Head of Internal Communications, External Affairs

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.

The Role

The Internal Comms, External Affairs and Transparency Department plays a vital role within Communication Directorate helping to engage employees, influence external stakeholders, and provide clear and transparent information to people interested in the FCA’s work.

It’s an exciting time as we’re expanding and changing how we do things to deliver more engaging, insight-led, audience-focused communications.

As part of that change, this is a new Department within Communication Directorate. Together with 2 other Departments. The Directorate’s role is to change opinions and behaviors, helping to build confidence in the FCA and to support our work to enable a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy.

This Department covers the breadth of the FCA’s work and brings together three distinct teams responsible respectively for internal comms, influencing external stakeholders and providing timely and transparent responses to FOIA requests, DSARs and public correspondence.

As Head of Department leading internal comms, this role will help to set the strategic direction on the issues and ways we communicate with colleagues, helping them to understand how they contribute to the FCA and engaging them in a way which motivates them to be the best they can be. This will involve significant engagement with ExCo colleagues and ensuring the successful delivery of FCA wide events such as Townhalls.

Finally the Head of Department will lead the external affairs team, responsible for leading the FCA’s engagement across Whitehall and Westminster as well as across the four nations of the UK and with trade associations and consumer groups.
- Leading largest Department within Comms Directorate with 52 FTE and successfully bringing together 3 distinct teams behind an overarching vision for the Department.
- Management of small departmental budget. Potential need to manage investment project in systems solutions.
- Deputise for Director Communication as required, encourage close team working across the Directorate helping to break down siloes and provide strategic advice to Directors and ExCo members to contribute to the successful delivery of their business objectives.

Key responsibilities:

- Set the strategic direction of the department: promoting professional communications best practice, ensuring audience insight is at the heart of what we do, fostering an evaluation mindset, encouraging creativity and innovation; and championing inclusive teamwork.
- Ensure that the FCA meets its statutory service level agreements on FOIA and DSAR requests and its own published service level agreements on correspondence, working with the team managers to resolve any obstacles to achieving this.
- Guide and support delivery of a first-class internal communication function, including maximizing different channels, providing strategic advice to the Chief Executive and Executive Directors, and working with partners across the FCA to drive an annual improvement in employee survey scores.
- Establish and then sustain an enhanced external affairs function which builds and maintains relationships with influential individuals and organisations for the FCA’s benefit; ensuring that the team delivers purposeful and impactful high-level stakeholder engagement, based on gathered intelligence and evaluation.
- Manage the Department’s headcount, budget and risk in an effective and efficient way; recruiting, building capability, supporting talent and driving high performance with reference to the FCA capability framework.
- Work with the Director Comms and 2 other Heads of Department to lead a happy and productive Communication Directorate which achieves its annual communication plan.
- Contribute to the wider FCA SLT and represent the Communication Directorate on internal committees as necessary to ensure that communication considerations are factored in early to wider work, specifically considering the political landscape, the needs of firms, and FCA colleagues.
- Skills/Experience Required

Minimum
- Significant experience of managing and influencing key stakeholders, including senior decision makers internally