA’s work on Risk Rebalancing and Tolerable Failure by refining analytical frameworks and ensuring their effective use across the organisation
Showcase Real-World Impact: Develop case studies that demonstrate how the framework applies to authorisation, supervision, and enforcement, influencing critical regulatory choices
Drive Adoption and Understanding: Champion the rollout of the Analytical Framework internally and externally through briefings, guidance, and consistent implementation across teams
Innovate for the Future: Contribute to systems-thinking projects and explore AI-driven solutions to enhance economic insight and regulatory effectiveness
Skills required
Minimum:
Proven Economic experience from a degree in Economics or with at least 50% of the modules in Economics
Prior experience applying appropriate economic tools, techniques and methods to a range of analytical problems or research questions, drawing on relevant economic theory
Demonstrable experience engaging and collaborating effectively with stakeholders (project colleagues, external collaborators, and users and commissioners of project work), to maximise the impact of project outputs
Essential:
Growth Strategic Research and Analysis
Experience with economic growth and productivity as economic concepts and preferably applying them in a professional context (for example, in strategic analysis, or in empirical research)
Experience conducting policy-relevant research, and identifying actionable insights off the basis of this research
Experience using statistical/econometric packages (e.g. R) to conduct empirical research, or knowledge of experimental methods, would be an advantage
Risk Rebalancing
Experience in identifying and analysing different sources of information to inform analysis and the ability to apply economic/analytical principles to issues you are not familiar with
Ability to make a strong personal impact, persuading with well-reasoned arguments and challenging where appropriate
Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with internal and external stakeholders, developing and maintaining working relationships
Willingness to explore new techniques and approaches to economics work, including systems thinking and the role of AI in economic insights
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
For a full list of our benefits, and our recruitment process as a whole visit our benefits page.
Our values and 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 choices, 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.
Useful information and timelines
Timeline:
Job advert close: 14th January
CV Sift: 16th January
First Interview: w/c 19th January
Please can you submit a short cover letter (no more than 400 words) outlining your motivation for applying and specifying which roles you are interested in. If you would like to be considered for more than one role, please state this clearly and provide an indication of your order of preference.
Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role, therefore, please make them aware if you are going to be unavailable for any date during this time.