Supervision, Policy & Competition Graduate Programme 2022

At the FCA, we help to protect financial consumers and make markets work well by regulating the conduct of over 59,000 businesses. Our ambition is to become a more innovative, more assertive and more adaptive regulator; one that fully capitalises on data and technology, ensures consumer protection and market integrity, and responds well to the challenges we face. We’re looking for bright, enthusiastic and values driven graduates to join our diverse and highly capable teams across the FCA.  

About the Programme

Bring your passion for problem solving and strategic thinking into the constantly evolving world of financial regulation. 

Supervision, Policy & Competition (SPC) oversees every business providing financial products and services in the UK. The work of SPC is vital in protecting customers and the integrity of the market by ensuring firms work ethically and to the highest standards.

SPC is led by Sheldon Mills Executive Director for Consumer and Competition and Sarah Pritchard Executive Director for Markets. SPC is the largest division within the FCA and is responsible for:

• Monitoring the sectors by reviewing and assessing business models, providing guidance and planning future changes
• Delivering and integrating effective Policy insights into our competition and supervisory work -  this helps to ensure markets function well and better enables us to identify and avoid consumer harm
• Engaging with firms to ensure interests of consumers and integrity of markets is at the heart of their business
• Exploring and analysing identified risks within firms through firm-specific and cross-firm work 
• Supporting diversity and inclusion across the industry
• Ensuring firms behave appropriately when detriment arises
• Prudential supervision of all firms not regulated by the PRA
• Working with trade bodies, advisers and other third parties to help identify and communicate trends, and gauge the horizon of risks in the market

There are two routes within our SPC Graduate Programme; Generalist and Specialist:

Generalist – here you’ll have the opportunity to move around and develop a breadth of skills and experiences to help you progress your career. You’ll complete rotations across several of our SPC sub-divisions, which include:

• Central Support
• Competition and Economics
• Consumer Investments
• Consumer and Retail Policy
• Insurance and Conduct Specialists
• Markets and Wholesale Policy Supervision
• Retail Banking and Payments
• Retail Lending

Specialist – In our Specialist sub-division, you could see yourself working in either Cyber Resilience, Financial Resilience and Insolvency and Operational Resilience or Financial Crime and Controls. You’ll support the wider function of the FCA, work with firms across all sectors and develop a unique specialism within an area such as financial crime, cyber, safeguarding client assets, resolution or operational and financial resilience. You’ll provide direction and support to front-line supervisors, helping to reduce consumer harm. You’ll also go on an internal secondment to learn how other areas of the FCA operate.

Learning & Development

As a graduate in Supervision, Policy & Competition, you’ll complete the training pathway through our training Academy, which will equip you with all the skills you need. You could also undertake a professional qualification such as a Cyber degree, CFA, ACCA or a diploma in Financial Crime.

What we look for

Our staff have diverse backgrounds, and while no specific degree stands out as being essential for the Generalist stream, it would however be beneficial to have a degree in a quantitative subject. The Specialist stream is aimed at those with a STEM or Economics background. You’ll learn a lot on the job, so we don’t expect you to have a detailed regulatory knowledge, however, you should have an interest in governance. You’ll also need to be strategically minded, great at building strong relationships at all levels and be able to influence and persuade.  

What we offer

We’re committed to making the FCA a great place to work. We do this by:

• providing a rewarding environment, recognising that our people are motivated by meaningful work
• maintaining a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, allowing people to develop and progress without barriers
• looking after the well-being of our people, ensuring that they are safe and well and appropriately cared for
• promoting an environment in which people are valued and respected

Beyond this, we offer all our graduates a competitive range of benefits, including: 

• Base salary of £34,000  
• Flexible working options
• Private health care
• Career and family leave 
• Non-contributory pension
• Charity and volunteering initiatives 
• Minimum of 25 days’ holiday 
• Sports and social clubs 
• Subsidised on-site fitness centre (London only) 
• Free eye tests 
• Subsidised restaurant 
• Interest-free season ticket loans.  

Please note

• We only accept ONE application per person for our 2022 programmes, therefore, please apply to your first-choice programme. Any additional applications will not be progressed.
• For the 2022 Supervision, Policy & Competition Graduate Programme, submit your online application by Friday 17 December 2021. However, we recruit on a rolling basis and therefore encourage early applications.
• Applicants must have obtained or be on track to achieve a minimum 2:1 degree from any university.
• Applicants for the 2022 graduate programmes must have graduated or be in their final year of study.