Department Overview

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, made up of approximately 4,000 people – each committed to public service and dedicated to promoting the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.

Within the Bank, the Markets Directorate promotes monetary and financial stability by leading the Bank's market operations, and by using our presence, expertise and influence in financial markets to inform and shape the Bank's policy decisions and priorities.

 The Markets Directorate includes 7 Divisions which are: 

• Sterling Markets

• Foreign Exchange

• Market Intelligence

• Financial Risk Management

• Future of the Balance Sheet Unit

• Middle Office

• Markets & Banking COO

What is the Future of the Balance Sheet Unit?

The Future of the Balance Sheet Unit (FBU) is a recently created team within the Markets directorate of the Bank of England.  Its purpose is to lead a once-in-a-generation work programme to enhance and update how the Bank is able to deploy its balance sheet to deliver monetary and financial stability. 

In particular, this Unit will assess:

• How to update the Bank’s toolkit and approach to managing its balance sheet in light of profound changes in the financial system (such as climate change and the rise in non-bank finance);

• How the Bank’s balance sheet can enable us to shape and deliver digital money, including by exploring issues around systemic stablecoins and central bank digital currencies;

• The appropriate overall size and composition of the Bank’s balance sheet, and how to deploy it. 

Once at full strength, the Unit will employ around 25 people (comprising a head of unit, 2-3 senior managers, 7-8 senior policy analysts and technical specialists, 10-12 analysts and a PA).  The Unit reports directly to the Bank’s Executive Director for Markets, and frequently engages with the Bank’s governors.

Role Overview

We are recruiting for a senior policy analyst to join and help lead our diverse and committed team.  This role offers a unique opportunity to leave a lasting, personal legacy in terms of the Bank’s role and operations, and to contribute to world-leading thinking on 21st century central banking. 

The specific workstreams the successful candidate will lead will depend upon their skillset and preferences.  As a guide, you could find yourself leading workstreams on any of the following questions:

• What should be the size and composition of our balance sheet over the longer-term and to what uses should it be put?  What toolkit and framework will best preserve control over monetary conditions?

• What access should non-bank financial institutions be given to the Bank’s balance sheet, and under what conditions?  Should we operate as a market-maker (rather than just lender) of last resort?  The importance of these questions was underscored by the ‘dash to cash’ experiences in spring 2020. 

• How might the possible introduction of a Central Banking Digital Currency (CBDC) and/or a private sector systemic stablecoin affect how we deliver monetary policy and financial stability?

In your role, you will pro-actively shape the workstreams you are leading, providing direction and support to your team.  You will also provide advice to senior colleagues, with many opportunities for direct discussion with the top of the Bank to influence their decisions. 

More broadly, you will be responsible, along with FBU management, for helping to ensure that members of the Unit work effectively together and with the rest of the Bank.  An important element of this is establishing a collaborative and open culture within the Unit, in which people supported to think creatively and provide constructive challenge. 

The role does not necessarily include line management, but this may be possible depending on experience.  If you would be interested in managing people, please flag this in your application. 

Essential Criteria

• Professional experience in economics or finance related professions, ideally covering macroeconomic / macro-financial issues and policy design. 

• Ability to scope and shape analytical projects, with experience of seeing these through to delivery.

• Excellent written and oral communications skills, with the ability to explain complex and technical subjects tailored to the audience (inside and outside the Bank), and to influence decision making.

Desirable Criteria

• Excellent stakeholder management skills, include an ability to delivery across business areas. 

• An ability to deliver with a high degree of autonomy, prioritising effectively as demands shift. 

• Prior leadership or management experience.

#LI-BC1

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 here.

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 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 base salary of circa £61,000 - £76,000 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.