Policy Advisor

Job Title - Policy Advisor - contract until March 2027

Location - London

Salary - £300-350 PAYE per day

About the 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.

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.

In April, we published our Annual plan and budget which sets out in detail our work programme for 2026/27. This role will be within the cards team in PSR Policy supporting the delivery of our two market reviews, alongside broader policy work relating to card payments. This will provide you with an exciting opportunity to work on policy development and analysis, project delivery and stakeholder engagement.

Role responsibilities

• Contribute to the delivery of policy projects and analysis, on your own and as part of a team
• Work as part of multi-disciplinary project teams, building relationships with policy, economics, legal and communications colleagues, to deliver high-quality work
• Support the delivery of significant policy publications and coordinate cross-team inputs to tight deadlines
• Draft briefings and papers to explain complex issues, often within tight timeframes, and present policy recommendations to the PSR leadership
• Support project planning and delivery by maintaining accurate records, document libraries, decision logs, action trackers and key milestone plans

Skills required

Minimum:

• Experience of working in a policy or regulatory environment
• 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

Essential:

• Effective relationship and influencing skills and an ability to work collaboratively internally and externally
• Solid prioritisation skills with the ability to define priorities and provide a quality contribution where it is most needed
• Strong organisational and administrative skills, including maintaining project records and coordinating competing priorities
• Experience developing policy proposals and presenting them, ideally as part of a regulator