Senior Associate – Market Research Manager

Job Title:

Senior Associate – Market Research Manager 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 be based on skills and experience) This role is graded as:
Senior Associate – Regulatory  Your recruitment contact is:
Louis Van den Burg via   Your External Recruitment contact is:
Tahir Kahn via  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. The 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 35,500 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 consumers’ 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 manages a smaller amount of firm research, including research about the perceptions firms and other stakeholders have of the FCA and how firms experience regulation.
Role responsibilities The role will be around 50% on FLS, and around 50% 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 ensure FLS is delivered to time and budget through excellent timetabling, coordinating dependencies across work streams and suppliers, resource allocation, progress monitoring, supplier management and stakeholder engagement.

This will include working with the team to manage responses to the many queries we receive for FLS analysis in FCA papers and publications. It will also include managing the MI (management information) we collect on the types of queries we receive and from which parts of the business. You will also manage 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 re agreeing 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 – this will be renewed in 2028, and you will have a substantial 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 itself (eg design, analysis and reporting), subject to your availability and interests.  You will also support stakeholder engagement and communications planning to maximise the…