Wholesale Sector Team - Lead Associate
Division – Supervision, Policy and Competition
Team – Wholesale Banks Sector Team
Salary - National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £59,100 to 90,800 and London £64,900 to £99,700 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
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The Wholesale Banks Sector Team is responsible for supporting the supervision of the Wholesale Banks portfolio. We identify risks in the sector, identify market trends, undertake analysis of market structures, perform proactive supervisory work to identify the breadth and depth of issues, and intervene to improve firms’ conduct. We respond to risk events, such as market disruption or political events, by assessing the impact on firms and identifying appropriate strategies to reduce the impact on consumers and markets. We also work to imbed new policy or regulatory initiatives and ensure that firms are meeting the evolving expectations of them.
We place a high priority on open and cooperative working, both with our internal and external stakeholders. Our department combines both our supervisory and policy-making work which gives the opportunity to consider a range of responses to improve conduct.
What will you be doing?
- Leading workstreams to shape, develop and support the delivery of the strategies across the FCA for wholesale financial markets
- Facilitating multi-firm projects, including scoping, gathering information, analysing and drafting reports and using outputs to change firm behaviour
- Coordinating responses to market events, including engaging with firms to gather information, and coordinating with internal and external stakeholders to mitigate impacts on consumer and markets
- Developing deep insight into wholesale financial markets sector to identify and manage key risks and opportunities
- Building and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders, including at a senior level, both internally and externally, including other regulators, authorities and trade associations
What will you get from the role?
- You will a get broad exposure to wholesale financial markets and the firms that work within them with a focus on wholesale banks
- You will gain a unique insight to how wholesale markets function and the business models of firms that work within them
- You will get direct exposure to senior management and regulatory experts in different functions across the FCA including Supervision, Authorisation, Policy and Enforcement
- You will work on an interesting mix of projects and topical strategic work
- You will work in the wholesale markets risk function as we extend our ability to map risks across the market
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
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Minimum
- Strong understanding of wholesale financial markets and the regulated firms that comprise them
- Experience of leading complex projects and deliver high quality outputs on time
- Excellent research and analytical skills with the ability to consider complex issues, exercise robust, consistent judgements that balance a range of competing factors, and develop and communicate strategies to successfully mitigate risk
Essential
- Evidence of strong communication skills. You will need to demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively with a diverse audience, managing complex, technical issues in a clear and digestible format
- Experience in building strong working relationships with stakeholders to support the delivery of departmental priorities
- Ability to work at pace and under pressure
- Self-assured in taking responsibility with the ability to balance and manage complex workloads, working in a team or unassisted
- Proven ability to impact and influence senior internal and external stakeholders, using sound judgement and escalating issues appropriately
- Prior and concise drafting experience with experience of drafting for a range of audiences
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.
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 as Lead Associate, Regulatory
- Advert Closing Date: 14th September 2025
- CV Review/Shortlist: 16th September 2025
- First Round Case Study Assessment: W/C 22nd September 2025
- Competency Based Interview: W/C 29th September 2025
- Second Stage Interview: W/C 6th October 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: Shafika.shaikh@fca.org.uk
Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via email will not be accepted.