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.

Department Overview
The Finance & Performance Directorate plays a critical role in protecting the Bank’s financial position and reputation. The overall purpose of the Directorate is to contribute to the successful execution of the Bank's aims and objectives by ensuring it has an appropriate financial platform for its broader responsibilities, and for the challenges facing an organisation of more than 4,000 staff, with annual expenditure of circa £700mn. 
 
The Finance & Performance Directorate has four main Divisions, Financial Reporting & Control, Financial Analytics & Insight, the Corporate Investment Portfolio Office and Finance Strategy.

Job Description Summary

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is looking for a self-starter to join their office and support the Directorate. The role will involve very close working with the CFO.

The central role played by the Finance Directorate means the jobholder will have exposure to a wider range of people and issues at a higher level than many other areas in the Bank. Through use of their business knowledge and Private Secretary skillset, the role holder will be expected to lead on both strategic and operational thinking providing clear and consistent, high-quality end-to-end analysis across Finance’s multiple functions.  Whilst the role will include core Private Secretary elements (such as arranging, briefing and reviewing committee papers), it will be flexible enough that the applicant could also shape the role depending on the CFO’s priorities. This is a critical role which will help to free up capacity for the CFO and her Office as well as increasing the Directorate’s effectiveness.

This is a people management role. You will be responsible for day to day management 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 your 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. You will also be responsible for managing all staff-related matters that may arise including performance, absence and sickness.

Detailed Description

Main responsibilities will include:

• Commissioning, filtering, reviewing and synthesising information the CFO receives and presents;
• Working closely with the Finance COO in preparing and advising the CFO ahead of meetings;
• Ensuring work is in train to follow up on any actions; and provide colleagues with the vital background information for it to be effective;
• Engaging with HM Treasury, other central banks and regulators, industry bodies, financial sector boards and C-suite executives;
• Managing agendas for key committees and regular meetings;
• Attending the CFO’s regular bi-lateral meetings;
• Supporting on People priorities across the Directorate;
• Representing the CFO’s views and appropriately exercising judgement on a number of matters;
• Supporting the CFO and Finance COO across their responsibilities, dealing with issues and acting with delegated authority as required;
• Working closely with the CFO’s direct reports and the Finance COO to remain on top of the main live issues facing the Bank so as to be able to provide effective support;
• Working with the CFO and the Finance COO on the future Finance strategy. Liaising with other Governors and ED Offices, for example during Technology incidents.

Job requirements

Role Requirements

Minimum (Essential) Criteria

• Significant prior experience of working within a Private Secretary capacity, supporting senior leaders and / or Executive Directors;
• A proactive self-starter who is able to develop and maintain effective working relationships with the wider team, and partners of varying levels of seniority.
• Experience of producing high quality documentation, briefing papers, reports and presentations.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (verbal, written and presentation) with the ability to connect with and influence people at all levels of the organisation
• Able to use judgement and provide sound justification for decisions
• Strong analytical skills; able to report critical information and patterns from complex data, producing accurate conclusions and recommendations,
• A track record of managing and developing staff; and proven experience of mentoring and coaching team members.

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, which are summarised.

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.  This role is therefore open to flexible working patterns. 

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 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 , 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 £61,000 - £72,000 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.