The Markets Directorate

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.

Department Overview - Foreign Exchange Division (FED)

The Foreign Exchange Division (FED) is one of the two 'front-office' divisions in Markets. It operates in foreign currency markets for both the Bank's balance sheet and the UK's foreign currency reserves (the "Exchange Equalisation Account" (EEA)).

We promote monetary and financial stability by:

• leading the Bank's foreign currency market operations and serving our customers, including the UK Government and foreign central banks;
• using our presence in financial markets to gather market intelligence and build expertise;
• using our markets and analytical expertise to inform and shape the Bank's policy decisions and priorities; and
• using our influence, in conjunction with market participants, to overcome market failures and improve market function and practice.

Within FED there are four teams. The FED Operational Policy team sits and works alongside the Policy Strategy team and the two trading desk teams in the division - the Reserves Management team and the FX & Money Market desk. The Operational Policy team provides technical expertise on operational and regulatory policies impacting FED's own trading operations in FX, fixed income and derivative markets.

We place a strong emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion, and personal wellbeing.

Team Overview - Operational Policy Team

The team focuses on operational policy. Team members co-ordinate a variety of foreign currency operations, to ensure that the Bank is policy ready to undertake special operations such as FX intervention, or any wider contingency planning where non-sterling funding could be required for Financial Stability purposes, such as swap line operations. The team also provides expertise in managing change (e.g. upgrades to OpenLink, the Bank's trade capture system) and implementation of policy decisions (e.g. operationalising a new swap line with another central bank). This involves focusing on identifying root causes of operational issues, devising a strategy to improve an operation, and leading the implementation phase itself.

The Operational Policy team currently has nine members. One scale D manager and two scale E managers who specialise in complementary aspects of work, leading analysts with a diverse set of backgrounds and skills. We operate a model where at least two analysts cover a particular topic to ensure we share knowledge effectively across the team.

Job Description
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Operational Policy Team as an Assistant Policy Analyst. This is a newly created role that offers the opportunity to develop knowledge of central bank operations and foreign currency markets. The job holder will play a crucial role in managing operational risk arising from our trading activities. The team also has a range of internal and external stakeholders including managing the division's relationship with HM Treasury (HMT). The job holder will therefore develop understanding of how the work of the division interacts with other areas.

Role Requirements

The role will include:

• Playing a key role supporting the division's relationship with HMT. This will include regular engagement with HMT on agenda setting for meetings and co-ordinating set-piece meetings between the Bank and HMT (up to Executive Director level);
• Supporting the division's management of operational risk by ensuring timely logging of incidents - working closely with the trading desks as required. The role will also include inputting into regular risk and control assessments and reporting, working with other analysts and the division's Operational Risk Officer;
• Overseeing legal queries received from trading counterparties that could impact the division's trading operations. Ensuring a robust process to log, prioritise and track requests to ensure queries are dealt with appropriately and efficiently;
• Contributing to the team's operational rota - producing accurate and timely outputs, covering/assisting others, and highlighting issues to management as required;
• Demonstrating initiative in helping to drive continuous improvement in FED operations by identifying and implementing improvements to existing processes and controls;
• Opportunity to contribute to broader policy work across the team;
• Contributing to the Bank's market intelligence work as an observer.

We will provide on-the-job training to the successful applicant and so we encourage people to apply whether or not they have any financial markets experience.

Minimum Criteria

• Team player - working collaboratively with others to share knowledge and experience and assisting others when needed;
• Strong time management and organisational capabilities, with the ability to deliver against varied priorities;
• Good verbal and written communication skills and ability to engage with external stakeholders;
• Good stakeholder management and interpersonal skills;
• Good IT skills - particularly experience of Excel , although you do not need to be able to code in order to do this role.

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge of or a desire to learn about the policy role of the UK's foreign currency reserves, and the Bank's foreign currency market operations;
• Experience of operational risk management including the Bank's incident/risk management system Archer (or the former Incident Management System 'IMS').

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 £30,320 - £37,900 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:

• 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.
• 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 assessment process will comprise of two stages. This role closes on Monday 12th August. 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.