Innovation Services Specialist

Innovation Services Specialist - Senior Associate

Salary: National ranging from £51,200 to £72,000 and London from £56,400 to £80,000

Are you looking to become part of an exciting and cutting-edge part of the Innovation Division, which remains a top priority for the FCA, and will have the opportunity to influence the FCA approach to innovation and emerging technology?

 The team/department  

We support the FCA to be a progressive and forward-thinking regulator. We protect consumers, encourage competition and enable innovative financial services firms to be the best they can be.

Our teams comprise of the Innovation services. We created the often-imitated Regulatory Sandbox which allows firms to test innovative products and services with real customers in a live market. We provide regulatory support to innovative firms who have questions about how our rules may apply to their innovation, through our Innovation Pathways offering. We support firms at a proof-of-concept stage to test their innovative propositions with real or synthesized data through our Digital Sandbox. We also help firms develop low-cost innovative financial advice and guidance models by combining our expertise with industries.   

What you will be doing (the role)  

• Consider and respond to requests for support from firms, forming judgement about our rules, within the relevant eligibility criteria

• Collaborate with other areas of the FCA, particularly Policy, GCD, Supervision and Authorisations, to gather the relevant expertise required to understand queries and issues related to innovative business models

• Provide support to innovative firms, whether regulated or unregulated, who have been approved for support from Innovation - meetings can involve simple explanations or educating firms about the regulatory regime, and may also consider if it is appropriate to use other tools, such as providing informal steers or individual guidance

• Develop and publish tools and resources to support innovative firms enter and thrive in the UK financial market

• Liaise with key internal and external stakeholders for example HM-Treasury and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

• Consider and deliver ways to effectively promote and raise awareness of innovation services externally, to increase stakeholder awareness and drive improvements in application volume  

• Assess and evaluate applications for the digital sandbox, determining their suitability for the service

• Provide support to firms participating in the digital sandbox, helping them navigate challenges and optimize their showcase and mentorship opportunities

What you will get from the role  

•  If you come to work for us, you will become a member of our talented Innovation Department, with a unique opportunity to support and shape FinTech firms as they develop customer focused propositions.

• You will get the opportunity to work on cutting edge firms deploying technology such as artificial intelligence, and distributed ledger technology and engage with stakeholders both internally and externally on our FCA approach to innovation.

• Use your expertise to have a positive impact on the development of technology that can benefit consumers

• Gain a unique perspective on the development of FinTech through your exposure to a wide range of firms and other external stakeholders with an interest in innovation

• Develop your knowledge of various regulatory regimes

• Gain hands-on experience with the digital sandbox environment, understanding how it can foster innovation and collaboration in the financial sector

Our competitive flexible benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifecycle. You can use this allowance to purchase additional benefits such as dental or cycle to work or you have the option top up your base salary by taking this as cash.  

Core benefits that you will receive as standard are:  

• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays

• 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 support hybrid working which means you will be able to work from home up to 60% of the time over a month with the remainder of your time in one of our three office locations.  

The skills and experience you will have 

 Minimum   

We are a signatory to the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. This means that we will offer an interview to disabled candidates entering under the scheme, should they meet the minimum criteria for a role.  

• Analytical skills: proven experience of analysing large amounts of both numerical and written information

• Regulatory experience: proven experience of application of the FCA’s rules and guidance to firms undertaking regulated activities

• Stakeholder management: Proven experience of managing stakeholders, building strong working relationship with colleagues and firms and delivering key messages about complex issues clearly

Essential  

• Role-specific know-how, transferrable skills, elements of core skills and behaviours that are essential to the role, referring to our Capability Framework as a source of information to help you design your criteria   

• Strong interest in technology and innovation: you will engage regularly with FinTech firms and will therefore need an interest in FinTech and innovation as well as an open-minded approach focused on finding consumer-friendly solutions

• Experience of cutting-edge technology or innovation, particularly in a financial services context

• Good judgment and analytical skills: you will have the ability to form judgements about which requests for support are eligible, and how to provide that support, adopting a flexible and pragmatic approach

• Strong knowledge and understanding of FCA tools and powers: you will need to consider how we might be able to use our tools and powers to support the development of innovative business models

• Good written and oral communication skills: An ability to translate technical concepts and approaches into easily understandable language

• The ability to balance, prioritise and manage competing demands and be flexible to support the team’s outcomes

• Experience in assessing and evaluating innovative financial products or services, preferably in a regulatory or sandbox environment

• Understanding of the digital sandbox concept and its role in fostering innovation in the financial sector

About the FCA   

The FCA regulates the conduct of 50,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. We do this to make sure markets work well for individuals, businesses and the economy as a whole. For more information on what we do, our three-year strategy can be found here.  

The FCA's Values & Diversity  

Our ambition is to cultivate a culture of inclusion 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.  

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

Flexible working 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 won’t judge you for asking.    
  

Multi-location As part of the FCA’s on-going commitment to develop our national presence, most of our vacancies are now open to working in our Edinburgh, Leeds, or London offices.  This means that as part of the application process you will be able to select your preference of which office location you would like to work from.   

Useful information  

 Applications for this role close at 23.59 on 6th October 2024

This role is graded as Senior Associate - Regulatory  

Got a question?    

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

For internal applicants, please contact Sara Holland at sara.holland@fca.org.uk

For external applicants, please contact Asha Gladis at asha.gladis@fca.org.uk

What to expect from our interview process  

The assessment process consists of a competency-based interview, including a case study.

Application support  

We want to remove any possible barriers and are committed to providing a wide range of reasonable adjustments so that you can keep the focus on your conversations and be at your best.  

If you have an accessibility requirement, disability, or condition that means you might require changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter to discuss this further. Our aim is to make your application as easy and comfortable as possible, and your recruiter will be happy to work with you to make any necessary arrangements where possible. 

Security Clearance/Vetting

 The successful candidate will hold or will be required to obtain Security Clearance (SC) level vetting.

 Please note that all applications must be submitted through our online portal, applications sent via email will not be accepted.