Applications have now closed

Location: North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber

Remuneration: Base salary of £72,400 – £80,000

Programme: Supported hire into permanent roles. The Bank is committed to accommodating flexible working and open to applications from part-time employees

Deadline: Apply by 20 July 2020

Two exciting opportunities have arisen to lead the Bank of England’s Agency in the North West of England, and Yorkshire and the Humber and the Bank would welcome applications from interested candidates who have taken an extended career break.

Successful hires who have taken a career break of 2+ years will receive coaching support through the transition period from Women Returners. The Bank is absolutely committed to having an inclusive environment. Improving the diversity and depth of experience of staff is something that the Bank is passionate about. The Bank has successfully supported a number of returners back into mid to senior level roles in recent years.

The Bank is fully committed to having a diverse and inclusive working environment. This role can be done as part of a job share and/or with flexible working. Some events require working outside of usual hours – for example, in the evening – but hours can be adjusted in other periods.

About the Agency

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. Standing at the centre of the UK’s financial system, the Bank promotes the good of the people of the UK by maintaining monetary and financial stability.

The Bank’s Network of Agents across the UK plays a key role in supporting the core purposes of the Bank by gathering and using business intelligence to brief policymakers, and representing the Bank around the country. The work of the Agents contributes directly to the formulation of monetary and financial policy in the UK.

The Network consists of 12 Agencies located around the UK. Agents bring the daily reality of the UK economy into the Bank, through strong local relationships. They act as a crucial link between the Bank and businesses and community organisations. They provide a unique business intelligence gathering service which is a key input into policy processes. They also engage with other organisations, such as charities and schools, as well as holding local events so that people can share views and experiences.

What does the job involve? 

Number of direct reports: 3

The Agencies are the ‘eyes, ears and mouth’ of the Bank in their respective parts of the United Kingdom. As Agent, you will play a crucial role in informing the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) and the Financial Policy Committee’s (FPC) assessment of the economic and financial environment through gathering, analysing and reporting economic intelligence from regular meetings with your network of contacts. The Agency talks to hundreds of senior contacts from a wide range of organisations – from small businesses and community groups to large global companies – across all sectors of the economy. They gain a fascinating insight into how businesses are operating and their future plans. This gives them an outstanding insight into how the real economy is evolving and the factors driving those developments.

Agents feed the intelligence gathered from those meetings into their economic assessments, to make sure that policymakers have a well-rounded view of economic conditions and prospects. They collate Agency intelligence from around the Network and present it directly to the MPC, which you will have an opportunity to do once a year.

You will also play an important role in communicating policymakers’ core messages to business contacts and other local audiences in the region. For example, Agents give regular presentations on the Monetary Policy Report and Financial Stability Report in order to support a widespread understanding and trust of the monetary and financial policy framework.

The Agency Network has also played a key role in the Bank’s strategic priority on Outreach and Education. They engage with schools and charities, as well as taking part in local events to capture a wide range of views.

In addition, they organise interactions between their policymakers and their local contacts, so that they can hear the views of businesses and communities first-hand. Through hosting those meetings, you will interact directly with senior staff from around the Bank.

As Agent, you will also be responsible for running the Agency in your region. The Agency team comprises a Deputy Agent and two support staff. You will need to provide effective leadership and management of the team and resources.

It will also be important to build relationships with colleagues from around the Network and across the Bank. Within the Network, each Agency has an Area of Expertise – in the North West, this is the labour market and capacity utilisation – and you will work collaboratively with colleagues on those topics. In addition, you can feed into the effective management and continuous improvement of all aspects of the Agency Network.

For more information on the role of the Agents, please see the Agencies internet page.

The Agency is also on Twitter so please look at @BoENorthWest to get a flavour of their day-to-day activities.

This is a people management role. You will be responsible for day-to-day management of the team and for defining roles and responsibilities. You will develop your team through sharing information effectively, coaching and communicating a clear vision to ensure that your staff are productive, engaged and motivated to deliver the area’s aims. This will include setting clear goals and smart stretching objectives that are aligned to those of the team, division and directorate. You will also be responsible for managing all staff-related matters that may arise including performance, absence and sickness.

Job requirements

This specific role offers a base salary of £72,400 – £80,000 (subject to experience and skillset)

The total package also includes:

• A non-contributory, career average pension
• A discretionary performance award
• A 7% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits
• 25 days annual leave with option to buy up to 13 additional days through flexible benefits
• Private medical insurance and income protection insurance

Support for a car will be provided.

About the Bank of England

As a place of work, the Bank feels different from most other organisations. The atmosphere is relaxed but professional, research-driven and also very much connected to real events in the economy. While organisations in the private sector are focused primarily on profits, the ultimate objectives for the Bank are always the quality of thinking and the rigour of analysis. This makes for an unusually satisfying place to develop your career. Whichever area of the Bank you join, you will almost certainly be working on high-profile and high-impact projects. The issues they deal with on a daily basis are often in the news headlines, and have implications for everyone in the country. For many of their people, this sense of contributing to the public good is one of the most rewarding aspects of working there. Just as importantly, they have a strong culture of support that exists within each of their teams and across the organisation as a whole.

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.

To Apply

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

The closing date for applications is 20 July 2020.

If you are interested in both roles, you can apply for both with one application – please indicate whether your interest is in leading the Agency in one region, or both, where prompted on the application form.

If you have any questions, please email Denise Phokeerdoss on Denise.Phokeerdoss@bankofengland.co.uk

The Bank anonymises applications so hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, your original CV or any covering letters when reviewing your submission. Please complete work history and the application form questions as requested because incomplete submissions will not be reviewed.