Senior Consumer Finance Specialist

Financial Conduct Authority; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 52,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Consumer Finance Specialist to lead initiatives in consumer finance regulation. This role offers the chance to engage with diverse stakeholders, develop supervision strategies, and mentor junior team members. You'll be at the forefront of improving consumer outcomes in a dynamic environment, working alongside a supportive team committed to continuous improvement. If you're passionate about making a difference in the financial sector and thrive in a flexible, collaborative setting, this opportunity is tailored for you.

Benefits

25 days holiday per year

Hybrid working (up to 60% remote)

Private healthcare with Bupa

Non-contributory Pension (at least 8%)

Life assurance (8x basic salary)

Income protection

Flexible benefits scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in FCA supervision or debt management industries.
• Ability to identify regulatory risks and consumer impacts.
• Strong judgment and presentation skills for senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop supervision strategies based on firms’ business activities.
• Coach junior team members and manage stakeholder relationships.
• Participate in departmental projects impacting FCA priorities.

Skills

Regulatory experience

Analytical capability

Stakeholder management

Coaching and mentoring

Project management

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Job description

Senior Consumer Finance Specialist

Division - Supervision, Policy & Competition

Department - Consumer Finance

Salary - National ranging from £52,400 – £60,000 and London from £57,700 – £65,000 per annum (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

About the FCA

The FCA regulates the conduct of 45,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. Follow this link to find out more About the FCA .

The Consumer Finance Directorateis responsible for thesupervision and policy making for the consumer finance market encompassing 30,000 firmsacross 8 portfolios. It also encompasses 3 additional portfolios:claims management companies, credit unionsandmortgage intermediaries.

The directorate's role is to develop and deliver supervisory strategies to prevent harm to consumers and financial markets and promote competition. This involves supervising larger firms with a national presence to smaller, more niche firms, reactive casework and projects focused on issues and products.

We are looking for someone with leadership and coaching skills, sound judgement and analytical capability, and the ability to effectively engage with a range of internal and external stakeholders.

The roles offer an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of the FCA's engagement with an important and high-profile sector. The successful candidate will play a leading part in a small team, with the opportunity to work in a flexible environment and to gain an understanding of the challenges within the Credit and Debt services industry.

What will you be doing?

• Understanding firms’ business activities, how they are changing in response to the external environment and what implications these changes have for consumers, to develop supervision strategies
• Supervising firms by developing and driving forward supervisory cases, identifying, and quickly mitigating new and existing crystallised issues
• Coaching and mentoring junior team members
• Delivering excellent stakeholder management including appropriate escalation of issues
• Participating in or heading departmental projects that impact the function, and/or the FCA as a whole
• Working to support departmental, divisional and FCA priorities including promoting a culture of continuous improvement and efficiency gains, contributing to house views and sectoral priorities

What will you get from the role?

• The opportunity to gain experience in the development and application of market interventions with the intention to improve consumer outcomes
• The opportunity to be involved in broad, diverse, challenging and often high-profile work and to reduce the potential for harm in an important consumer focused sector
• Rewarding work in a well-established and supportive team to support you in delivering crucial work and developing your potential
• The opportunity to work cross-functionally within the FCA and with external stakeholders

Which skills are required?

We are a Disability Confident Employer; therefore, disabled people or individuals with long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. (To learn more about the Disability Confident Scheme Click Here )

Minimum

• Regulatory or industry experience of regulatory requirements with specific reference to FCA supervision and/or experience of the debt management/debt collection/credit reference industries
• Experience of identifying business models, financial or regulatory risks posed by firms and an understanding of the consumer impact which might result from these risks with the ability to identify appropriate tools for mitigation
• Experience of making judgements and presenting key issues and recommendations to senior stakeholders across FCA

Essential

• Evidence of reviewing large amounts of complex information, identifying the key themes, drawing logical conclusions and developing and implementing strategies
• Experience of reviewing complex business models, products and/or conduct risks, or demonstrate an ability to swiftly grasp this
• Strong management capability (e.g. project management) to help plan, prioritise and allocate work within the team
• Excellent drafting and oral communication skills
• Ability to work independently, use sound judgement and escalate issues appropriately
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills: able to build and maintain relationships with senior management, other regulators, and staff at all levels within the FCA
• Working effectively as part of a team by working inclusively, contributing to an environment where all opinions are listened to and respected

Our Values & Diversity

We are proud to be an inclusive employer, and our ambition is to cultivate a culture for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. 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.

Within the workplace you will have access to various employee resource groups which aim to promote and achieve a healthy work / life balance and support our diversity ambitions.

Did you know? 50% of our Executive Committee were the first in their family to attend university.

The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisation. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, minority ethnic, disabled, and neurodivergent candidates for our Senior Consumer Finance Specialist role.

Benefits of working at the FCA

• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
• Hybrid working (work from home up to 60% of your time)
• 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

We also have a competitive flexible benefits scheme which gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifestyle.

We welcome applications from candidates who are looking for flexible arrangements. Many of our staff work flexibly including working part-time, staggered hours, and job shares. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want but we can explore what might work best for both sides.

Follow this link to see what life is like at the FCA - Life at the FCA

Application Support

We are dedicated to removing barriers and ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition requiring changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter using the details below and they will be happy to discuss this further with you.

Useful Information and Timeline

• This role is graded Senior Associate - Regulatory
• Advert Closing Date: 9th May
• CV Review/Shortlist: 13th May
• Interview W/C 19th May

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.

Got a question?

If you are interested in learning more about the role, please contact

For internal or external candidates please contact [e-mail].

Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via email will not be accepted.