Head of Capital Markets Department
At the FCA, we’re creating a fair and more resilient financial system. We’re establishing more transparent relationships between financial services and customers, building trust in financial markets and protecting vulnerable consumers.
We’re currently on an exciting journey as we drive forward significant organisational, people, process, and technology transformation to become a more forward-thinking, proactive regulator. We will use data more effectively to drive better regulatory decisions and build greater cohesion across our broad financial services remit.
Significant improvements in digital enablement, business intelligence, market data and information management maturity are all being pursued to maintain our position as a world leader in financial services regulation.
In March 2025, the FCA launched a new 5-year strategy to deepen trust, rebalance risk, support growth and improve lives. The FCA will focus on four priorities:
An exciting opportunity has arisen to take on the role of Head of Department for Capital Markets in SPC.
The Capital Markets Department plays a pivotal role at the heart of the UK’s wholesale financial markets. The department is part of the Infrastructure & Exchanges Directorate within the wholesale markets area of Supervision, Policy and Competition (SPC). In broad terms our role is to set rules that govern how financial markets operate and also to supervise firms that are active in those markets. Specifically, the Capital Markets department is responsible for supervision of benchmark administrators and credit rating agencies; and policy in respect of primary markets, post-trade arrangements, market abuse, short selling, wholesale crypto, benchmarks and credit ratings.
The Department is playing a central role in delivering the FCA’s strategic priorities, particularly to support economic growth and be a smarter regulator. The UK occupies a pivotal position in global financial markets, being the second biggest global financial hub and first in the world for international debt issuance and foreign exchange trading. As part of our work to strengthen UK markets, we have been delivering an exciting programme of capital markets reforms, including the biggest listing rule changes for decades, major shifts in prospectus rules and a new public offer regime. This high-priority work to enhance UK capital markets will continue into the FCA’s new Strategy, as it plays a key role in supporting innovation and growth.
The opportunity has arisen to work as the Head of Capital Markets. Critical aspects of this important role are to: assess how to continue building UK capital markets’ capability; find the right balance between risk and growth; and how to grow digital capabilities. This will require UK capital market expertise and strong leadership skills as we build out our teams and capabilities.
The Head of Department will also work collaboratively across the FCA and engage closely with other regulatory agencies and with a broad range of stakeholders across industry.
This is a unique opportunity to feed directly into the FCA’s strategic priority to strengthen
UK wholesale markets and support innovation and economic growth at a critical time.
What will the candidate get from the role?
The FCA’s Values & Diversity
Our ambition is to create a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the society we serve, helping us to be a better regulator. We serve the public and our decisions directly affect the wellbeing of people, businesses and the UK economy. So, our values matter. They represent the culture we aspire to every day, guiding our judgements, building trust and helping us to be ‘At our best’.
The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of our organisation. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, disabled, and minority ethnic candidates, as under-represented groups.
As an inclusive employer, we are open to considering flexible working arrangements, including job shares. Please inform your recruiter if you wish to apply for this role on a flexible basis.
As part of the FCA’s on-going commitment to develop our national presence, most of our vacancies are now open to working in our Edinburgh, Leeds or London offices. This means that as part of the application process you will be able to select your preference of which office location you would like to work from.
We want to remove any possible barriers and are committed to providing a wide range of reasonable adjustments so that you can keep the focus on your conversations and be at your best.
If you have an accessibility requirement, disability, or condition that means you might require changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter to discuss this further. Our aim is to make you application as easy as possible, and your recruiter will be happy to work with you to make any necessary arrangements where possible.
Our competitive benefits scheme gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifecycle. You can this this allowance to purchase additional benefits such as dental or cycle to work, or you have the option to top up your base salary by taking this as cash.
Core benefits that you will receive as standard are:
All applicants to the FCA are required to demonstrate that they do not have other interests likely to conflict with their responsibilities as an employee of the FCA. You should declare any potential conflict of interest as early as possible in the selection process, and also disclose information or personal connections that, if appointed, might be open to misperception.
Any potential conflicts of interest will not prevent candidates going forward to interview but may, if appropriate, be explored during the interview to establish how the candidate would address the issue(s) should they be successful in their application.
