Financial Markets Specialist

Job title: Financial Markets Specialist
Division: Supervision, Policy and Competition
Department: Market Oversight & Supervision

• Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £60,700 to £80,700 and London £66,600 to £88,600 per annum (Salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

• This role is graded as: Lead Associate, Regulatory

• Your external recruitment contact is Shafika via [email protected]  

• Your internal recruitment contact is Iona 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).   The FCA is dedicating resources to better understand market functioning in real time and how market-wide risks are building up over time. We are looking for candidates with a solid analytical and practical understanding of financial markets and financial market risk management experience. To align with our objectives, a significant knowledge of fixed income, equity, rates, derivatives or commodities markets, an ability to analyse  different sectors or firm behaviours, trading strategies and risk building through the use of data is essential.

Role responsibilities

• Ongoing development and implementation of a monitoring  and assessment framework for wholesale market integrity risks (concentrations, leverage and interconnectedness)

• Analysing, assessing and communicating on the materiality of one or more market wide risks- through the use and deployment of risk sensitive data and pertinent visualisations

• Developing recommendations to reduce such risks

• Developing real time assessments of the health of market functioning in both normal and stress times. Participating in responses to market events and coordinating with internal and external stakeholders to mitigate impacts on consumer and markets

• Working with and coordinating with stakeholders, internal and external, to deliver outcomes on wholesale markets

• Contributing to and overseeing the preparation of internal and external communications on market integrity and market functioning risk assessments

Skills required

Minimum:

• Prior significant experience of fixed income, equity, rates, derivatives or commodities markets

• Prior experience of strong analytical outputs, of using data and analysis to reach conclusions on overall risks related to trading strategies or to market functioning

• Proven experience to lead projects independently and deliver high quality outputs on time

Essential:

• Demonstrated ability to learn new information quickly and on your own

• Proven ability to impact and influence internal and external stakeholders

• Clear and authoritative communication skills to present to a senior audience/ effective ability to articulate and synthetise market developments

• Ability to build and maintain relationships with senior management, other regulators and staff at all levels within the FCA

• Effectively prioritises workloads and manages competing demands to deliver key tasks efficiently and to a high standard

• Works collaboratively as part of a team, fostering an inclusive environment and contributing positively to collective success

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

• Advert Close Date: 1st July 2026

• CV Review/Shortlist:  3rd July 2026

• First Interview: W/C 13th July 2026

• Second Interview: W/C 20th July 2026

• This role is a 3-Headcount role

• 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.