Risk & Assurance Specialist

Risk Assurance Specialist

Division – Change Directorate Operations & Directors Office

Salary – National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £43,300 to £65,000 and London £46,400 to £69,500 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.

The Change Directorate partners with our divisional colleagues to help shape, deliver, and embed strategic, regulatory, and operational change.

The Change Directorate is made up of three specialist departments and an Operations Team. The Risk & Assurance Specialist will sit within the Operations Team, reporting into the Operations & Assurance Manager.

The Change Directorate Operations Team ensures that the Change Portfolio is affordable, is aligned to both organisational priorities and available change resources and that projects are being well managed and governed to ensure successful delivery and realisation of benefits.

What will you be doing?

• Monitor risk inputs from across the portfolio, assessing data sets, performing analysis and generating reports to enable effective mitigation planning and business resilience 

• Execution of the Delivery Assurance capability to keep delivery safe in line with our change delivery framework and to manage the inherent delivery risks associated with our complex change eco-system

• Oversee the local risk management framework, ensuring effective risk identification, assessment, mitigation and reporting.​ Ensuring local compliance to organisation’s risk management framework 

• Facilitate communication between the risk, audit and governance committees and ensure alignment with the organisation’s strategic objectives

• Contribute towards the successful implementation of FCA risk framework, for example by supporting the Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSA) process, to provide operational assurance to the Director that risks are being managed within risk appetite

• Develop strong working relationships to facilitate successful risk management within the Three Lines of Defence (3LoD) model

What will you get from the role?

• Play a vital role in driving the success of a high-impact project portfolio – enhancing delivery efficiency through strategic problem-solving, insightful data analysis, and robust monitoring of milestones and progress

• Build strong cross-functional relationships across the FCA and gain valuable exposure to senior leadership, expanding your influence and visibility

• Thrive in a stimulating, collaborative workplace that actively supports your professional growth and personal development through diverse learning opportunities

• Be a key force behind safe, compliant, and effective change delivery – helping to shape the future of regulation at one of the world’s leading financial services authorities

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

• Relevant professional risk qualification and/or equivalent experience in related subject matter

• Experience of risk management within projects and programmes, within a complex organisation

• Historic success supporting project delivery teams with effective identification, evaluation and treatment of project risks

Essential

• Proven ability to influence and negotiate effectively, even with the most challenging stakeholders, to drive alignment and outcomes

• Exceptional attention to detail – adept at spotting gaps or risks that could hinder safe delivery, and skilled at connecting insights to form a clear, strategic picture

• Strong analytical acumen, capable of scrutinising complex data sets and drawing well-reasoned conclusions that support informed, high-quality decision-making

• Naturally inquisitive, with a talent for uncovering issues in processes and designing practical, well-controlled solutions to mitigate risks

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 from women, minority ethnic, disabled, and neurodivergent candidates for our Risk Assurance Specialist 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% 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 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 – Corporate

• Advert Closing Date: 19th May

• CV Review/Shortlist: 20th – 21st May

• Interviews will begin the week commencing 26th May

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: [email protected]

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