FOS operations director quits; £140k replacement sought

The head of operations at the Financial Ombudsman Service has left amid concerns of high staff turnover at the organisation, which is now seeking a replacement for the £140,000 a year role.

Simon Rouse joined the FOS last August following the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal to ensure the service handled its increased caseload "effectively from start to finish", and to lead its strategy to "deliver the highest level of customer service".

There is speculation Rouse has headed back to Barclays, where he was previously head of strategy and performance management for business banking, and national performance director for the UK branch network.

The FOS has published a job advert for his replacement, which promises a salary of "up to £140k".

It goes on to say: "Some problems can't just be solved using logical thinking. It also takes creativity - the ability to break out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.

"As operations director at the FOS you'll be presented with these kinds of problems every day. If you think you have what it takes to solves them, get in touch with us."

Rouse's departure comes amid concern among the FOS board about high staff turnover. Minutes from a meeting in July show the board asked if the service knew the cause of the increased turnover rate.

The HR director told the board that staff reasons for leaving included better opportunities and salaries elsewhere.

She also said the higher turnover levels should be seen against the fact that "the quality of the most recent intakes was particularly high and that new staff went through intensive induction and training on starting".

The financial ombudsman this month defended its hiring and training process after a 25-year-old law graduate with no financial services experience was found to have become an adjudicator after just a month's training.

Recruitment site Ranstad currently list 71 vacancies at the Ombudsman Service, with the majority for adjudicators for PPI and mortgage complaints.

In a statement, an FOS spokesperson said the service was "disappointed to lose" Rouse but not surprised as it reflected the calibre of FOS staff.

"A number of financial services firms have recently been recruiting on the basis of staff that having ombudsman service experience is a pre-requisite, as they recognise the high quality of our staff and the training they receive," the spokesperson said.

Head of operations, Garry Wilkinson, and chief technology officer, Mark Gee, will oversee the operational functions of the organisation until a new operations director is appointed.