Senior Associate in Wholesale Crypto Policy team

JR0017738 - Senior Associate in Wholesale Crypto Policy team

Senior Associate – Wholesale Crypto Policy

Division: Supervision, Policy and Competition (SPC) - Markets -

Department: Infrastructure & Exchanges -

Salary: London up to £73,000 per annum and national (Edinburgh and Leeds) up to £65,000. (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.

Division/Dept info

You will join a dedicated team of policy professionals who are focused on shaping creative and evidence-based policy solutions that benefit consumers, markets and competition. We work collaboratively to solve problems and flexibly to delivery market integrity. We are committed to sharing our knowledge and encouraging new ideas.

As financial markets in crypto and digital assets develop and mature, entering the comprehensively regulated world of wholesale markets, regulators also need to innovate and adapt our regulatory frameworks to deal with new and evolving opportunities and challenges. We are therefore in the process of designing a more comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto to help shape the future of this diverse, fast-paced, and ever-changing sector.

The Capital Markets Department within the Supervision, Policy and Competition Division at the FCA is at the forefront of developing policy solutions in the wholesale markets, considering new policy tools within the evolving UK legal and regulatory framework and working with international partners to meet the FCA’s core objective of market integrity promoting competition and positive change.

What will you be doing?

We are looking to fill a Senior Associate role in the Wholesale Cryptoassets Policy team. The core areas the team focuses on are: developing the regulatory framework for cryptoasset exchanges and intermediaries; developing a market abuse regime suited to cryptoassets; considering appropriate disclosure standards for cryptoassets; and developing policies regarding trading, execution and settlement.

In contributing to this work, you will have opportunity to:

• Draft and present policy proposals to FCA Senior Management and deliver public consultation of proposals.
• Work with others across the FCA to harness expertise and knowledge from other departments, including those working in retail crypto policy as well as those in Legal, Enforcement and Market Oversight and Wholesale Supervision.
• Apply creativity and innovation to help develop policy solutions for the challenges created by the introduction of new actors and products in the wholesale markets.
• Gather the necessary intelligence and information to ground our understanding of the risks, the opportunities and the relevant context.
• Help create and communicate a vision for a long-term outcome for regulating the UK wholesale cryptoasset market.
• Help manage relationships with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders in this field.

There are three roles to fill across the team. Some potential to deploy to different workstream(s) within the team if necessary.

What will you get from the role?

This role is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of policy in the FCA in a new and evolving area of policy. The role is best suited to those who are interested in working in a fast-paced, flexible environment.

As part of this role, you will have the opportunity to:

• Develop an understanding of the crypto market and how it functions
• Get significant exposure to UK capital markets, working closely with a wide array of stakeholders, include market participants and other regulatory and government bodies
• Help develop thinking on how the UK’s wholesale digital assets markets should look and function in the long term
• Gain exposure to FCA Senior Management, with periodic discussions at both ERPC and the FCA Board

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

• Strong drafting skills, including the ability to:
  • Distil complex issues into succinct messages;
  • Structure and draft reports clearly and to a high standard; and
  • Write presentations for a variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Experience in applying analytical skills to break down complex problems and judgement (whether gained in industry, research, economics, or policy work) to develop and assess potential solutions.
• Knowledge and experience of working in a regulatory/public policy role related to financial markets, or
• A proven working understanding and/or application of financial services regulation to financial market activities
• Strong communication and presentation skills

Essential

• A collaborative approach and ability to think creatively about new and emerging regulatory issues.

• Experience of stakeholder management and influencing effectively.
• Good self-management and project management skills to plan and drive forward work to meet deadlines, while also having the flexibility to change priorities when required.
• A basic understanding of wholesale financial markets business models and/or wholesale cryptoassets markets would also be helpful.

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 role.

Benefits of working at the FCA

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 (amend based on grade) 
• Hybrid working (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 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
• Advert Closing Date: 13.04.25
• First Round Case Study Assessment: during the week after closing
• Competency Based Interview: 1-2 weeks after the case study

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 internal & external applicants, please contact Declan Sassman at [email protected]

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