Head of Retail Investigations

Financial Conduct Authority; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 118,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading regulatory body in the UK is seeking a Head of Department for Retail Investigations to lead and motivate a diverse multi-disciplinary team. The role entails managing complex investigations and setting strategic direction. The successful candidate will enjoy exposure to significant issues, be part of the senior leadership team, and drive change in a rapidly evolving regulatory environment. A commitment to diversity and inclusion is essential, alongside strong leadership and stakeholder management skills.

Benefits

30 days holiday plus bank holidays

Private healthcare

Non-contributory Pension

Life assurance

Income protection

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead and inspire large teams.
• Extensive experience leading complex investigations.
• Excellent skills in stakeholder management, both internally and externally.

Responsibilities

• Lead and motivate a diverse multi-disciplinary department.
• Manage a varied caseload of ongoing investigations.
• Set the strategic direction of the department.

Skills

Strong people management and leadership

Stakeholder management

Change management and process improvement

Technical understanding of regulatory framework

Negotiation and influencing skills

Job description

Head of Department, Retail Investigations

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 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.

In March 2025, the FCA launched a new 5‑year strategy to deepen trust, rebalance risk, support growth and improve lives. The FCA will focus on four priorities:

• Be a smarter regulator; predictable, purposeful and proportionate. The FCA will improve its processes and embrace technology to become more efficient and effective.
• Support sustained economic growth, by enabling investment, innovation and ensuring the continued competitiveness of the UK’s world‑leading financial services.
• Help consumers navigate their financial lives by working with industry to boost trust, product innovation and ensuring the right information and support is available for people to take financial decisions.
• Fight financial crime, focusing on those who seek to use the fact they are regulated to do harm. It will go further to disrupt criminals and support firms to be an effective line of defence.

The Role

The vacancy is in Retail 3, which sits in the Retail & Regulatory Investigations directorate and is one of three departments focused on taking regulatory, civil, and criminal proceedings against firms and individuals in retail/consumer markets. The Department is comprised of multi‑disciplinary teams of experienced professionals including lawyers, accountants and investigators with 4 investigation teams and a Crypto Hub team. The Crypto Hub joins up EMO’s cryptoasset work to support the progression of action to tackle crypto harm, and to advance complex work preparing for the UK’s regulation of crypto. It brings together and further develops resource from investigations, intel ligence, regulatory and legal.

Retail investigates sectors covering retail banking, asset management, mortgage broking and lending, insurance, financial advice, consumer credit and payment services. It deals with firms that sell unsuitable products or services to consumers, mishandle client money and assets, or have governance and systemic issues. It also investigates financial crime matters and takes action against individuals under SMCR, APER and/or fitness and properness regimes.

The successful candidate will be a member of the Division’s senior leadership team and will be expected to take a full role in supporting and challenging others to deliver the full range of the Division’s responsibilities (which also include Market Oversight and Intelligence). The candidate will work collaboratively ensuring that the Division offers its staff a challenging and high‑performance place to work and that the Division is constantly focussed on improving efficiency and innovation in its work and contributing to the leadership and strategy of the FCA as a whole.

What will the candidate get from the role?

• You’ll join the FCA’s senior leadership team at an exciting period of change for financial services and its regulation.
• You will lead a department of talented and committed people, working collaboratively on significant projects and programmes.
• You’ll get exposure to a broad range of issues and will contribute to both Enforcement and Market Oversight’s and the wider FCA’s senior leadership team, helping to shape and influence the organisation’s strategy.

The main responsibilities of the post holder will include:

• Lead and motivate a diverse multi‑disciplinary department of investigators.
• Build a strong and inclusive department that attracts and develops diverse talent in support of the FCA’s diversity, equality and inclusion commitments.
• The active management and delivery of a varied caseload of on‑going investigations at a variety of stages and to tight timeframes. Ensuring those cases are delivered fairly, effectively, and efficiently, with an emphasis on delivering and demonstrating value for money.
• Act collaboratively with other enforcement Heads of Department to support the Director in the delivery of Retail enforcement expertise to the FCA.
• Be accountable for divisional budget and resource management decisions as part of the senior divisional leadership team.
• Drive a culture of high performance, relying on coaching, influencing, and negotiating skills with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Setting the strategic direction of the department (and with other senior management contributing to the strategic direction of the Division).
• Leading negotiations in high‑profile and sometimes controversial cases.
• Contributing to the strategic development of the FCA, including through participation on programme and project boards across the organisation.

Skills/Experience required

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. (To learn more about the Disability Confident Scheme Click Here)

Minimum

• Strong people management and leadership experience – proven ability to lead, motivate and inspire large teams as well as experience in tackling performance issues to build high performing teams.
• Extensive experience leading complex investigations.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with evidenced experience influencing internally & externally.
• Ability to drive change and process efficiency/improvements, delivering value for money and innovation.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the regulatory, and political, environment in which the FCA operates.

Essential

• Good technical understanding of the overall regulatory framework in the UK and the FCA’s place within it, with knowledge of the FCA’s powers and policies in relation to investigation and enforcement activity including criminal investigations and prosecutions.
• Negotiation and influencing skills – to deploy internally and externally.
• Budget management experience and experience of managing external resources and multi‑disciplinary teams.
• Ability to form strong working relationships across different business areas and to set joint goals for delivery.
• Robustness in the face of challenge, ability to make decisions in a rapid and balanced way.
• High level of personal resilience with a track record in delivering results against business priorities.

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 ongoing 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 your 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

• The closing date for this role is 23:55 on Sunday 15th February 2026.
• Selection will be via a two‑stage interview and psychometric assessment.
• This role can be London, Edinburgh or Leeds based. If the successful applicant is based in Edinburgh or Leeds, regular travel to the London office will be required as the team is primarily London based.
• The salary range for the role for London £130,000 to £165,000, and National £118,000 to £148,500.
• If successful, you will be required to obtain and retain SC Clearance.
• We currently operate a hybrid working model, working a minimum of 40% in the office each month (50% for senior leaders). From September 2026, FCA employees will be required to spend a minimum of 50% of their working time in the office. Our Executive Director and Directors will be expected to be in a minimum of 60% per month.
• This recruitment campaign may also serve to pipeline for future talent.

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 Roy Bingcang – [e-mail]