Senior Market Researcher – Financial Lives Survey

Division – Cross-Cutting Policy & Strategy

Department – Cross-Cutting Response, Research & Contracts

Salary - National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £51,200 to £68,085 and London £56,400 to £75,000 per annum (Salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

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.

We are recruiting two Senior Market Researchers within the Market Research team, part of the Cross-cutting Response, Research & Contracts department. The team’s key output, the Financial Lives survey, is the FCA’s flagship nationally representative survey of UK consumers. The team works with several suppliers who between them are responsible for survey design and sampling, survey scripting and fieldwork, the raw data and weighting, data table specifications and statistical support. The survey provides information about consumers' attitudes towards managing their money, the financial products they have and their experiences of engaging with financial services firms. As a tracking survey, it provides evidence of how things are changing from the point of view of the consumer. Applicants are encouraged to visit the survey website which contains the survey results, questionnaires, technical report and other useful information.

The team also oversees a wide range of other one-off bespoke research projects, either commissioned from external market research agencies or conducted in house. These surveys can be of consumers, firms or FCA staff. We also collect and analyse consumer data from a range of third parties, such as IPSOS and Mintel, and some of our regulatory partners. We also provide advice on sampling to support colleagues’ work across the FCA.

Both roles will be focused on the Financial Lives survey (FLS). One role is likely to also include assisting in other bespoke research commissioned by the team.

What will you be doing?
For FLS work, you will need to contribute to many of these aspects of the team’s work on the Financial Lives survey. Consequently, all-round quantitative research skills are needed, together with an ability to write well, good stakeholder management, and an ability to plan your work well.

Key elements of the role include:

• Lead on key technical aspects of the project, eg questionnaire design; working closely with suppliers on the survey design, sampling and weighting; data analysis and report writing

• Taking responsibility as the lead contact for colleagues across the FCA for one or more specific financial services sector(s) or a thematic area(s) covered by the Financial Lives survey

• Assisting in implementing rigorous quality assurance processes to ensure analyses and published results are accurate

In addition, you may from time to time also work on designing and managing other research, either commissioned from market research agencies or conducted in house.

For the role that is likely to also include non-Financial Lives bespoke market research work, the other work will include:

• Advising a diverse range of colleagues on the best way to meet their research needs (for example through in-house surveys, in-depth analysis of existing data, or commissioning an agency to undertake a new piece of research)

• Assisting with the procurement of a research agency and managing that agency throughout the lifetime of the project 

• Reviewing and advising on research materials as needed for each individual project – including sample design, screening criteria, weighting approach, questionnaire design, analysis planning, discussion guides, and mystery shopping scenarios

What will you get from the role?

• The opportunity to make a difference by influencing the regulatory approach of the FCA through advanced analysis that helps identify, monitor and quantify consumer behaviour and consumer harm

• A deep knowledge of financial services research and a good understanding of how research contributes to the development of effective financial regulation

• A wide network of contacts including FCA and external stakeholders

• Being part of a team that is well-regarded for its high standards of research management and insight generation

If you have a passion for data, analysis and problem-solving, and are naturally curious, this could be the role for you.

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

• Experience of a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, and analytical techniques (eg multivariate analysis, data segmentation, sampling, weighting)

• Experience of working within a market research agency, economics consultancy, regulator, government department, or in academia

Essential

• Excellent communication skills, with experience in communicating research and analysis findings to experts and non-experts, industry players and senior decision-makers

• Experience of different styles of writing, e.g., reports, presentations, speeches, briefing notes, and blogs. You must please include links to any relevant publications in your CV and/ or in your covering letter. Most relevant would be published reports for public sector clients based on analysis of a large survey

• Significant attention to detail

• Ability to work autonomously, to deliver work on your own initiative and to manage competing priorities, and also to work collaboratively with other team members to achieve wider team goals

• Experience in managing a research agency to ensure their work is meeting business objectives

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.

Did you know? 50% of our Executive Committee were the first in their family to attend university.

The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisation. Given this, we particularly welcome applications women, minority ethnic, disabled, and neurodivergent candidates for our senior associate roles.

Benefits of working at the FCA

• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays

• Hybrid working (you can 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 - Regulatory

• Advert closing date: Midnight Sunday 12th January

• First Round competency based interview: 22nd-24th January 

• Assessment & final interview: W/C 3rd February

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 external applicants, please contact Chhavi Bartaria at [email protected]

• For internal applicants, please contact Lucy Matthews at [email protected]

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