Investigator

Financial Ombudsman Service; Cardiff; Hybrid; GBP 26,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous pension

Life assurance

Critical illness cover

Income protection

Private medical insurance

Virtual GP

Job summary

The Financial Ombudsman Service is a UK-wide independent, not-for-profit organisation that resolves disputes between consumers or small businesses and financial service providers. As an Investigator in Banking, you’ll handle complaints, manage caseloads, and communicate complex findings clearly to both sides.

This permanent role offers a hybrid working pattern with four days per fortnight in Cardiff, and a London induction before settling into Cardiff duties.

Qualifications

• Ability to make fair and balanced decisions with clear thinking.
• Excellent communication, listening and written English.
• Experience delivering excellent customer service in challenging situations.
• Strong critical thinking and problem solving.
• Good administrative skills and ability to prioritise workload.
• Experience meeting targets or service levels.
• Interest in developing knowledge of Banking products.

Responsibilities

• Investigating complaints about Banking products
• Managing your caseload effectively to reach targets
• Managing relationships with our customers – both consumers and financial businesses
• Examining evidence to get to the heart of each complaint
• Weighing up all sides of a story and assessing the relevant rules and regulations to make fair and reasonable decisions
• Communicating with empathy – listening carefully to both sides, asking the right questions and using sound judgement
• Communicating your findings clearly, explaining what you think and why through a clear and structured written response

Skills

Fair and balanced decisions

Clear thinking

Excellent communication

Customer service

Critical thinking

Time management

Job description

Investigator, Banking – Cardiff. Contract: Permanent. Working hours: full time (35 hours pw) and part time (28 hours pw). Salary: £32,577 pa (full time), £26,061.60 pa (part time). Reporting to: Ombudsman Manager. Start date: 25th January 2027. Our current hybrid policy requires four days per fortnight in the Cardiff office. As part of your induction, you’ll need to spend your first week in our London office. We will cover your expenses for your time in London.

About us

The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that plays a vital role in UK financial services. Every day we help resolve disputes between consumers, or small businesses, and their financial service providers. The complaints we deal with vary. A customer might be having trouble with their bank account, struggling with payday loans, think an insurance pay out isn’t fair, or be worried about their mortgage. If we believe a customer hasn’t been treated fairly, we’ll ask the business to put things right. If we think the business isn’t at fault, we’ll explain why. The decisions we make have a huge impact: they can be life-changing for individuals, and they provide insights which are useful for financial businesses. By joining us as an Investigator, you’ll play a key role in Banking products. Each case and each customer are different. No two days are ever the same and sometimes the work is demanding, but it’s a job that makes a real difference and you’ll be rewarded with generous benefits as well as job satisfaction.

Key responsibilities

• Investigating complaints about Banking products
• Managing your caseload effectively to reach targets
• Managing relationships with our customers – both consumers and financial businesses
• Examining evidence to get to the heart of each complaint
• Weighing up all sides of a story and assessing the relevant rules and regulations to make fair and reasonable decisions
• Communicating with empathy – listening carefully to both sides, asking the right questions and using sound judgement, and
• Communicating your findings clearly, explaining what you think and why through a clear and structured written response

Essential criteria

• Expertise making fair and balanced decisions, where you must articulate your thinking clearly
• Excellent communication skills, including a talent for listening and explaining things in clear language as well as good written English
• Experience providing excellent customer service with people who may be angry or upset
• Critical thinking, problem solving and finding constructive solutions
• Strong administrative skills and the ability to prioritise your workload
• History of working to meet targets or service level agreements
• An interest in developing knowledge of Banking products

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of Banking financial products
• Relevant qualifications within Banking
• Experience in decision making or investigative roles for example, legal, paralegal, casework or claims

Why the Financial Ombudsman Service?

We’re a UK-wide service, with strong values and a diverse workforce, where you can be your authentic self. We’re committed to being a great place to work and to recruiting people from all backgrounds. So, as well as a competitive salary, we offer a great package of benefits, including:

• Core benefits including generous pension, life assurance, critical illness cover, income protection, personal accident cover, private medical insurance, virtual GP
• Optional benefits including travel insurance, technology scheme, cycle to work scheme, dining and lifestyle memberships, dental cover
• Holiday entitlement of 25 days, with the option to buy or sell extra days (full time equivalent)
• Discounts on your everyday shopping, from groceries and petrol to household goods and gift vouchers
• An Employee Assistance Program offering professional support with legal, health and money issues
• Opportunities for personal and career development

Find out more about our work culture on our website, where we also have a dedicated careers page. You may also find it useful to check our LinkedIn page and Instagram.

Proud to be an inclusive employer

Reflecting the communities, we serve helps us provide the best service to our customers. Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our success, so we welcome applications from women and other under-represented groups.

As part of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter, we welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority candidates. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and, under the scheme, will progress a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria to interview.

Interviews may be conducted via video, telephone, or an panel Interview, with some vacancies requiring an online assessment to measure the minimum criteria.

Who we are…

With fairness at the heart of everything we do, we embrace difference and treat everyone as equals. We’re a diverse organisation, but something we all share is our values. They’re central to the way we work – and work together. We’re an independent, not-for-profit organisation that sorts out disputes between financial businesses and their customers. We do this by making decisions that are fair – and feel fair to both sides. The Financial Ombudsman Service is an equal opportunities employer. All applicants will be treated in a fair and equal manner and in accordance with the law, regardless of gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. We’re committed to being a great place to work – attracting and developing people from the widest possible range of backgrounds. We want everyone to perform at their best and feel able to be themselves. We understand that if we’re diverse and inclusive, we’ll better understand different perspectives, which is fundamental to our job resolving financial complaints.

You can read more about Diversity and Inclusion . We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. Disabled applicants who fulfil the minimum criteria for the role will be progressed to the next stage of the process. Do let us know of any reasonable adjustments you need. You will need to demonstrate that you meet the minimum criteria in order to qualify for the Disability Confident scheme.