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Operational Assistant - Sterling Markets Division - Operational Policy Team

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.

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 6 Divisions which are:

• Sterling Markets
• Foreign Exchange
• Market Intelligence
• Financial Risk Management
• Middle Office
• Markets & Banking COO

Department Overview
Sterling Markets Division (SMD) is at the heart of the Bank’s mission. Through the Sterling Monetary Framework (SMF) and Asset Purchase Facility (APF) it implements monetary policy by maintaining the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC’s) desired level of Bank Rate, maintaining/reinvesting the MPC’s asset purchase programme (which is part of “quantitative easing”), and operating the Term Funding Scheme. The Sterling Monetary Framework (SMF) also provides liquidity insurance to the banking system through the Bank’s Operational Standing Facilities, Open Market Operations, Discount Window Facility and the Contingent Term Repo Facility. SMD is responsible for managing and forecasting the Bank’s sterling balance sheet. Staff in the division also contribute market intelligence and analysis in support of the Bank’s monetary policy and financial stability work.

The Operational Policy team is integral to the smooth functioning of the Division and has a broad range of responsibilities. These include managing the introduction of new operations, managing the onboarding of new participants into the range of schemes operated by SMD, developing a longer term strategy for SMD-owned systems (as well as managing short-term changes), providing data and management information on our operations to other teams, and, forecasting the Bank’s sterling balance sheet. In doing all this, the team works closely with the Sterling Desk in SMD, and with colleagues in other Divisions and Directorates including Central Banking Operations Division and Market Services Division, Legal Directorate and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

Job description
As an Operational Assistant on the SMD Operational Policy team, the jobholder will be exposed to the breadth of the Division’s responsibilities through a varied workload.

The role entails;

• Supporting market operations, including some trade entry, providing management information on operations and data for policy analysis
• Contributing to the design of future sterling facilities and helping to develop, test and introduce new technology to operationalise any new facilities
• Forecasting the level of reserves and monitoring the Bank’s balance sheet
• Management of the division’s operational risk and working to improve processes to minimise operational risk
• Contingency planning, ensuring that SMD’s business continuity policies are up to date and staff are fully trained to provide emergency access to the SMF during a contingency event
• The jobholder will be expected to;
• Develop a high degree of attention to detail and excellent time management is required as team outputs are often included in briefing for senior management.
• Develop a good working knowledge of the systems used within SMD and a close working relationship with the Sterling Operations team.
• Show initiative and analytical skills in this area in making system and process improvements
• Demonstrate an ability to work openly and collaboratively within a close-knit team and develop good working relationships with peers in other areas within and outside Markets.

The position includes opportunities for development tailored to the successful applicant, including contributing to projects within the division and Markets more generally.

Role Requirements
A strong candidate is likely to be able to demonstrate most of the following attributes and experiences. But please don't be put off applying if you don't have everything on the list. If you think you can only do some of the role, we still want you to apply!

Minimum Essential Criteria

• The ability to produce accurate, reliable information promptly;
• The ability to prioritise and organise a large and varied task list;
• Use experience and knowledge to suggest and implement process improvements;
• Good interpersonal skills to develop relationships within the division and with contacts across Markets and Banking;
• A good level of general IT skills, particularly Excel, and a willingness to embrace new technology.
• Working as part of an operational area requires flexibility. The job holder will need to be able to adapt to changing work priorities and to respond to live issues as they arise.
• Wanting to learn about the Bank’s policy operations and how they work in practice;
• Ability to handle of number of tasks concurrently and work collaboratively with others across the directorate at all levels. A calm, professional approach and good interpersonal skills are therefore important.

Desirable Criteria

• A working knowledge of R, Openlink or other similar tools.
• Experience of, or an interest in, Sterling Market Operations.
• An understanding of the Bank’s balance sheet, and the Sterling Monetary Framework and the operations supporting it would be useful, but is not essential

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. (Delete if operationally this may not be feasible)

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 range in the circa of £25,620-£28,000 per annum (depending on skills and experience), 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. (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. (Note: effective from April 2023)
• 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 of0 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.

The closing date for applications is 13 February 2023.

Please apply online, ensuring that you answer the application questions, complete the work history and submit your CV.