Personal Assistant to the Head of Department

Financial Conduct Authority; Leeds; On-site; GBP 29,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Pension (non-contributory)

Private healthcare

Life assurance

Flexible benefits

Job summary

Financial Conduct Authority is seeking an experienced Personal Assistant to support the Head of Department in the Authorisations division. You will manage diaries, handle communications, prepare papers and coordinate meetings with senior stakeholders across Banking & Insurance and Early & High Growth Oversight.

The role requires discretion, excellent organisational skills and the ability to work under tight deadlines in a regulatory environment.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Personal Assistant with strong organisational skills.
• Ability to establish relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Proficient in MS Outlook, OneNote, Excel, Word and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Provide dedicated service to the Head of Department and manage information flow.
• Monitor emails and track actions.
• Diary management and briefing requests to ensure timely commitments.
• Prepare agenda and manage management meeting papers.
• Act as a point of contact for HoD and liaise with senior management and external stakeholders.
• Investigate issues, escalate where needed and communicate with contacts/Division.
• Coordinate departmental communications and ad hoc papers or presentations.

Skills

Personal Assistant experience

Organisation skills

Stakeholder management

Decision making under pressure

Time management

Independent working

Collaborative work

Discretion and confidentiality

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

OneNote

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Job description

Job Title: Personal Assistant to the Head of Department

Division: Authorisations

Department: Banking & Insurance and Early & High Growth Oversight

• Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £28,800 to £38,000 and London from £31,600 to £42,000 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

• This role is graded as: Senior Professional Support - Corporate

• Your internal recruitment contact is Katie via [e-mail]

• Your external recruitment contact is Riley Fox via [e-mail].

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.

The Authorisations Division serves as the initial point of contact for firms and individuals seeking to provide regulated financial services in the UK, making authorisation decisions to ensure applicants meet the FCA’s standards.

We are looking for an experienced PA to support the Head of Department of our Banking & Insurance and Early & High Growth Oversight Department in Authorisations. The department has two functions – Banking & Insurance Authorisations deals with applications for new banks, insurers, funeral plan providers and insurance intermediaries, and Early & High Growth Oversight supervises firms in the early stages of being regulated and when experiencing high growth.

Role responsibilities

• Providing a dedicated and professional service to the HoD, assembling and disseminating information on their behalf and progressing actions as appropriate

• Monitoring of emails, including the recording and tracking of actions

• Diary management – ensuring commitments are managed smoothly, within timeconstraints, and that associated arrangements (e.g. briefing requests) operate efficiently

• Manage meeting papers for the HoD including coordinating briefings, managing bring forward/pending system and chasing ‘actions’ from others where necessary

• Preparing agendas for the Management meetings and following up actions where necessary

• Acting as a point of contact for the HoD, including liaison with senior management and external stakeholders

• Investigating issues and resolving queries (escalating/advising HoD as appropriate) and ensuring full communication with contacts/Division as relevant

• Coordinating departmental communications and any other ad hoc papers or presentations

Skills required

Minimum:

• Experience working in a Personal Assistant capacity with well-developed organisational skills

• Experience of establishing and maintaining effective relationships with senior stakeholders

• Experience using Microsoft Outlook, OneNote, Excel, Word and PowerPoint

Essential:

• Ability to work professionally in demanding situations with tight deadlines and to balance competing priorities

• Ability to make timely decisions based on relevant analysis in absence of the HoD where appropriate

• Ability to work on own initiative and manage time effectively

• Ability to work effectively with a range of internal and external stakeholders

• Collaborative worker with the ability to work on own initiative

• Committed to improving processes and sharing good practice

• The role requires you to have access to sensitive and confidential information. Maintaining security and confidentiality of information is of paramount importance in this role

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

• 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

• 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 & 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 timeline

• Advert Closing: 30th September 2026

• CV Review/Shortlist: 2nd - 6th October 2026

• Interviews: w/c 12th October 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.