Division - Enforcement and Market Oversight

Department - Criminal Disclosure Unit

Salary - London ranging from £65,800 - £80,000

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 Enforcement division conducts forensic investigations into suspected misconduct and, where appropriate, pursues and remedies misconduct by firms and individuals through criminal, civil and administrative sanctions and orders, including:

• Bringing criminal prosecutions and seeking penalties to deter misconduct
• Applying for civil orders to provide an appropriate degree of protection for consumers
• Requiring compensation to redress the consequences of misconduct, where appropriate

The Criminal Disclosure Unit is responsible for undertaking criminal disclosure exercises in accordance with the Criminal Procedure & Investigations Act 1996 and associated legislation. It also advises on and ensures that best and consistent practice is maintained in all criminal disclosure exercises within EMO. The Unit is also responsible for LPP risk management in all criminal investigations and in complex regulatory investigations to mitigate the risk to the organisation of Legal Professional Privilege.

What will you be doing?

• Lead our Tier 2/3 disclosure exercises in line with the overall management strategy set by the Disclosure Strategy Manager
• Perform a variety of strategic and disclosure roles across a portfolio of investigations.  This includes both direct management and operational control of disclosure exercises within the case portfolio, as well as advisory roles
• Being externally accountable for all aspects of disclosure exercises
• Overseeing and managing the work of junior associates when necessary and ensuring effective progression of the exercise to reach timely outcomes.  This includes providing technical guidance on the substance of disclosure exercises and strategic advice and support, escalating issues to the disclosure strategy manager and the manager where necessary
• Taking operational control of disclosure exercises in line with the statutory framework, Codes of Practice and associated guidelines, as well as with internal policy. 
• Preparing for and presenting on progress at project boards
• Ability to assist the investigation team in focusing the scope of an investigation and developing a case strategy, including identifying key risks and suggesting steps to mitigate those risks
• Providing advice to the investigation team on disclosure duties, requirements and legal queries
• Drafting (and overseeing the drafting) of all forms of documents (including disclosure schedules, disclosure plans, disclosure review guidance and Disclosure Management Documents)

What will you get from the role?

• An opportunity to work on high-profile cases of public importance as part of multi-disciplinary teams, investigating and tackling the most serious financial crime matters within a disclosure capacity
• An opportunity to contribute to the strategic direction and policy of the CDU
• An interesting and diverse portfolio of work, working with colleagues with varied skills from across Enforcement and in other parts of the FCA

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 

• Legally qualified with 5-7 years of post-qualification experience, with a valid practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for England and Wales (if a solicitor), or the General Council of the Bar for England and Wales (if a barrister) or a similar internationally recognised qualification
• Direct experience of applying the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 in complex criminal investigations
• Proven experience of using Excel and e-discovery platforms

Essential

• Recent and relevant experience working as a disclosure officer, as disclosure counsel or with defence disclosure experience
• Proven experience in managing disclosure in large and complex cases
• Demonstrable ability in using Excel and review platforms, including technology-assisted review tools
• Previous experience of leading teams
• Ability to assess and analyse voluminous and data-heavy bodies of evidence in complex cases, exercising judgement on the evidence and being able to defend those judgements where appropriate, including to senior management
• Experienced communicator, capable of presenting analysis clearly and effectively to a variety of recipients, orally and in writing
• Ability to form and maintain effective working relationships with peers, management, internal and external stakeholders across the organisation and external agencies

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. 

The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisation. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from men (PBS Roles) /women, minority ethnic, disabled, and neurodivergent candidates for our Senior Associate role.  

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%  
• 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 as Senior Associate - Practicing Legal​
• Advert Closing Date:  24th February
• CV Review/Shortlist: 26th February 
• First Round Interview: From the 6th March onwards

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 Katie Ayling at Katie.Ayling@fca.org.uk
• For external applicants, please contact Asha Gladis at Asha.Gladis@fca.org.uk

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