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.
Prudential Policy Directorate are responsible for designing, negotiating internationally and implementing effective prudential regulation in order to remove or reduce systemic risks, promote the safety and soundness of PRA-regulated firms and ensure appropriate protection for insurance policyholders. PPD supports both the Prudential Regulation Committee and Financial Policy Committee in fulfilling their objectives.
Department Overview
As a part of PPD, the Prudential Framework Division (PFD) seeks to promote the resilience of the financial system with a prudential framework fit for now and in a changing world. We:
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- Maintain the integrity of the framework
- Evolve: evaluate, learn and adapt, provide thought leadership here and abroad
- Explain: providing clarity and transparency for our stakeholders
The Medium-Term Strategy and Research (MTSR) Team collaborates extensively within PFD and with others in the Bank on (i) the economic design and calibration of capital requirements for banks; and (ii) how they interact with other prudential and public policies.
We deliver policy strategy, economic analysis and research to underpin Basel Committee, PRC and/or FPC’s policy development and evaluation in these areas.
In addition, we develop, maintain and oversee the delivery of PPD’s research strategy and PPD’s responsibilities v/v the Bank’s Research Agenda and Hub.
As a team our work is rooted in financial economics. We are diverse in our backgrounds, composition and skills (eg macro- and micro- economics, econometrics and theory). Our research is published in Staff Working Papers and journals.
We welcome people to come on board and learn about the economics of banks and prudential policies. We offer lots of support and help in getting going so don’t worry if you don’t know the ins and outs of how the prudential world works!
Job description
As Lead Economic Analyst, you will lead projects and collaborate with others to advance our exciting and challenging work programme. That will be centred around: economically evaluating the effects of bank capital; assessing its macroeconomic impacts; and providing policy committees with economic advice on how to calibrate, operate and evolve capital frameworks.
Examples of potential topics on our radar include: how bank capital regulation impacts on lending and wholesale activities; designing policy so that banks can support the real economy in good times and in bad; simplifying capital frameworks in a robust way; assessing if capital should be used to mitigate emerging risks (eg climate change).
Given the range of our responsibilities and diversity of Team members, we have some flexibility to shape the role to meet your skill set, interests and career development plans.
Your role will typically comprise the following responsibilities:
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- developing expertise on the UK frameworks for bank capital requirements and how they function economically to deliver their objectives;
- authoring and contributing to high-quality analytical papers for policymakers covering macro- and micro- prudential policy issues on bank capital;
- leading and/or collaborating with others to produce insightful research on micro- and/or macro-prudential bank capital policy and related topics;
- developing and maintaining effective relationships across the diverse community of staff within the Bank working on related issues.
You will benefit by growing your experience in using economic principles and methods to think about, and deliver advice on, a high-profile and diverse set of policy issues. You will learn about UK and international frameworks. And become more expert in leading, collaborating with a wide range of colleagues, and managing a range of tasks.
Role Requirements
Minimum Criteria
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- A Masters degree in economics, finance or a related field.
- Experience in applying your economic or financial expertise to research or analyse policy issues relevant to any of the objectives of the Bank of England or the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority.
Essential Criteria
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- Excellent analytical skills with capability to get up to speed quickly on different issues.
- The ability to handle a diverse and dynamic workload to deliver high quality work.
- Capable of synthesising and communicating technical information well, orally and in writing, and adapting to the appropriate audience.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with others, and capacity to engage well with a diverse set of stakeholders and handle conflicting views.
Desirable Criteria
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- Experience in the economic analysis of financial institutions. Microeconomically, this could include analysing their behaviour, incentives, balance sheet choices and/or structures. Or, macroeconomically, analysing the social costs and benefits of their actions or of prudential, financial stability or monetary policies designed to mitigate externalities arising from them.
- Knowledge of micro-or macro-prudential policy including current policy debates and developments in the UK and/or internationally.
- Track record of working on your own initiative, and in leading others, to deliver policy, research or other analytical projects.
Our Approach to Inclusion
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. 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 circa £xx,xxx – £xx,xxx per annum (depending on skills and experience) on a full-time basis. We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.
In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:
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- 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.
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
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 Tuesday 21st November 2023.
The assessment process will comprise of two stages, to include an exercise, and two interviews covering competency questions on soft skills, and technical questions related to the team’s work. While you may not be an expert in the area, we will be looking for you to apply your knowledge of the area, obtained via study or work, to some of the key policy issues currently facing the team.
Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.