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 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 Communications Directorate is responsible for managing and developing the Bank's external and internal communications. We manage the relationships with key stakeholder groups including the Media and Parliament, as well as providing a Public Enquires function. We work with a wide range of colleagues to develop and deliver the Bank's programme of outreach and education, which includes building strategic partnerships with other organisations and running the Bank's Museum.

We also develop and maintain our external website and social media presence and produce the Bank’s flagship publications, including the Inflation Report and Financial Stability Report. In addition we lead on the development of the Bank's strategic plan, helping to ensure it achieves its desired outcomes, monitoring and reporting on delivery of the plan to Executive Director Committee, Court and the wider Bank.

The Communications Directorate is also responsible for meeting the Bank's statutory obligations regarding the Freedom of Information Act, coordinating and responding to requests.

The areas main functions are: Press Office, Parliamentary Affairs, Information Access (including FoI), Public Engagement & Enquiries, Content Creation, Content Production, Outreach and Education and Internal Communications.

The Head of Communications Content and Strategy Division works in unison with the Head of Stakeholder and Media Engagement Division/Chief Press Officer and the Executive Director for Communications to ensure that the Bank’s monetary and financial stability objectives and policies are clearly understood by all external stakeholders. (S)he also ensures that staff are engaged and equipped to deliver the Bank’s mission by initiating, shaping and delivering internal communications.

The Communications Content and Strategy Division currently contains approximately 40 staff with three overarching responsibilities: Internal Communications, Content Creation and Content Production.

Internal Communications is responsible for initiating and delivering communications within the Bank to ensure that staff are engaged with the Bank’s mission and objectives. Content Creation is a mix of content writers, creative designers, motion animators, and engagement & enquiries officers. We lead the creative design and copy of the layered Monetary Policy Report and Financial Stability Report; oversee the production of the Quarterly Bulletin and KnowledgeBank, our highly regarded public understanding explainers; and support our external communications through our Creative Lab. The Content Production area is ‘what we do with the content’: they are responsible for producing, publishing and promoting content to the Bank’s digital channels. The area includes the Web and Front-end team, the Publications team and the Social Media team.

As Head of Division, you will lead in a manner which is human, humble and in step with the changing world, fostering an inclusive, empowering, open and curious environment. You will be responsible for day-to-day leadership of the team and for defining roles and responsibilities. You will develop your team through sharing information effectively, coaching and communicating a clear vision to ensure that staff are productive, engaged and motivated to deliver the area’s aims. This will include setting clear goals and smart, stretching objectives that are aligned to those of the team, division and directorate. This will also include a strong focus on growth feedback, reflecting the results of the latest staff survey. Alongside the Head of Stakeholder and Media Engagement Division/Chief Press Officer you will be responsible for prioritisation and budget decisions.

We are currently also recruiting for the Chief Press Officer role and towards the beginning of implementing a new business plan for the area. There is considerable scope for re-shaping the area, including how the various functions are delivered within it, as we think most appropriate.

Minimum Essential Criteria

• Experience utilising non-traditional channels of communication, particularly digital and social media.
• Experience in developing and delivering content, digital and internal communication strategies.
• Good understanding of the Bank’s functions and a good awareness and understanding of its mission and main policy issues in order to be credible externally and internally.
• Ability to take an inclusive approach to leadership, bringing out the best in and developing the talents of each individual given a variety of different backgrounds.
• A track record of leading and supporting Diversity and Inclusion initiatives and encouraging others to do the same
• Strong capability to propose ideas and develop initiatives autonomously.
• Strong leadership experience
• A track record in relationship management so as to manage effective and constructive relationships with the Bank’s most senior staff.
• An ability to express sophisticated material simply, tailoring different communication styles to different audiences.
• Sound judgement with regard to the disclosure of information, and a strong sense of the issues and sensitivities facing the Bank.
• Strong oral and written communication skills – engaging, interactive and accessible.
• Experience of external representation.
• Experience of tangibly making workplace culture more diverse and inclusive
• The ability to help craft the strategic direction of the wider Directorate.

Desirable Criteria

• A track record in working collaboratively within and outside your organisation.
• Experience of contingency planning and responding to live events in a fast-paced environment

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.  One way we support diversity and inclusion is through our staff-run networks,

Where a role can be carried out from home, we are working towards colleagues spending at least half of their time in the office, so that we can all benefit from working together in person, while maintaining the flexibility offered by home working. From 6 June 2022, we expect colleagues to spend a minimum of 40% of their working time in the office per month.  Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them and their team.

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.  

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, summarised here, 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 competitive salary, 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.