Research Assistant - Data and Statistics Division London, England
Job description
Research Assistant - Data and Statistics Division
- (008868)
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 Data and Statistics Division (DSD), part of the Data and Analytics Transformation (DAT) Directorate, is the division with responsibilities that span production and management of some of the Bank’s core datasets. The directorate more broadly is responsible for aspects of data management and data culture that reach into the working lives of almost all Bank staff. This is a time of significant change as the way we collect and manage data, and compile statistics, evolves in the light of the use of new technology with DAT at the forefront.
The change draws on a wide range of skill sets, including: data management; data science; operational work; subject matter expertise in aspects of economics, statistics and banking and insurance supervision; and people and process management. The roles are in the Financial Statistics Group (FSG) whose focus is on the analysis, compilation, and publication of key statistical outputs such as monetary financial institutions’ contribution to the National Accounts, International Banking Statistics, and capital issuance.
Data compiled by FSG are used by the ONS and a variety of international organisations, including the Eurostat, BIS, IMF, and more, and feature in headline UK statistics such as the Gross Domestic Product, Balance of Payments, and UK Trade. FSG has made good progress building skills in data science applications, such as R and Tableau, in order to build new tools to better carry out the work of the group. This experience will contribute to wider divisional and directorate work, including the large project that DSD is undertaking to replace and upgrade its in-house database.
Job Description
We are recruiting for a Research Assistant to work on producing the Bank’s securities statistics that receive attention both within the Bank and externally. The primary responsibility of the role holder is collecting and quality assuring the granular securities data received by the team.
The securities team Research Assistant will work as part of a team to compile aggregate series for distribution both internally and externally. The role holder will strive to improve the efficiency of data processes across the team. They find opportunities to learn and develop skills in analytical tools such as R (as well as other coding packages/tools) should that interest them.
Therefore the successful candidate will be proactive and have an inquisitive mind to accurately understand movements in the data to respond to queries from internal and external users. As the role is part of team, good interpersonal and team working skills are required, as well the ability to communicate effectively.
The main responsibilities of this role are, including but not limited to:
- Collaborating with team members on all aspects of the monthly and quarterly securities data rounds.
- Run existing data production processes to collect, quality assure and compile data to the necessary standard.
- Active involvement in regular meetings to update on progression of monthly existing securities data process.
- Leading monthly communications with external data providers to ensure receipt of high quality data.
- Contributing to users’ understanding of trends in our data, for example via contributing to monthly press office briefings, statistical releases and internal Sectoral Rates presentations to Monetary Analysis.
- Working with colleagues to identify new ways to develop and improve current data processes.
Role Requirements
Minimum Criteria
- Good analytical and numeracy skills;
- Strong IT skills, a minimum to include Excel, Word and PowerPoint;
- A team player, willing to help others to achieve results with the ability to work on your own initiative;
- Ability to escalate issues when appropriate;
- Effective organisational and time management skills, attention to detail and active listening are key skills;
- The ability to manage workload in order to make progress on projects whilst dealing with fixed deadlines;
- Ability to work independently as your experience and knowledge develops.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience/knowledge of programming (such as R or Python) and advanced data manipulation techniques with an ability to understand their practical application in numerical analysis and data compilation would be desirable.
- Previous experience as a research assistant or research analyst.
The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.
At the Bank of England we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public.
We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.
For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.
Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme. You can find more information on what this means 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.
Salary and Benefits Information
This specific role offers a base salary of £25,620-£33,700 per annum (depending on skills and experience) on a full-time basis.
In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:
- 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 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits. (Effective from April 2023 and for the Benefits year 2023/24)
- 26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
- Private medical insurance and income protection
- Level 1 Dental Insurance
National Security Vetting Process
Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and 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 Application Process
Important: Please ensure that you complete the ‘work history’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It’s therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.
The closing date for applications is 9 June 2023.
