Job Description
Job title: Payments Policy Associate
Division: Supervision, Policy & Competition (SPC)
Department: Cross-Cutting Market Analysis and Strategy
Salary banding: National (Leeds and Edinburgh) from £43,100 to £50,200 and London from £47,300 to £55,100 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)
This role is graded as: Associate – Level 8 – Regulatory
Your internal recruitment contact is Louis Van Den Burg via [email protected]
Your external recruitment contact is Tahir Khan via [email protected]. Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via social media or email will not be accepted.
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.
SPC oversees firms and individuals (supervision), creates and reviews the rules by which they operate (policy) and identifies and remedies ineffective competition in markets (competition).
Sitting in the Payments and Digital Assets directorate, the Policy department develops policy to address the challenges and opportunities the FCA identifies in payments, crypto, open banking, open finance sectors.
Role responsibilities
Play an active role in the Payments Policy team, helping to deliver a major regulatory modernisation programme and supporting policy development on innovative payment models, including agentic commerce
Support wider project delivery and management of FCA policy governance
Deliver impactful payments policy projects by applying your expertise in analysis and project management, shaping the future of financial regulation and innovation
Build close cross-functional relationships across the organisation, promoting collaboration that accelerates policy delivery and enhances the FCA’s influence
Shape policy proposals that directly influence regulatory frameworks, ensuring fair, transparent, and future-ready markets
Role model FCA’s Values and Core Capabilities, inspiring high standards and integrity across the organisation
Skills required
Minimum:
Prior experience of working within financial services or a regulated industry
Demonstrable experience of analysing information and forming a judgement
Demonstrable experience in supporting on policy development
Essential:
Good organisational skills with the ability to manage a variety of competing priorities and issues
Problem solving and strategic thinking skills
Good stakeholder management skills with the ability to build a network across the organisation
Good written and oral communication skills
Willingness to learn and develop, taking on new responsibilities and adopting a flexible and pragmatic approach to your work
Benefits
25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
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
Hybrid model where employees work a minimum of 40% in the office each month (expectation of 50% for senior leaders). Changing from September to a minimum of 50% in the office each month (expectation of 60% for Directors and Executive Directors)
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 and 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 timelines
Job advert closing: 15th June 2026 at 23:59
CV Review/Shortlist: 17th June 2026
Interview: 22nd to the 30th June 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.