**Applications are now closed**
Location: London, Threadneedle Street
Opportunity: Supported hiring, with flexible working
Apply by: 16 July 2021
The Bank of England is the UK’s central bank. Their mission is to deliver monetary and financial stability for the British people.
The Bank is recruiting a Senior Risk Specialist in the Corporate & Financial Institutions (C&FI) team in the Credit Risk Division, within the Supervisory Risk Specialists (SRS) Directorate.
The Bank of England welcomes professionals who have taken an extended career break to apply for this permanent role. A successful hire who has taken a career break of 2+ years will receive coaching support through the transition period from Women Returners.
The Bank of England is committed to their staff having a wide range of skills, perspectives and backgrounds, as they believe diversity and inclusion benefit policy making and encourage an intellectually stimulating and enjoyable working environment. In addition, and in common with the Bank of England as a whole, the PRA is committed to the principle of flexible working.They support their staff in structuring their working arrangements to balance their work-life needs. This role is open to job shares, flexible and part-time 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 Supervisory Risk Specialists Directorate
On 1 April 2013 the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) became responsible for the prudential regulation and supervision of banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and major investment firms. The PRA was created by the Financial Services Act (2012) and is part of the Bank of England.
As a directorate of the PRA, the Supervisory Risk Specialists (SRS) provides deep technical expertise and applies judgement in specific 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. These material risks can arise within and across firms and from the market environment.
SRS is split into four main divisions:
- Credit Risk
- Risk Analytics & Data (RAD)
- Risk Infrastructure, Liquidity and Capital (RILC)
- Traded Risk
About the team
Within the Credit Risk Division of SRS, the Corporate and Financial Institutions (C&FI) team comprises a group of wholesale credit industry specialists and practitioners, who are a centre of expertise across the Bank and the PRA. They are focused on supporting the Bank’s supervisory objectives. Key activities of the team include:
- Asset quality reviews, examining underwriting standards and adequacy of provisions across multiple wholesale asset classes including corporate, CRE, SME, FI and sovereign exposures.
- As part of concurrent stress testing, review of firms’ global wholesale portfolios to forecast expected stress losses. This feeds into the capital buffer and Pillar 2b adjustments.
- Firm visits to review and challenge credit risk management frameworks, governance and control processes across the entire credit risk life cycle, assessing wholesale credit risk appetite and challenging market position and strategy.
About the role
The opportunity is for a Senior Risk Specialist to join the C&FI team, leading its participation in concurrent stress testing.
The successful candidate will:
- Lead and co-ordinate the team’s future concurrent stress testing related work. This can include:
- Reviewing the underlying performance of firm’s wholesale portfolios (primarily commercial real estate, large & mid-corporate, SME, sovereign and FI exposures), assessing and comparing such things as relative asset quality, appropriateness of PD and LGD applied by the firm, risk segmentation and loss expectations
- Supporting validation of data submitted by firms and dealing with difficulties in collecting the appropriate data from firms, as well as collaborating closely with Supervision to scope out the coverage of the stress test
- Acting as the team focal point for liaison with other teams across the wider Bank on all matters relating to concurrent stress testing including working with partners to continually improve the process
- Take an active part in the Asset Quality Reviews which generally involve assessing a firm’s governance, strategy, risk appetite, underwriting standards, credit risk control framework, impairment forecasting / provisioning practices, and individual loan documents relating to exposures covering a range of industries/products, etc. This will involve working with colleagues in the C&FI specialists and, depending upon other duties, the job holder will lead pieces of firm facing work
- Conduct and participate in cross-firm / market reviews to assess firms’ comparative portfolio performance and risk concentrations
- Provide technical guidance and thought leadership, operating with a high level of autonomy to make decisions, plan and manage work within the framework of Supervisory Risk Specialist’s engagement model with other Supervisory colleagues
- Review a significant amount of information including financial, regulatory and management information. The role holder will be expected to challenge a firm’s interpretation of its credit metrics, provide meaningful insight and specify, over time, the links to policy and financial stability/resilience
Key benefits of the role:
- Provides a high profile within the UK’s wholesale credit stress testing community and the chance to make a significant contribution to the development and implementation of enhanced stress testing capability in the PRA
- The opportunity to make a difference in the financial services industry in order to improve the soundness and stability of the UK financial system. You will gain insight into a wide range of risk management practices followed by regulated financial institutions, providing the opportunity to develop deep technical knowledge and expertise in a wholesale credit asset class or sector
- The role offers an intellectually stimulating environment, in a well-regarded and high-profile Division, which makes significant contributions to the delivery of the PRA objectives
Role Requirements
Minimum Criteria
- Being familiar with the concepts of PD, LGD, EAD etc. as they relate to wholesale banking book exposures
- Being a subject matter expert on one or more wholesale credit portfolios, industry sectors, products, collateral, governance and policies; together with related analytics
- Evidencing above through proven experience in a leading corporate or investment bank or similar financial services institution
Essential Criteria
- Comfortable analysing data and MI, and fully understanding policies and procedures which apply in wholesale banking and credit risk environments
- Having extensive experience of writing and delivering reports and presentations about complex issues in a way that can be easily understood by senior managers
Desirable Criteria
- Good communication skills and comfortable interacting with senior managers and partners within the organisation and externally
Reward Package
As a unique institution, we have a reward package which sets us apart from other organisations. It includes a competitive salary, but also a much wider offering, including a defined benefit pension and comprehensive flexible benefits. We also offer a working environment which fully supports individuals through flexible working, wellbeing initiatives including an on-site medical and dental unit.
The salary range for this vacancy is approximately £59,400 – £82,800, 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 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.
- 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.
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 using the link below and ensuring that you answer the application questions, complete the work history and submit your CV, as per guidance below.
Apply asap. The closing date for applications is 16 July 2021
IMPORTANT: When completing your application:
- For the ‘Source name‘ question 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, 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.
The Bank continue to build an inclusive culture where everyone can be their whole selves and produce their best work. Their focus on inclusion is intended to build greater diversity in order to reflect the society they serve and be an employer of choice.