Salary: National ranging from £57,600 to £80,000 and London from £63,300 to £90,000

Do you want to be part of a team focused on some of the most high-profile issues facing financial services regulation which will give you the opportunity to apply your economic expertise to meaningful work that makes a real difference?

The team/department 

Economics is at the heart of what the FCA does. Economic thinking and analysis inform our regulatory decisions and shape how we tackle some of the biggest issues in financial services.

We are currently recruiting for a Lead Economist to work in our Economic Strategy Markets team in the Economics Division. The successful candidate will lead and coordinate research and analytical work carried out by the team.  The team focuses on topics relating to wholesale markets, macroeconomic trends, and financial stability, and often works jointly with other Economics and Wholesale market teams. The work may also include supporting the FCA’s engagement in the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee and coordinating analytical input to support the FCA’s international work. In particular, the Economic Strategy (markets) team represents the FCA on key international forums at the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).  

We are looking for a strong economist with good understanding of financial markets, their functioning and underlying risks, with the ability to work at pace, often with ambiguity. The successful candidate will join a Division made up of teams spanning areas of policy analysis and evaluation, economic strategy, horizon scanning, scenario analysis, behavioural and economic data science. Staff are eligible to join the FCA’s growing Economics Profession network.    

What you will be doing (the role)  

You will support the team manager in delivering the Economics Division’s work programme and managing relationships with key stakeholders. You will manage and oversee the delivery of pieces of economic analysis and, in some cases, directly being responsible the provision of advice on issues relevant to the FCA. You will coordinate and collaborate with colleagues within, and outside, the core team and manage their analytical contributions to research. You may also lead and coordinate some of the FCA’s research and analytical contributions to the international organisations we work closely with, in particular the FSB and IOSCO. As part of our team of subject-matter experts, you will contribute to shaping and delivering outputs of the team. In addition, you can advise and contribute to financial market horizon scanning, analysis, and research.   

This is a fast-paced job where you will need to be comfortable working under uncertainty and adapting quickly to new demands. In return, you will have the opportunity to influence how the FCA contributes to domestic and international debates on topical issues, interact directly with senior members, and manage the work of highly-skilled members of the team.    

As part of your role, you will build and manage various relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and act as an advocate for the Economics Division – seeking out ways to develop and share your economic knowledge.   

You may have line manager responsibilities, and you will be responsible for leading and developing more junior members of the team. You will work closely with the manager of the team and technical specialists on overall team delivery and development.   

What you will get from the role  

You will have the opportunity to learn about, understand and shape the workings of the financial sector at a time of considerable change. You will have the opportunity to influence policy and deliver meaningful work that makes a real difference to consumers and markets.

You will be part of a thriving economics profession, with links to the Government Economic Service and other professional organisations.

You will be joining a multicultural community of economists, econometricians, behavioural scientists and data scientists, with opportunities to attend academic and industry conferences. We provide a stimulating, collaborative environment with a range of opportunities for professional and personal development. This includes the opportunity to develop new skills (for instance coding or causal inference techniques) and build up knowledge of different wholesale or retail financial markets.

We also provide opportunities to work on other economics projects outside your core role, depending on the skills and interest of the job holder. This provides variety to your work and allows you to develop or make use of existing skills through working with colleagues in other teams.  

Examples of opportunities outside your core role include:

• Gaining coding experience (usually in R) if you have no or limited prior coding background, through undertaking training and working on smaller data analysis projects
• Undertaking more complex data analysis, including having access to large datasets on which you can use econometric methods to answer policy questions.
• Using quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of previous interventions, including the use of cutting edge causal inference methods
• Using first principles economic thinking to provide thinking for our strategy and regulatory approach
• Using a blend of tools and techniques to help the FCA to proactively understand how future trends affect the markets it regulates, providing insights and research to inform the FCA’s approach to new and emerging issues

Our competitive flexible benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifestyle. 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, who best meet the minimum criteria for a role. 

• A degree in economics, finance, data science or related discipline, with significant relevant professional economic experience  
• Knowledge of wholesale markets gained through professional experience or academic studies
• Experience of delivering and overseeing high-quality strategic economic research projects and analysis

Essential

• Proven ability to manage a project portfolio, including experience of planning, prioritising and allocating work within the team, considering resources. Experience of managing upwards, considering risks, and demonstrating good judgement   
• Strong drafting skills with the ability to deliver a clear and impactful message 
• Well-developed communication skills, with an ability to articulate complex issues accurately and concisely for senior management, both orally and in writing  
• Experience of providing high-quality economic advice  
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills to guide on economic analysis of financial markets
• Experience in building and managing multiple working relationships with internal and external stakeholders   
• Ability to direct delivery in a fast-moving environment, maintaining pace and quality of delivery while juggling multiple projects at the same time. Be comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty and an ability to prioritise 
•  An understanding of financial stability and macroeconomic issues and trends would be beneficial 

About the FCA   

The FCA regulates the conduct of nearly 45,000 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 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  

This role is graded as Lead Associate – Regulatory.

The closing date for applications is 23:59 on Sunday 3rd November 2024.

To support your application, kindly submit a brief cover letter along with your CV (no more than 500 words) highlighting your interest in the role and your motivations for applying. We encourage you to include any relevant information you would like us to consider as part of your application.  

Got a question?    

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

• For internal applicants, please contact Melanie Dubock at Melanie.Dubock@fca.org.uk
• For external applicants, please contact Ifrah Azam at Ifrah.Azam@fca.org.uk

What to expect from our interview process  

The interview process will be across one or two stages, assessing your technical skills and core competencies.

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.