Business Assurance Adviser

St. James's Place; Bristol; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services firm in Bristol is hiring a Suitability Assessor for their Business Assurance team. This role involves assessing financial advice quality across complex submissions, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. The ideal candidate will have a Level 4 Diploma and experience in financial services. They will benefit from a hybrid work environment and competitive perks including a discretionary bonus, parental leave, and private medical insurance.

Benefits

Discretionary annual bonus

Competitive annual leave

10% non-contributory pension

Private medical insurance

Qualifications

• Proven experience in financial services with broad product knowledge.
• Strong understanding of compliance landscape and FCA regulations.
• Experience assessing complex financial scenarios including tax and yield analysis.

Responsibilities

• Assess suitability of financial advice cases including high-complexity submissions.
• Deliver analytical case reviews ensuring adherence to advice frameworks.
• Provide actionable feedback to Partners for case-specific improvements.
• Identify trends and areas of concern to drive business improvement.
• Support colleagues through teamwork and informal coaching.
• Promote SJP values of integrity and diligence.

Skills

Regulated Financial Planning

Financial Services Experience

Understanding of FCA Regulations

Complex Financial Planning Assessment

Education

Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning

Job description

Overview

Are you ready tochart your own career path? With our refreshed strategy, we're building on our rich heritage and transforming our business to be more scalable and efficient, unlocking the capabilities needed for future success. This includes significantly investing in technology, streamlining the way we work and creating an environment where colleagues feel engaged, empowered and accountable; where they can show up, speak up and perform - because we believe in the difference our work makes.

Location: Bristol Office

Workplace Type: Hybrid

Employment Type: Permanent

Seniority: Associate

About the Role

As a Suitability Assessor within our Business Assurance team, you'll play a vital role in protecting both clients and the business by ensuring the quality and appropriateness of financial advice provided across a range of complex submissions. This includes Alternative and Offshore Investments, IHT/Trust Planning, and Pensions.

Working at the heart of St. James\'s Place's advice framework, you will assess cases independently, apply your technical expertise, and provide clear, constructive feedback to our Wealth Management Partners. This role is critical in upholding our regulatory standards, driving continuous improvement, and supporting the delivery of good client outcomes in line with the Consumer Duty principles.

What You'll Be Doing

• Independently assess the suitability of a broad spectrum of financial advice cases, including high-complexity submissions involving tax planning, critical yield, and affordability.
• Apply technical knowledge and proven experience to deliver detailed, analytical case reviews while ensuring adherence to regulatory and internal advice frameworks.
• Provide expert, actionable feedback to Partners and the Wealth Management Team, aimed not only at case-specific improvements but also at improving future advice quality.
• Act as a subject matter expert, contributing to cross-functional projects and offering consultative support to reduce business and regulatory risk.
• Identify and call out trends, emerging issues, or areas of concern from casework and Partner engagement to drive continual business improvement.
• Maintain detailed and accurate case notes, and ensure that concerns affecting the quality of advice or documentation (QoD) are clearly communicated and managed.
• Support colleagues through teamwork and informal coaching, fostering a collaborative and knowledgeable working environment.
• Promote and act in accordance with the SJP values and conduct standards, including integrity, diligence, and commitment to delivering good client outcomes.

Who We're Looking For

Experience & Qualifications:

• Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (DipPFS) or equivalent.
• Proven experience in financial services with broad product knowledge and understanding of the financial advice process.
• Strong understanding of FCA regulations and the compliance landscape.
• Experience assessing complex financial planning scenarios and calculations, including Income Tax, CGT, IHT, pension allowances, and yield analysis.

What's in it for you?

We reward you for the work you do, whether that's through our discretionary annual bonus scheme that reflects both personal and company performance, competitive annual leave allowance (28 days plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase an additional 5 days), or online rewards platform with a variety of discounts. We also have benefits to support whatever stage of life you are in, including:

• Competitive parental leave (26 weeks full pay)
• Private medical insurance (optional taxable benefit)
• 10% non-contributory pension (increasing with length of service)

Reasonable Adjustments

We're an equal opportunities employer and want to ensure our recruitment process is accessible and inclusive for all, if you require reasonable adjustment(s) at any stage please let us know by emailing us at [e-mail]

Research tells us that applicants (especially those from underrepresented groups) can be put off from applying for a role if they do not meet all the criteria or have been on an extended career-break. If you think you would be a good match for this role and can demonstrate some transferable experience please apply, regardless of whether you tick every box.

What's next?

If you're excited about this role and believe you have the skills and experience we're looking for, we'd love to hear from you! Please submit an application by clicking "apply" below and our team will be in touch.

As a business regulated by the FCA we would advise you to familiarise yourself with the conduct regulations and in particular consumer duty obligations prior to an interview with SJP.

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