Personal Assistant (PA) to Head of Department in Authorisations (12-month FTC)

Leeds, England, United Kingdom

1/2/2025

Division - Authorisations

Department – Approved Persons & Mutuals

Salary - National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £28,800 to £43,100 and London £31,600 to £47,400 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 looking for an experienced PA to support and represent the Head of Department of our Approved Persons & Mutuals (APM) Department in Authorisations.

APM is responsible for the assessment and approval of Non-executives and Senior Executives in Financial Services firms. We are committed to delivering improvements in the FCA’s approach to assessing senior individuals and the overall governance of firms. Separately we are the registering authority for mutual societies with responsibility for assessment and registration of co-operative societies, community benefit societies, credit unions, building societies and friendly societies.

Working together with the other PAs in the division, you will have the chance to be involved in and see decision making at SLT level, as well as being part of the management team.

What will you be doing?

The role holder will be an integral part of the departmental management team and therefore must be prepared to be involved in, and contribute to, discussions on the wide range of topics important in leading this function.

Being proactive is essential, alongside an adaptable approach to influencing the rest of the management team, and remaining available to respond to questions from around the department. This is a fast moving and ever-changing environment and you must therefore be comfortable with regular change and able to adapt with it. The successful candidate will need to demonstrate strong interpersonal skills as the ‘entry point’ to the department, be highly organised and be able to work to tight deadlines.

Dedicating 50% of your time to provide a professional service to the HoD, including –

• Assembling and disseminating information on his behalf and progressing actions as appropriate;
• Inbox and diary management;
• Meeting papers – managing meeting papers for the HoD including requesting papers in good time, coordinating department and other briefings;
• Acting as a point of contact for the HoD, including liaison with senior management and external stakeholders;
• Investigating issues and resolving queries (escalating/advising HoD as appropriate) and ensuring full communication with contacts/Division as relevant;
  
  

Dedicating 50% of your time to adding value and ensuring the smooth running of the department, including -

• Managers meetings and coordinating departmental communications and any other ad hoc papers or presentations;
• Organising department events, including liaising with internal conferencing as appropriate;
• Working closing with the departmental Engagement Team to ensure an effective contribution to the wellbeing of colleagues;
• Working closely with and providing support where required to the wider Authorisations PA/administrator team
  
  

What will you get from the role?

You will have the opportunity to work closely with senior stakeholders throughout Authorisations and the FCA. This is a great opportunity for you to apply your experience as Personal Assistant to the Head of APM.

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

• Prior experience working in a Personal Assistant capacity with administrative and strong organisational experience;
• Prior experience of establishing, developing and maintaining effective relationships with senior stakeholders;
• Prior experience using Microsoft Outlook, MS Teams, Excel, Word and PowerPoint
  
  

Essential

• Ability to work calmly under pressure to tight deadlines and to juggle competing priorities;
• Ability and confidence to make timely decisions based on relevant analysis in absence of the HoD where appropriate;
• Ability to work proactively and autonomously;
• Ability to influence a range of internal and external stakeholders;
• Team player with the ability to work on own initiative;
• Highly diligent and attentive to detail;
• Trustworthy and conscientious;
• Commitment to improve processes and share good practice; and
• The role requires you to have access to sensitive and confidential information. Maintaining security and confidentiality of information is of paramount importance in this role
  
  

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 men, minority ethnic, disabled, and neurodivergent candidates for our Senior Professional Support role.

Benefits Of Working At The FCA

• 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 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 Corporate Senior Professional Support
• This role will be offered as a 12-month Secondment or a Fixed Term Contract
• Advert Closing Date: Thursday 16 January 2025 (midnight)
• Competency Based Interview: w/c 3rd February 2025
  
  

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 candidates: please speak to Jen Wishart on jennifer.wishart@fca.org.uk

For external applicants, please contact Aaron Ward on Aaron.Ward@fca.org.uk.

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