Location: UK: London (Threadneedle Street)

Opportunity: Supported hiring into permanent roles

Starts: ASAP

Apply by: 21 March 2022

**This role is now closed for applications**

The Bank of England is recruiting Cyber Risk Specialists into their Operational Risk and Resilience Division and welcomes professionals who have taken an extended career break to apply for these roles. Successful hires who have taken a career break of 2+ years will receive coaching support through the transition period from Women Returners.

The Bank of England is the UK’s central bank. Their mission is to deliver monetary and financial stability for the British people. It 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.

The Bank is fully committed to having a diverse and inclusive working environment, and is open to considering how the roles might be carried out with flexible working. These roles are therefore open to flexible working patterns.

The Bank has hired a large number of returners over the last few years. Read Melissa’s story here. Learn more about working at the Bank here.

About the Directorate

As a directorate of the PRA, Supervisory Risk Specialists (SRS) provides technical expertise and applies expert judgement across risk disciplines as part of the PRA’s integrated supervisory approach, in order to identify, analyse and mitigate material risks to the safety and soundness of PRA regulated firms.

SRS comprises four main divisions:

  • Credit, Risk Analytics, Liquidity and Capital (CRACL)
  • Investment Banking and sector risks (IBSR)
  • Model Development and Review (MDR)
  • Operational Risk & Resilience (ORRD)

Department Overview

The Operational Risk & Resilience Division (ORRD) sits within Specialist Risk Supervision (SRS) and leads the work on the resilience of the sector to a range of non-financial risks (e.g. cyber, technology failure). The purpose of this work is to ensure that critical economic functions are delivered to the levels that the Bank expects. This is exciting work in an area with significant focus globally among central banks, regulators and government agencies.
As a priority, we resolve the importance of firms and their exposure to threats, defining what good operational resilience looks like, developing assurance tools, and improving the UK’s resilience through working with national and international partners.

Job description

An opportunity has arisen for analysts with a cyber-focus to join the ORRD. This is an outstanding chance to take a specialist role in a unique team.

The post holder will provide a balance between technical and non-technical cyber resilience expertise. They will play a key role in leading supervisory cyber engagements including CBEST assessments, detailed cyber resilience reviews, and cyber thematic work. The risk specialist will also provide expertise to support the design of the wider cyber strategy and contribute to the engagement across the sector and with financial authorities and government institutions domestically and internationally, as required.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Lead the implementation of cyber reviews and assessments (including CBEST and CQUEST).
  • Provide supervisors with technical expertise and specialist judgment on financial institutions’ cyber resilience.
  • Perform thematic analysis of CBEST results and present key themes and conclusions.
  • Stay informed on the evolving regulatory landscape and emerging operational resilience challenges facing UK financial sector, with a focus on cyber resilience.
  • Interface between cyber development and cyber assessment teams to support the development of cyber tools and practices to maintain their effectiveness and relevance as part of the supervisory strategy.
  • Present on the progress and efficiency of cyber resilience assessments, as required.
  • Maintain effective working relationships with the FCA, NCSC, CPNI and other organisations as relevant.
  • Draft papers for relevant governance groups on key cyber risk and resilience trends and changes.
  • Support cyber related activities within the Bank/PRA including consultation on cyber stress testing, work with industry groups (SIMEX, CMORG, etc.), briefings on cyber matters to senior management, etc.

Role Requirements

Minimum Criteria

  • Experience of delivering cyber resilience reviews and assessments.
  • Experience in scenario-based testing in the context of intelligence-led penetration testing, threat modelling or simulation exercises.
  • Understanding and knowledge of relevant cyber security standards, best practice, and guidelines (e.g. ISO27001, ISO22301, NIST).
  • Experience working as part of a project or working across teams/areas to achieve positive outcomes.
  • Experience working with cyber and technology leaders (CISO, CIO, CTO, CRO, etc.) to assess cyber resilience of organisations.

Essential Criteria

  • Excellent analytical and problem solving skills able to turn analysis into relevant output for the Bank.
  • Excellent communication skills, both oral and written with the ability to draft briefings for senior partners.
  • Be a highly motivated and independent thinker, capable to challenge confidently in new environments.
  • Excellent project management skills, both project planning and risk management with capable to keep control of complex projects.

Reward Package

The Bank of England is a distinctive institution and their rewards are one of the things that set them 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.

The salary range for these vacancies is approximately £45,900 to £66,000, dependent on relevant skills and experience. In addition, the total reward package also includes:

  • 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 their 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
  • 25 days annual leave with option to buy up to 13 additional days through flexible benefits
  • Private medical insurance and income protection

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.

The environment is extraordinary too: a historic building located in the heart of the City, which combines rich tradition with up-to-date technology and facilities. Just as importantly, they have a strong culture of support that exists within each of their teams and across the organisation as a whole.

To Apply

Please apply using the link here ensuring that you answer all the application questions, complete the work history and submit your CV, per the guidance below.

Apply ASAP. The closing date for applications for all roles is 21 March 2022.

IMPORTANT: When completing your application:

  • When answering the ‘Source Type’ question, please select ‘Job Board’ and then ‘Women Returners’ as the ‘Source Name‘. It is essential you select ‘Women Returners’ so the Bank can identify you as a returner and know you are applying on a supported hiring basis.
  • Due to the anonymised application process followed by the Bank (detailed below) it is essential to include your career break with dates in your work history, in the area of online free form text.

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

The Bank values diversity and inclusion – they want to reflect the society they serve better, they want the best people to work for them and they want their workplace to be inclusive.  They value all forms of diversity, including but not limited to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion and sexual orientation.  One way they support diversity and inclusion is through their staff-run networks, which are summarised here.

They are also committed to making workplace adjustments for all of their employees as needed, and also for candidates throughout all stages of the selection process. They 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.