Lead Associate - Regulatory

Financial Conduct Authority; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 59,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A regulatory body in the UK is seeking a Lead Supervisor for the Retail Banking Portfolio Team in Leeds. You will oversee team operations, engage with senior management, and analyze complex business risks. Ideal candidates will have strong planning, communication, and analytical skills, alongside a commitment to consumer protection. This role offers competitive salary and benefits including hybrid work options.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Hybrid model with up to 60% remote work

Non-contributory pension

Private healthcare with Bupa

35 hours of paid volunteering annually

Flexible benefits scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in planning and prioritisation with minimal oversight.
• Experience in developing supervisory strategies to mitigate risks.

Responsibilities

• Plan, prioritise and allocate work across the team.
• Manage, coach, and mentor junior team members.
• Oversee team operations and ensure high standards.
• Analyse complex business models to identify key risks.
• Engage with firms' senior management on regulatory issues.
• Respond to emerging industry developments with sound judgement.

Skills

Planning and prioritisation

Consumer harm identification

Judgment under uncertainty

Analytical capability

Communication skills

Critical thinking

Job description

Job Title: Lead Supervisor – Retail Banking, Portfolio Team

Division: Supervision, Policy & Competition

Department: Retail Banking

Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £59,100 to £69,666 and London from £64,900 to £76,500 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

Grade: Lead Associate - Regulatory

Recruitment contact: Tahir Khan via [e-mail]. Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications 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 finance services.

SPC oversees firms and individuals (supervision), creates and reviews the rules by which they operate (policy) and identifies and remedies ineffective competition in markets (competition). The Retail Banking Directorate oversees supervision and policy for UK retail banking and mortgages, driving better outcomes for consumers including those with vulnerabilities - through firm‑specific, sector‑wide, and event‑driven work, with a strong focus on fairness, affordability, and consumer protection.

Role responsibilities

• Working in partnership with the Manager to (i) plan, prioritise and allocate proactive and reactive work across the team; (ii) take a proactive role in managing, coaching and mentoring junior team members and overseeing their work to ensure timely progress is made to achieve supervisory outcomes; (iii) deputise for the Manager during periods of absence; and (iv) continuously improve internal processes by suggesting and implementing changes that result in better outcomes.
• Lead and oversee team operations in a dynamic, fast‑paced environment, ensuring high standards in casework and records management, driving performance excellence and directly contributing to regulatory effectiveness and public trust.
• Analyse complex business models and strategies to identify key risks of harm, shaping impactful supervisory strategies that protect consumers and strengthen market integrity.
• Balance personal delivery with team leadership to achieve supervisory outcomes, aligning with FCA’s strategic priorities and enhancing consumer protection.
• Lead engagement with the firms’ senior management on a wide variety of regulatory issues and remediation, diplomatically and assertively; and work cross‑functionally within the FCA and with external stakeholders including at the PRA, building strong relationships.
• Respond to emerging firm and industry developments with sound judgement across areas like financial crime, tech transformation, and consumer protection. Provide clear, actionable insights that guide internal and external stakeholders through complex challenges.

Skills required

Minimum

• Experience in planning, prioritisation and allocating work within the team, ensuring that the team delivers against expected performance standards and deadlines, with minimal oversight and appropriate escalation of issues.
• Experience identifying consumer harm and developing/implementing supervisory strategies to mitigate risks.

Essential

• Ability to manage complex and large pieces of work with minimal oversight, including experience of managing through change and balancing conflicting priorities.
• Experience reaching sound judgments quickly from a broad and varied range of information, even in cases where there is uncertainty, showing strong analytical capability.
• Strong oral and written communication skills for building and maintaining good relationships with stakeholders at all levels, including engaging with and presenting to senior management.
• Curiosity and motivation to continually learn about and investigate issues, and willingness to develop yourself and the team, taking on new responsibilities and adopting a flexible and pragmatic approach to your work.
• Ability to think critically about the strengths and weaknesses of firms’ business models, strategies and culture to identify relevant risks, issues and themes and arrive at appropriate judgments, identifying harm and implementing supervisory strategies to mitigate risks.

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 is 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 decisions, 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 our 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

• Job advert closes: 17th November at 23:59pm.
• CV Review/Shortlist: 19th November.
• Case Study Assessment & Interview: w/c 24th November.

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.