2025 Risk & Compliance Graduate Programme

About Us

At the FCA, we help to protect financial consumers and make markets work well by regulating nearly 45,000 firms. 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 graduates to join our diverse and highly capable teams across the FCA.

About the Programme

Programme Length: Two years
Programme Type: Rotational

The Risk and Compliance Oversight Division (R&CO) is the FCA’s second line of defence. We work in partnership with senior management, members of the Board and colleagues across the organisation to ensure the effective management of Own Risks (operational, execution and public confidence risks) to enable the FCA’s management of Risks of Harm which could threaten the achievement of the FCA’s statutory objectives.

We provide the organisation with tools and processes, as well as expertise, advice, and challenge on the effectiveness of risk management across the business. The Division also handles independent investigations and complaints into the FCA’s own conduct. As a colleague in R&CO you have the opportunity to get involved in a variety of second line work, including:

• Enhancing and implementing our Risk Management Framework
• Providing ongoing guidance and oversight of risk management
• Providing assurance
• Reporting the quality and effectiveness of risk management and decision-making to executive and board committees
• Managing Independent Reviews
• Compliance Oversight
• Complaints Investigations

Working in R&CO, you will be an impartial voice in the FCA, providing strong, independent oversight of the organisation’s activities and approach, through challenge and assurance.

The job will give you exposure to a variety of roles performed by the division in tune with the above responsibilities. Within the departments they will discuss with you what you are interested in and the available work that you can lead on/get involved in and find a role that best suits your requirements. This could include:

• Risk Operations where you may work on various aspects of the framework and policies that the business should be following and benchmarking themselves against.
• Risk Advisory where you may get involved in working with different parts of the organisation, challenging them when we think they’re not taking into account the relevant risks.
• In the Independent Investigations, Complaints & Assurance team you may get involved in independent investigations and complaints on behalf of the FCA.

Learning & Development

As a graduate in Risk & Compliance, you’ll complete the training pathway through our training Academy which will equip you with all the technical skills and business understanding you need for a career with us.

What We Look For

We are seeking graduates from any degree discipline. You need to be resilient, analytical and confident in using your judgement in making regulatory decision. You will be curious and able to gather relevant information whilst building relationships across the organisation. An interest in governance and compliance is beneficial.

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 keen 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 £36,000
• adaptable 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 2025 programmes, therefore, please apply to your first-choice programme. Any additional applications will not be progressed.
• Your application and any work you submit throughout the recruitment process must be all your own. You will not allow another person to complete any parts of the assessment nor submit responses provided or generated by an AI assistant or other similar software.
• Applicants must have obtained or be on track to achieve a minimum 2:1 degree from any university.
• Applicants for the 2025 graduate programmes must have graduated or be in their final year of study.
• For the 2025 Risk & Compliance Graduate Programme, submit your online application by Sunday 10th November 2024. However, we recruit on a rolling basis and therefore encourage early applications.