Head of Department: AI & Technology Security Operations

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 AI 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: Be a smarter regulator; predictable, purposeful and proportionate. The FCA will improve its processes and embrace technology to become more efficient and effective. Support sustained economic growth, by enabling investment, innovation and ensuring the continued competitiveness of the UK’s world‑leading financial services. Help consumers navigate their financial lives by working with industry to boost trust, product innovation and ensuring the right information and support is available for people to take financial decisions. Fight financial crime, focusing on those who seek to use the fact they are regulated to do harm. It will go further to disrupt criminals and support firms to be an effective line of defence.

The role

We have an exciting opportunity for a permanent Head of AI & Technology Security Operations. This role is designed for an experienced manager, senior technical specialist, or existing Head of Department with proven experience of leading teams and operating at scale in a rapidly evolving digital and AI‑driven operating environment. The successful candidate will strengthen their strategic and operational leadership while overseeing high‑tempo, service‑critical digital and AI operations. The Head of AI & Technology Security Operations is accountable for ensuring that the FCA’s technology estate — including rapidly expanding AI capabilities — is robust, secure, and able to withstand, detect, and recover from disruption, failure, or exploitation. The role brings together operational resilience, infrastructure governance, supplier oversight, and enterprise technology and AI‑specific vulnerability management, ensuring that both traditional infrastructure and AI‑enabled systems are designed, operated, and governed to remain safe, dependable, and trustworthy under stress. Working in close collaboration with C&IR (Cyber and Information Resilience), this HoD plays a critical leadership role in implementing and managing the technology controls needed to anticipate and mitigate AI‑driven risks, including model vulnerabilities, upstream dependency risks, data poisoning, adversarial attacks, and control failures arising from increased autonomy and scale. This role will be responsible for leading, motivating and directing the department (~70FTE) across London, Leeds, & Edinburgh; and managing the FCA’s critical Digital and AI systems, including AI live service, Service Desk, Incident Management, Cyber Security Operations and Supplier Management. This is a fantastic development opportunity which will help to build expertise, experience and career skills in a senior, challenging and highly visible role. The role will be reporting to the Chief Information Officer, and sit in the wider Data, Technology, and Innovation Division.

What will the candidate get from the role? As Head of AI & Technology Security Operations, you will join the DTI senior leadership team at a pivotal moment in the FCA’s evolution, supporting its ambition to become a forward‑thinking, AI‑enabled and data‑driven regulator. You will lead a skilled multidisciplinary department, working across high‑impact digital and AI initiatives to strengthen technology and AI risk management, improve resilience and enable the safe adoption of emerging technologies. Collaborating closely with Cyber & Information Resilience, DTI leadership, product teams and front‑line divisions, you will play a key role in driving meaningful change and reinforcing the FCA’s reputation as a trusted, innovative regulator.

Key responsibilities

• Leading the development and operation of the FCA’s AI vulnerability and threat management capability, identifying and mitigating risks linked to AI model weaknesses, adversarial threats, automation and agentic AI systems.
• Establishing clear frameworks and controls for the safe deployment of AI, including human oversight, monitoring, explainability, version control, containment and safe shutdown mechanisms.
• Maintaining effective AI governance, including ownership, inventory management, risk classification and oversight of AI‑enabled services across the organisation.
• Acting as accountable owner for technology and AI risk, including control design, testing, assurance activity and risk acceptance decisions.
• Providing clear, metrics‑led reporting to senior committees and Board‑level forums on risk posture, emerging threats, control effectiveness and material gaps.
• Overseeing critical third‑party and AI supply chain dependencies, including cloud platforms, AI model providers, managed services and data sources.
• Ensuring supplier, concentration and substitution risks are understood, monitored and managed effectively.
• Owning technology continuity strategies across data, digital and AI services, ensuring critical services can withstand disruption, degrade safely and recover effectively.
• Overseeing scenario testing, failover design, recovery validation and core service operations, including incident, problem and change management.
• Leading and developing multidisciplinary teams across technology risk, AI operations, supplier management, continuity and live service operations.
• Building strong capability, clear accountability and a culture where secure, resilient and dependable systems are a shared responsibility.
• Representing the FCA externally with government, regulators, industry bodies and standards organisations on technology, AI and operational resilience.
• Managing team budget, headcount, resources and IT supplier spend of approximately £80m.
• Championing innovation, continuous improvement and the safe adoption of emerging technologies to strengthen resilience, efficiency and value for money.

This is a high‑profile leadership role with enterprise‑scale accountability, operating at the intersection of AI, cyber, technology, supplier and operational risk, with a direct contribution to the FCA’s regulatory credibility and public trust.

Skills / Experience required

• 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. (To learn more about the Disability Confident Scheme Click Here)
• Minimum Hands on experience, however recent, with AI or agentic AI technologies.
• Familiarity with UK regulatory frameworks relating to operational resilience, critical third parties, cyber resilience, and AI governance.
• Experience within financial services, government, regulatory, or other highly regulated environments.
• Essential Strong stakeholder management, capable of engaging with and developing strong trusting relationships with stakeholders from across a business organisation and at senior levels, as well as third parties.
• Evidenceof managing supplier relationships across a complex supplier and contract environment.
• KnowledgeofNISTAIRMF, ISO42001, ISO27001, DORA, or similar frameworks.
• An ability to manage and control risk, embed good practice, and drive change where necessary.
• In‑depth working knowledge of multiple domains, including Engineering, DevOps, AI, Cyber Security and Cloud technology platforms.
• Experience of driving change and process efficiency/improvements, delivering value for money and innovation.
• Ability to inclusively lead a large group of talented individuals with a wide variety of professional expertise, experience, and backgrounds.

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.

Application support

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.

Benefits

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:

• 30 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
• Private healthcare with Bupa
• A non‑contributory Pension of at least 8% of basic salary each month (there are several contribution levels that increase depending on your age- up to 12% a month once you reach age 35)
• Life assurance of eight times your basic salary
• Income protection

Conflicts of interest

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.

Useful information

The closing date for this role is 23:55 on Sunday 4th October. Selection will be via a two‑stage interview and psychometric assessment. If successful, you will be required to obtain and retain SC Clearance. We currently operate a hybrid working model, working a minimum of 40% in the office each month (50% for senior leaders). This way of working applies in our Stratford, Leeds and Edinburgh offices. From September 2026, FCA employees will be required to spend a minimum of 50% of their working time in the office. Our Executive Director and Directors will be expected to be in a minimum of 60% per month. The salary range for the role is London - £140,000 - £190,000 and National - £126,000 - £171,000.

About the FCA

At the FCA, we’re creating a fair and more resilient financial system. We’re establishing more transparent relationships between financial services and their customers, building trust in financial markets and protecting vulnerable consumers. Click here to learn more about the FCA.

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