The Bank of England is the UK\'s central bank. Our mission is to deliver monetary and financial stability for the British people.

The Bank of England is a diverse organisation. Each of its 4,000 plus people are committed to public service and dedicated to promoting the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.

The Notes Directorate fulfils the Bank\'s obligations as the sole issuer of banknotes in England and Wales. With staff across Head Office, Debden and Leeds, we rely on expertise in fields as diverse as economic and quantitative modelling, risk analysis, operations and science. In fulfilling this important and highly visible public role, in maintaining confidence in the currency, it is important that we ensure:

• The right note - the public has access to genuine, high-quality banknotes of a range of denominations
• The right place - a well-run cash industry exists to supply banknotes cost effectively across the country
• The right time - the Note Circulation Scheme ensures peaks in public banknote demand e.g. Christmas are met consistently

In addition to our role in relation to Bank of England notes, Notes Directorate fulfils the Bank\'s statutory responsibility to ensure public confidence in banknotes issued by Scottish and Northern Ireland banks.
 

Department Overview

The Banknotes Operations team consists of seven key functions which supports the Notes Directorates key objectives of having the right notes at the right place and right time and enables threat assessment in support of the Bank’s anti-counterfeiting strategy.

 

• New note receipt & distribution
• Returned note sampling & destruction
• Mutilated Note claims
• Counterfeit Analysis
• Quality Assurance
• Machine Testing Framework
• Expert witness supporting law enforcement activities

Job description

 

We have multiple team member positions available.  Initially all on twelve month fixed-term contracts. However, there is the potential for either a contract extension or transfer to the permanent staff. 

 

There are currently 32 staff working within the operation handling and processing hundreds of millions of banknotes each year. The objective of the J role is to process and handle banknotes and counterfeits, ensuring that the proscribed operational controls are applied and maintained throughout with a specific focus on accuracy, safe, secure and efficient handling. They are encouraged to gain skills to multi task across a range of tasks as the workload demands incorporating Vault Operations, Banknote and Counterfeit inspection and analysis and to support the Machine Testing Framework.

 

As this is an operational, on-site role, working from home and flexible hours cannot be regularly supported.

 

Role requirements – as required and according to knowledge/experience

• Undertaking used note processing.
• Handling, examining and processing mutilated notes claims.
• Carrying out inspection and analysis of Bank of England counterfeit notes and processing any genuine notes found and recording data onto the Notes IT System.
• Analysis of new note lots, inspecting notes and testing they meet the specification using a variety of visual inspection, scientific instrument measurement and automatic machine testing. Making decisions on whether the notes pass or fail using set criteria and recording and reporting such information.
• Vault housekeeping, including the physical movement of banknotes and counterfeits, stocktakes and integrity checks.
• Undertaking high value note delivery and collections.
• Undertaking financial transactions in the Notes IT system ensuring accurate and timely data entry.
• Working in the Machine Testing framework facility.  Testing machines with Bank of England and Scottish & Northern Ireland banknotes and hosting external visitors, being knowledgeable about genuine and counterfeit notes and able to answer basic technical queries. Understand the forward planning process and carry out the reminder and booking in process as directed by the Team Leader.
• Supporting the receipt and dispatch of documents relating to expert witness statements.
• Reconciliation and input of transaction details into the Notes IT system.
• Undertaking destruction duties.
• Collaborating closely with internal and external stakeholders such as Note Circulation Scheme members, retailers, banks and building societies, the National Crime Agency and the police to answer/query or support submissions.
• Dealing directly with public enquiries in relation to Counterfeits and Mutilated Note submissions.

Core Knowledge, Experience, Skills and Competencies

• Excellent attention to detail and ability to make consistent judgements around an agreed set of criteria relating to the quality and authenticity of a banknote, including badly damaged/mutilated notes.
• Ability to build knowledge of counterfeit notes and analyse by type, detecting changes in counterfeits notes construction and to report this.
• Ability to operate specialist equipment (training provided) and support/maintain the inventory of machines. Use scientific equipment to collect images of genuine and counterfeit notes for technical reports. Operate a forklift/mover under licence (full training is provided).
• Acting in accordance with the requirements of a secure area, following vault access procedures.
• Communicate professionally with internal and external parties including the public, by email or by phone.
• Adherence to H&S policies to ensure that all relevant guidelines are being followed, including regular checking of all the machinery.
• IT literate and willingness to learn new systems.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Ability to convey information clearly and in a timely fashion.
• Ability to manage own time to meet key performance indicators.
• Confidence to respond to day to day problems by following defined procedures and tasks, calling out issues if required.
• Actively look for improvements to make processes more efficient and minimise risk.
• Understand data/information sensitivities and act accordingly.
• Ability to pass on knowledge through mentoring, teaching and qualifying colleagues in processes.

 

The Bank values diversity and inclusion – we want to reflect the society we serve better, we want the best people to work for us and we want our workplace to be inclusive.  We value all forms of diversity, including but not limited to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion and sexual orientation. 

We are fully committed to having a diverse and inclusive working environment, and are open to considering how the role might be carried out with flexible working. As this is an operational, on-site role, working from home and flexible hours cannot be regularly supported.

We are also committed to making adjustments for candidates and employees where possible, and have partnered with external expert organisations to support us in this.  We are a member of the Disability Confident scheme, and people who wish to apply under this scheme should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.

We anonymise applications so hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information when reviewing your submission, including your CV. Please fully complete the application form questions as requested, as any incomplete submissions may not be reviewed.

The Bank of England is a distinctive institution and our rewards are one of the things that set us apart. As well as enjoying a competitive salary you will work in a collaborative, inclusive environment, with a subsidised restaurant, flexible working opportunities and plenty of wellbeing initiatives.  

This specific role offers a base salary of £20,900 per annum, along with our comprehensive benefits package as follows:

•    A non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/95th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/50th) or decrease (to 1/120th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year.
•    A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
•    A 7% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
•    25 days annual leave with option to buy up to 13 additional days through flexible benefits.
•    Private medical insurance and income protection.