Senior Policy Advisor - Payments Regulation 

Job title: Senior Policy Advisor - Payments Regulation 

Department: PSR Policy 

• Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £53,800 to £67,200 and London from £59,200 to £73,800 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience) 

• This role is graded as: Senior Associate, Regulatory,  

• Your external recruitment contact is Raimonda via [email protected] 

• Your internal recruitment contact is Katie via [email protected] 

• Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via social media or email will not be accepted. 

About the PSR and team

Every time anyone uses a cash machine, transfers money, uses contactless, or gets paid, they use a payment system. Payment systems are always evolving and the PSR is here to make sure they work well for everyone. Follow this link to find out more About The PSR. 

The PSR is an independent economic regulator led by Managing Director, David Geale – who is also FCA Executive Director, Payments and Digital Finance. Operationally the PSR is currently an independent subsidiary of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), however in March 2025 the Prime Minister announced that the PSR would be consolidated into the FCA, a pragmatic next step in simplifying regulation of payments. This transition is likely to complete in 2027 and the Government has been clear that payment systems must continue to be effectively regulated. For the time being, therefore, the PSR continues to focus on delivering its important and impactful programme of work, collaborating closely with the FCA. 

The Policy team drives delivery of our strategy, providing you with an exciting opportunity to work on policy development and analysis, project delivery and stakeholder engagement. In April, we published our Annual plan and budget which sets out in detail our work programme for 2025/26. 

Role responsibilities 

• Coordinate and contribute to the delivery of policy projects and analysis, on your own and as part of a team, including overseeing the work of more junior colleagues 

• Work as part of multi-disciplinary project teams, building relationships with policy, economist, legal and communications colleagues, delivering high-quality work 

• Build relationships between the project team and external stakeholders, which could include firms, government, other regulators and consumer groups, to gather evidence, test policy options and explain our approach 

• Oversee and use robust policy and economic analysis to manage the development of policy 

• Draft briefings and papers to explain complex issues, often within tight timeframes and present policy recommendations to the PSR leadership 

• Be a role model and share your knowledge and best practice with more junior colleagues 

Skills required 

Minimum:  

• Experience of working in a policy or regulatory environment 

• Experience of project delivery – including ability to lead workstreams, plan and work to deadlines and understand risks and opportunities 

Essential:  

• Effective written and oral communication skills, including the ability to distil complex issues into succinct messages and present professionally to a variety of internal and external stakeholders  

• Effective relationship and influencing skills and an ability to work collaboratively at senior levels internally and externally  

• Solid prioritisation skills with the ability to define priorities and provide a quality contribution where it is most needed  

• An ability to identify and exercise judgement in collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team, including economists, lawyers, payment specialists as well as other policy advisors  

• An ability to take into account potentially very different views which may be conflicting, without losing sight of the overall strategic aims and objectives  

• Prior experience developing policy proposals and presenting recommendations to leaderships, ideally as part of a previous role at a regulator 

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 work a minimum of 40% in the office each month (expectation of 50% for senior leaders). Changing from September to a minimum of 50% in the office each month (expectation of 60% for Directors and Executive Directors)  

• 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 timelines  

Timeline:  

• Job advert closes: Midnight, 23rd June 2026  

• CV Review/Shortlist: 25th June 2026  

• Interview: w/c 6th July 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.