Technical Specialist – Mortgage Policy Team (12-month Fixed Term Contract/Secondment)

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

12/13/2024

Division – Retail Banking

Department – Mortgage Policy team

Salary - National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £67,100 to £83,800 and London £73,700 to £92,100 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 Mortgage Policy Team enables good customer outcomes by developing and maintaining high-quality conduct standards for the mortgage and home finance firms and markets we regulate. It is currently focused on updating our mortgages regime to maximise the Consumer Duty and outcomes-focussed regulation, ensuring borrowers in financial difficulty are treated fairly, and considering long-term risks and opportunities within the market and for its customers.

The team is a core part of the Retail Banking Directorate, which is responsible for overseeing retail banking and mortgage activities. We deliver the conduct agenda through a combination of firm-specific, sector-wide and event-driven activity to deliver better outcomes for UK customers.

This is a 12-month Fixed Term Contract/Secondment role.

What you will be doing?

• Working collaboratively with colleagues across the Retail Banking Division to provide technical, policy and strategic advice on a wide range of complex mortgage and perimeter matters
• With the Mortgage Policy Team Manager and Lead Associate, develop and oversee the team’s work programme, taking a leading position on key workstreams, and supporting Policy Associates to interpret and develop policy positions
• Updating senior regulators on the mortgage market, and advising on action we should take
• Representing the FCA to senior external stakeholders, including firms and Trade Associations
• As part of a wider team of Retail Banking Technical Specialists, identifying emerging trends and risks, and taking initiatives to propose remedies
• Provide analytical and technical support to firm supervisors, both on firm-specific work and as part of project advisory groups
• Supporting the design and delivery of training or change needs within the Division
• Play an important part in the division's leadership, supporting the organisation and individuals to deliver
  
  

What will you get from the role?

• A wide-ranging, high impact role, offering the opportunity to expand your leadership and technical capabilities
• Opportunity to shape the FCA’s future approach to mortgage regulation, aligned with the Consumer Duty
• Manage high-profile and complex policy challenges, with opportunity to work creatively and innovatively to address a variety of risks, working with a range of internal experts and external stakeholders
• Work in a high-energy and stimulating division, within a supportive environment that continually seeks to develop colleagues
  
  

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

• Significant experience in financial regulatory policy
• Substantial experience of providing technical expertise to a range of audiences
• Experience of designing and delivering complex analytical work, drawing on insights and intelligence from various sources and data
  
  

Essential

• Strong insight of conduct risk, consumer behaviour and the drivers of potential harm and poor consumer outcomes
• Good knowledge of the mortgage market, its business models and mortgage regulation. Informed appreciation of its role in the wider economy
• Draws clear conclusions, based on a robust assessment of the facts
• Consideration of different options and trade-offs, providing a clear rationale for recommendations
• Facilitates collective problem solving. Supporting senior and junior colleagues to explore merits of different ways forward
• Ability to build and maintain constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Creates buy-in and understanding of our conduct agenda with range of audiences
• Experience of supporting, training and coaching others
• Adaptable, and proactively manages priorities and workload. Resourceful, drawing on internal expertise to solve problems and deliver
  
  

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 ExCo are women (4 in 8)

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 Technical Specialist - Regulatory role.

Benefits Of Working At The FCA

• 28 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%
• Life assurance
• 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 Technical Specialist – Regulatory

This is a 12-month Fixed Term Contract/Secondment role.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to complete a case study and a 90-min competency-based interview with a presentation.

• Advert Closing Date: 12th January 2025
• CV Review/Shortlist: 14th to 16th January 2025
• First Round Case Study Assessment: 20th to 22nd January 2025
• Competency Based Interview: Week commencing 27th January 2025
  
  

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 applicants, please contact Cheryl Cheung at cheryl.cheung@fca.org.uk
• For external applicants, please contact Aaron Ward at aaron.ward@fca.org.uk
  
  

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