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Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Junior Analyst

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.

Directorate Overview

Like other central banks, the Bank of England is actively exploring whether it should develop and issue a retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). A potential CBDC would – like banknotes – be a form of money issued by the central bank which would be available to households and businesses for everyday payment needs. But, as the name implies, CBDC would be digital, reflecting that how people make payments is changing.

In the coming weeks, in conjunction with HM Treasury, the Bank of England will be issuing a Consultation Paper setting out an assessment of the motivations and design choices for a potential UK CBDC. No decision has yet been taken on whether the Bank will issue CBDC.

The CBDC Unit is responsible for analysing the opportunities and challenges presented by CBDC and developing the potential design of a CBDC.

The CBDC Unit comprises three teams:

• The Strategy & Economics team delivers analysis on the public policy issues around CBDC (especially around monetary and financial stability).
• The Functional & Engagement team considers the requirements of consumers, merchants and other ecosystem participants for a UK CBDC. This team also leads the Unit’s stakeholder engagement, both within the UK and with international counterparts.
• The Technology team considers a UK CBDC’s technological requirements, including building our capability and readiness through proofs of concept with private sector partners.

Roles in the CBDC Unit offer a number of opportunities for career development. They give applicants the chance to provide thought leadership on a priority topic for the Bank, deliver innovative and original analysis, collaborate across the Bank and externally, and engage with the most senior members of the Bank’s leadership team.

More information on the Bank's CBDC work can be found at https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/digital-currencies.

Job description

The vacancy is in the Strategy & Economics team. The jobholder will play an important role in the public policy thinking of the Bank with regard to CBDC.

There is some capacity to shape the role depending on the successful candidate’s skills and preferences but it will involve the vast majority of the following:

• Providing analytical support for the team through briefing, use of data, literature reviews, and by keeping up with developments in the payments landscape and in CBDC work internationally.
• Contributing towards reviewing responses to the forthcoming Bank and HMT Consultation Paper on CBDC, distilling and socialising their key themes.
• Contributing analysis and drafting to any future Bank publications and communications on CBDC.
• Supporting Bank/HMT senior decision-making on CBDC issues. Liaising with other areas of the Bank and with other authorities (especially HMT) to maintain coherent forward agendas for meetings and ensure papers are delivered on time. Producing and circulating clear minutes from key meetings, and following up on actions.
• Contributing to the prioritisation, planning and monitoring of CBDC Unit projects.
• Supporting the Bank's external engagement on CBDC. Organising and attending meeting with external stakeholders (e.g. consumers, businesses, financial institutions and civil society). Producing concise briefings for senior management. Contributing towards consumer research run by external firms.

Role Requirements

Minimum Criteria

• Strong analytical skills. The ability to build expertise quickly on complicated topics, focus on what matters, and draw links between different pieces of work to ensure joined-up policy making.
• Strong written and oral communication skills. The ability to produce concise outputs, which focus on the key messages and are clear to non-experts.
• Excellent organisational skills, with an aptitude for effectively prioritising and sequencing different pieces of work, and delivering to tight deadlines.
• Proven interpersonal skills and a collaborative working style. The ability to influence others, maintain a wide network of constructive working relationships, and draw on input outside of your team/organisation.
• Ability to develop own ideas and work autonomously, with a focus on delivering high-quality, well-reasoned outputs.

Desirable Criteria

You should not be put off applying if you do not meet all of these criteria.

• Knowledge of payments and/or central bank balance sheet operations, and experience of policy development in this area.
• Previous work or a keen interest in CBDC, the future of money, or the impact of technology on financial services.
• Ability to credibly and confidently represent the CBDC Unit and the Bank in external settings.

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.

This role is open to job shares, flexible and part time 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. 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 we have partnered with external expert organisations to support us in this. We are a member of the Disability Confident scheme, summarised here. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.

This specific role offers a base salary of up to £36,860 - £40,000 per annum (depending on skills and experience) on a full-time basis.

In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below. We encourage flexible working and part time working, therefore both salary and associated benefits will be adjusted on a pro-rata basis for part-time colleagues

• 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. (Note that from April 2023 and for the Benefits year 2023/24, this will increase to 8%)
• 26 days annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

Employment in this role will be subject to National Security Vetting clearance and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with Bank policy from time to time. Further information of vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant. Further information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank’s Privacy Notice at Privacy and the Bank of England | Bank of England.

We anonymise applications so that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information when reviewing your application, including your CV. Please take your time to complete the application form questions carefully and in detail as requested. The application questions form an important part of the initial selection process and any incomplete submissions will not be reviewed.

The closing date for applications is 21 February 2023.

The assessment will comprise two stages: a written exercise and an interview, both completed remotely. We expect to hold the first assessment round (written exercise) for selected candidates in the week commencing 27 February. Some of those candidates will then be invited to the second assessment round (interview), which we expect to hold in the week commencing 06 March