About The Role

Job Title: Senior Associate – Market Research M anager

Division : Supervision , Policy and Competition

Directorate: Cross Cutting Policy & Strategy
Department : Cross-Cutting Response, Research & Contracts

Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £53,800 to £67,199 and London £59,200 to £73,799 per annum (Salary offered will b e based on skills and experience)
This role is graded as: Senior Associate – Regulatory
Your recruitment contact is: Louis Van den Burg via Louis.vandenburg@fca.org.uk
Your External Recruitment contact is : Tahir Kahn via Tahir.Khan1@fca.org.uk
Application must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via social media or email will not be accepted.
You will need a CV and a supporting statement no longer than 500 words . T he supporting statement is mandatory . Applications without a covering letter may not be accepted .
We are also advertising for a Research Specialist ( JR0022287 ). You can apply for both roles through one application . Please indicate in your supporting statement if you are interested in, and why you are suitable for, both roles .

About the FCA and the team

The FCA regulates the conduct of c 3 5 , 5 00 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. Follow this link to find out more About the FCA .

The FCA’s Market Research team provides vital consumer insights that support regulatory decisions. They deliver the Financial Lives survey (FLS) – a key, nationally representative study tracking UK consumer s’ attitudes, behaviours and financial experiences.

The team also conducts bespoke surveys and qualitative research for other areas of the FCA, collaborates with third-party data providers and ensures consumer insights are embedded across the organisation.

Their work informs policy, identifies emerging issues and measures regulatory impact – helping to keep the consumer voice central to financial oversight.

The team also ma nages a smaller amount of firm research, inc ludin g res earch about the perce ptions firm s an d ot her sta kehol der s have of the FCA and how fir ms exper ience r egu latio n .

Role r esponsibilities

The role will be around 50 % on FLS, and around 5 0 % on bespoke research , focused on research management . You will work closely with the team leads (Lead Associates) for FLS and for Bespoke research.
You will e nsur e FLS is delivered to time and budget through excellent timetabling , coordinating dependencies across workstreams and suppliers , resource allocation, progress monitoring , supplier manage ment and stakeholder engagement . This will include w orking wi th the t eam t o man age respon ses to the many queries we receive for FLS analysis in FCA papers and publications . It will al so inclu de mana ging the MI ( ma nagemen t informa tion ) we col lect on the types of queries we rec e ive and from w hich p art s of the b usiness . Yo u will also manag e the internal governance processes to sign off FLS publications .
Contracts are in place with 4 agencies for FLS up till wave 7 ending in 2031. You will manage the FLS budget spreadsheet, liaise with suppliers monthly to agree invoice amounts and produce a monthly summary for Finance. You will also produce forecasts as required by Finance .
FLS runs on a 2 year cycle, meaning that every 2 years you will manage the process of reagreeing scope and costs with suppliers for the upcoming wave. Within each 2-year wave, you will manage contract variations, as needed .
You will also provide project management support for the procurement and delivery of bespoke market research projects , through excellent timetabling, resource allocation, progress monitoring, supplier management and stakeholder engagement . An important task will be to help build and maintain the pipeline of work coming into the team . We have a Market Research Framework in place, to source suppliers – th is will be renewed in 2028, and you will have a sub stant ial role in planning this renewal from around mid 2027 .
There is an option for you to run smaller bespoke projects, ie working on the research it self ( eg design , analysis and r eporting) , s ubject to your availability and interests .
You will also support stakeholder engagement and communications planning to maximise the value of all the Market Research Team’s outputs , helping to ensur e they are embedded in publications, speeches, policy development, supervision work and strategic decision-making.
Finally, you will c ontribute to w ider team management , including recruitment coordination, man a ging the agendas for team meetings and heredays , updating FCA systems about the data we hold and any risks we own, and continuous improvement of Market Research Team processes and record-keeping .

Skills Required

Minimum

Prior experience managing market research projects within a market research agency , regulator or government department , including devising and overseeing workstreams and detailed timelines as well as overseeing suppliers .
Strong organisational skills, with the ability to work autonomously and del iver on your ow n ini tiati ve , to manage competing priorities, to work collaboratively to ac hieve wider tea m goals , and to keep delivery on track.
High attention to detail, with the ability to implement and maintain processes that ensure the quality and rigour of the team’s work .

Essential

Good knowledge of a broad range of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies , with e xperience in survey design, questionnaire development, and analysis and reporting. With these skills, you will be able to help the team create and keep to workable projects and project timelines .
Ability to manage complex timelines and capacity plans ( eg using Gantt charts and Excel) , adapting delivery to changing priorities, resource constraints and competing demands .
Excellent team-working skills to support the team and help them to manage their own resource and priorities .
Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to engage senior colleagues, subject matter experts, operational teams and suppliers .
Experience of managing research budgets , with a high level of ability in Excel for this .
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
Non-contributory pension (8–12% depending on age) and life assurance at eight times your salary
Private healthcare with Bupa, income protection, and 24/7 Employee Assistance
35 hours of paid volunteering annually
Hybrid model where employees currently work a minimum of 5 0% in the office each month
A flexible benefits scheme designed around your lifestyle

For a full list of our benefits, and our recruitment process as a whole visit our benefits page .

Our values and culture

Our colleagues are the key to our success as a regulator. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture: one that’s free from discrimination and bias, celebrates difference, and supports colleagues to deliver at their best. 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.

If you require any adjustments due to a disability or condition, your recruiter is here to help - reach out for tailored support.

We welcome diverse working styles and aim to find flexible solutions that suit both the role and individual needs, including options like part-time and job sharing where applicable.

Disability confident: our hiring approach

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer , and therefore, people or individuals with disabilities and long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. In cases of high application volumes , we may progress applicants whose experience most closely matches the role’s key requirements.

Useful Information and Timeline

Advert Closing Date: Tuesday 8 th September 2026 at 23:59
CV Review/Shortlist: Wednesday 9 th – Friday 11 th September 2026
Short liste d Can di dates to be in form ed – Friday 11 th S eptemb er 2026
First Round Interviews , o ver Tea ms : Monday 21 st September – Thursday 1 st October 2026
Second R ound shortlist: Thursday 1 st October 2026
Shortlisted Candidates to be informed – Fr iday 2 nd Oc t obe r 2026
Second Round Interviews , in person id eally , and including a case study task : Thursday 15 t h October and Friday 16 th October 2026

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.