Lead Internal Auditor

Financial Conduct Authority; Leeds; On-site; GBP 54,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Pension and life assurance

Private healthcare

Volunteering days

Flexible working options

Job summary

The Financial Conduct Authority is seeking a Lead Internal Auditor in the Internal Audit division. The role involves delivering audits across regulatory, operational and corporate functions, guiding audit teams and ensuring milestones are met.

You will analyse risks, challenge senior management, produce risk-focused reports, and collaborate with data specialists to align testing with objectives. This is a permanent role with a Senior Associate, Regulatory grade and salary commensurate with

Qualifications

• Experience identifying and evaluating key audit risks and controls.
• Proven track record delivering audits against standards, timescales and budgets.

Responsibilities

• Carry out and deliver audits across regulatory, operational and corporate functions, managing audit activities from planning through to reporting, while overseeing audit teams.
• Analyse information from multiple sources to assess risks, evaluate the effectiveness of controls and identify control weaknesses, emerging risks and strategic issues.
• Engage and influence senior stakeholders, including Executive Directors, building productive relationships and challenging where needed to drive improvements.
• Produce clear, concise and risk-focused audit reports for FCA leadership with practical recommendations.
• Manage a varied portfolio of audit and non-audit work, balancing priorities while sharing insights to support improvement.
• Collaborate with data specialists to translate audit questions and testing requirements into clear data specifications.

Skills

Internal audit experience

Audit reporting

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Project management

Data analysis

Job description

Job title: Lead Internal Auditor

Division: Internal Audit
Department: Internal Audit

• Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £53,800 to £72,000 and London from £59,100 to £80,000 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)
• This role is graded as: Senior Associate, Regulatory

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.

Internal Audit at the FCA is unique. Our Auditors are provided with the opportunity to get an overview of the whole organisation and an opportunity to understand all aspects of how the FCA regulates financial services in the UK.

We are seeking experienced Internal Audit Managers, or professionals with operational audit experience from industry, who thrive in complex environments, enjoy variety and can effectively guide and influence senior management. This role is ideal for individuals with a structured approach who want to oversee audit delivery and their professional development.

We are recruiting two permanent Lead Internal Auditor positions at Senior Associate level.

Role responsibilities

• Carry out and deliver audits across the FCA’s regulatory, operational and corporate functions, managing audit activities from planning through to reporting, while overseeing audit teams, managing dependencies and ensuring delivery milestones are met
• Analyse information from multiple sources to assess risks, evaluate the effectiveness of controls and identify control weaknesses, emerging risks and strategic issues using evidence-based judgement
• Engage and influence senior stakeholders, including Executive Directors, building productive relationships, facilitating discussions on audit findings and constructively challenging to lead to improvements
• Produce clear, concise and risk-focused audit reports for FCA leadership, providing valuable insights and practical recommendations that improve the control environment
• Manage a varied portfolio of audit and non-audit work, balancing competing priorities while sharing insights and emerging themes to support continuous improvement across the organisation.
• Strong ability to work with data specialists, translating audit questions and testing requirements into clear data specifications, ensuring data extracts and analyses meet audit objectives.

Skills required

Minimum:

• Previous internal and/or external audit experience which includes identifying and assessing key areas of risk and identifying and evaluating key controls
• Demonstrable prior experience of internal audit reviews and or assurance reviews delivered against agreed standards, timescales and budgets

Essential:

• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build effective relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organisation
• Demonstrated experience leading teams, including coaching, providing constructive feedback, delegating effectively and promoting collaborative ways of working
• Demonstrable project management experience, with the ability to plan, prioritise and deliver audit reviews on time, within budget and in line with established methodologies
• Well-developed analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to quickly understand complex issues, question assumptions, exercise sound judgement in high-stakes situations and develop practical, risk-based recommendations
• A high level of resilience, attention to detail and professional curiosity with the confidence to ask probing questions, challenge constructively and work issues through to resolution

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• 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
• Colleagues spend a minimum of 50% of their working time in the office each month (60% for Directors and Executive Directors) across our London, Leeds and Edinburgh offices. 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 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 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 closes: Midnight, 21st October 2026
• CV Review/Shortlist: 23rd October 2026
• Interview including a presentation: W/C 2nd November 2026
• 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.