Communications and Engagement Officer, Digital Pound Project

Job Description

Job title: Communications and Engagement Officer, Digital Pound Project

Company: Bank of England

Job description: Job Description – External

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.

Department Overview
Like many other central banks, the Bank of England is actively exploring whether it should develop and issue a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Unlike cash, CBDC would be a digital form of money; unlike bank deposits, it would be a direct liability of the central bank rather than the private sector; and unlike reserves, CBDC would be widely accessible for retail use.

The CBDC Project Unit is responsible for analysing the opportunities and challenges presented by CBDC, advancing the Bank’s broader strategy and, ultimately, the decision on whether it should issue one.

The project’s main activities are:

• analysis of the monetary policy and financial stability risks and opportunities of CBDC, as well as its broader economic design choices;
• analysis of the potential use cases of CBDC and understanding which are likely to present the greatest net benefits;
• international collaboration through bilateral and multilateral engagement with other central banks – the Bank of England actively participates in the analytical workstreams on CBDC of the BIS-hosted group of central banks and also the payments workstreams of the UK’s G7 presidency in 2021;
• external engagement and collaboration with government authorities to advance wider public policy issues around CBDC, including competition, data and privacy;
• work around functional design to determine what features a CBDC should have for consumers and merchants to ensure it is widely used and accepted;
• external engagement and desk-based research to understand the technology design choices available to us and to assess which to take.

The Strategic Payments Group (SPG), co-chaired by DGFS, DGMB&R and attended by the Bank’s Executive Directors, provides oversight of the CBDC project, so there is significant engagement and visibility with the top of the Bank. The project also works extensively with other areas of the Bank – including ID, MA, FSSR, Markets, BPI, Technology and FMID – so cross-Bank working is regular. The CBDC Unit also liaises extensively with HM Treasury.

This is a great opportunity for someone to shape the Bank’s work on a set of issues at the heart of central banking. The role offers a number of areas for career development. It involves the chance to provide thought leadership to a priority topic for the Bank, deliver innovative and original analysis, collaborate and work across boundaries, and engage with the most senior members of the Bank’s leadership team.

Job description

The vacancy is in the Digital Pound Project Communications and Engagement team. The jobholder will play an important role in ensuring that external stakeholders and members of the public understand the Bank’s work on a potential digital pound, and have the information and opportunities they need to help shape its design.

This is a great opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated professional to work on a project with significant public policy implications and a high level of public interest. The digital pound project is a fast-moving and complex. Effective communications and stakeholder engagement will have a significant impact on the project, ensuring that the Bank of England and HM Treasury are able to design the right digital pound for the UK should one be required.

In helping to drive forward the work of the communications and engagement team, you will gain experience navigating complex stakeholder environments and high-profile public policy discussions to deliver genuinely impactful engagement.

Key responsibilities and areas of work will include:

• Supporting delivery of the existing stakeholder forums that the CBDC Unit owns, including the Engagement Forum, Technology Forum, and working groups. This will include scheduling meetings, communicating with Forum members, helping shape agendas, producing Forum materials, and drafting minutes.
• Organising and attending meetings and roundtables with external stakeholders, including businesses, financial institutions, and civil society and consumer groups.
• Organising webinars for industry audiences, including organising technical logistics, drafting invitations and identifying and inviting attendees, preparing slides, and briefing speakers.
• Maintaining a tracker of key external meetings, events, and public speaking engagements. Identify gaps, opportunities, risks, and where preparation is required, and produce concise briefings and well-presented slidedecks for senior management.
• Monitoring parliamentary, media and other external activity relating to a digital pound, and cascading intelligence to relevant colleagues.
• Supporting delivery of other communications and engagement activity as required, including external publications.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues in HM Treasury and across the wider Bank to ensure alignment and consistency across all external communications and engagement.

Role Requirements

Expertise or experience relating specifically to the financial and/or technology sectors is not a requirement for this role, and we would equally welcome evidence of the ability to gain understanding of new and complex topics quickly. It is much more important that the right candidate for this role will have relevant transferrable skills: we are looking for a collaborative, organised, and motivated colleague with strong communication and consensus-building skills and a track record of delivering clear, impactful outputs.

If that sounds like you, and you have some experience working on the kinds of projects and activities set out in the job description, then we would welcome your application.

Criteria

• Excellent written and oral communication skills. The ability to produce concise outputs which have a strong narrative, focus on the key messages, and are clear to non-experts.
• Excellent organisational skills. Strong aptitude for effectively prioritising different pieces of work and delivering to tight deadlines, and a demonstrable ability to respond quickly to changing situations.
• Ability to understand and predict others’ views. This includes the ability to identify relevant stakeholders, understand their motivators and perspectives, and shape communications and engagement activity that recognises and responds to their needs.
• Proven interpersonal skills and a collaborative working style. The ability to build effective, constructive relationships with internal and external colleagues, drawing on their expertise and collaboratively problem-solving.
• Demonstrable ability to develop own ideas, achieve buy-in and input from colleagues, and drive projects forward autonomously.

Qualifications

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 . 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 £40,000 – £45,000 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

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 2 April.

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.

Expected salary: £40000 – 45000 per year

Location: London

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