Senior Economist – Wholesale Markets/Financial Stability

Salary: National – ranging from £51,200 – £70,000 and London from £56,400 – £75,000 per annum

Do you want to join a high performing, diverse team which will give you the opportunity to apply your economic expertise to meaningful work that makes a real difference?

The team/department

We are currently recruiting for a Senior Economist to join our Strategic Economics Analysis (Wholesale Markets) team in the Economics Division.

As a Senior Economist, you will produce economic analysis and advice on wholesale financial markets and financial stability matters. You will also support analytically the FCA’s engagement with key domestic and international institutions and standard setting bodies such as the Financial Stability Board (FSB), International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) or the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) on topics of wholesale market risks and financial stability.

You will have the opportunity to conduct market analyses and applied research to support evidence-based decision making in wholesale financial markets.

We have a team of Economists with diversified backgrounds in economics and finance coming from public and private sectors as well as academia and international organisations.

What you will be doing (the role)

Provide analysis and economic advice on a range of issues relevant to the FCA with a large focus on topics in wholesale markets

Support, brief, and influence management on content and strategic direction on issues discussed at domestic and international institutions, articulating FCA perspectives and market expertise

Contribute to projects in collaboration with other FCA areas, working in collaboration with external stakeholders from regulators and standard setting bodies. The projects may involve tight deadlines and various degrees of depth and rigour. 

Contribute to wholesale market horizon scanning, analysis, and research

Use critical thinking and visualisation techniques to concisely illustrate wholesale market risks relevant to the FCA

Communicate findings to a range of internal and external audiences (including in a non-technical way to senior stakeholders)

What you will get from the role

You will have a rare opportunity to understand and shape the workings of the financial sector at a time of considerable change. You will enjoy a unique aerial view of the financial services industry, with the opportunity to do meaningful work that makes a real difference.

You will have the opportunity to work with and influence senior decision makers, both internally and externally to the FCA.

Be part of a thriving economics profession, with links to the Government Economic Service and beyond. You will enjoy a stimulating environment with a range of opportunities for professional and personal development.

You will be joining a multicultural community of economists, econometricians, behavioural scientists and data scientists, with opportunities to attend academic and industry conferences.

From time to time, you will have opportunities to work on topics across the wider directorate portfolio, including retail issues.

Our competitive flexible benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifecycle. 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 workingwhich 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, should they meet the minimum criteria for a role.

A degree in economics (or related discipline) with relevant professional experience

Knowledge of wholesale markets and/or financial stability gained through professional experience or academic studies. With proven experience of providing high-quality economic and/or analytical advice in relation to wholesale markets and/or financial stability

Proven analytical and quantitative skills to conduct analysis on financial markets 

Essential

Experience in delivering projects, including identifying and analysing different sources of information

Ability to apply economic/analytical principles to issues you are not familiar with

Applied experience in at least one of the following, and knowledge of the others: use of large datasets, econometrics, statistics, and data science techniques

Experience in communicating and explaining complex issues with clarity, simplicity and precision to both specialist and non-specialist audiences

Ability to produce and deliver briefing and strategic advice to senior staff 

Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with internal and external stakeholders, developing and maintaining working relationships

Ability to work to tight deadlines under pressure, handling uncertainty and adapting rapidly to new pressures

About the FCA

The FCA regulates the conduct of 50,000 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.

We particularly welcome applications from women, disabled, and minority ethnic candidates, as under-represented groups.

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

Applications for this role close at midnight on Tuesday 9th July 2024.

This role is graded as Senior Associate – Regulatory.

Got a question?

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

For internal applicants, please contact Melanie Dubock at k

For external applicants, please contact Beth Haydon at k

What to expect from our interview process

The process will involve a technical case study exercise alongside a technical/competency-based interview.

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.