Technical Specialist (cyber related), Operational Risk and Resilience, R&CGI Operational Risk and Resilience Team - Insurance Directorate

LEEDS BASED

Insurance Directorate

Insurance Supervision has responsibility for the supervision of over 500 UK Insurance companies and branches of international insurers. Our mission is to be the world’s leading supervisor of the insurance sector, to fulfil our primary objective of UK insurers safety and soundness and policyholder protection. The availability and provision of insurance protection is crucial to the functioning of the economy by enabling individuals, households, and businesses to know they can be secure in good times and bad. Our Directorate comprises seven divisions that work together in pursuit of our primary objectives; and to support competitive and dynamic markets in the sectors we regulate. We work with firms to improve their risk management, maintain adequate resilience, and seek to identify and respond to new and emerging risks.

We are outward looking and regularly engage with the industry; but we are committed to leveraging the benefits of our own diverse skills and experience to support the delivery of our mission and to be an enjoyable and fulfilling place to work. We pride ourselves on being a diverse Directorate, where colleagues feel valued and respected, allowing them to thrive in their roles.

The directorate comprises four supervisory divisions: Retail and Commercial General Insurance, Life Groups, London Market and Retail Life. The Retail and Commercial General Insurance (RCGI) Division is home to the Operational Risk and Resilience Team (ORRT) who are looking to fill a technical specialist role with particular focus on cyber risk and resilience.

The ORRT technical specialist role, cyber risk, is advertised at a time where cyber risk is rising not only on PRA/Bank priorities but also that of firm’s own risk committees and boards, wider industries and UK Government. As such, the successful candidate will need to be a forward thinker, well-versed in broader Operational Risk and Resilience topics, with strong stakeholder management and engagement skills, and the ability to influence at senior and working levels. Whilst cyber risk and resilience will form a key part of this role, the successful applicant will also expected provide support on operational resilience, technology and third-party risk related work across the insurance directorate.

You will provide technical and thought leadership whilst taking a practical approach to conducting thematic reviews, deep dives and risk assessments, including supporting supervisory teams through firm assessments, incident response activity and technical advice, helping ensure firms can prevent, respond to and recover from operational disruptions. Your work will form a key part in helping inform the supervisory strategy for the largest insurers in the UK.

The role holder is expected to collaborate effectively with other supervisory teams, data and actuarial functions within the insurance directorate and with the wider PRA including the Supervisory Risk Specialist Directorate (SRS) and the Prudential Policy Directorate.

You will lead on wider Operational Risk and Resilience topics impacting the insurance sector, inputting into policy development (i.e. Cyber Resilience Guidelines) and implementing forthcoming and existing policies (SS1/21 – Operational Resilience, PS7/26 – Incident and Outsourcing Reporting). Whilst this is not a line management role, you will have the ability to develop your own and others technical skills in this area and demonstrate leadership qualities in this way and through leading the delivery of significant project and/or thematic work.

You will be expected to engage and influence effectively senior management internally and at regulated firms; represent the Insurance Directorate with other regulatory authorities (e.g. FCA) and to deliver clear messages in industry events.

Role Requirements

Minimum Criteria

• Experience in cyber security, technology risk, and operational risk and resilience;
• Excellent analytical and technical skills, the ability to analyse and interpret operational and risk and resilience information independently, exercise judgement and draw and present clearly reasoned conclusions;
• Ability to communicate complex technical issues to non-technical stakeholders;
• Breadth of understanding of the key issues facing firms with respect to operational risk and resilience and ability to provide thought leadership when scoping and undertaking assurance review projects (including firm and sector/thematic reviews);
• Strong personal impact and credibility, the ability to communicate effectively, persuade and influence the senior management of a firm, and overseas regulators, to advance the PRA objectives;
• The ability to act independently and effectively lead a programme of work, delivering through others and providing thought leadership.

Essential Criteria

• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with experience of building and maintaining relationships with individuals at all levels of seniority and to influence and challenge where appropriate;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, ability to deliver clear, concise and structured written communication and clearly articulate findings to senior management;
• Sound judgement, the ability to cover a wide variety of operational resilience issues, linking various strands of work, focus on the key issues when working under pressure;
• Strong knowledge of cyber resilience, technology risk and operational resilience frameworks;
• Expertise in assessing the implementation of the Operational Resilience policy (e.g. SS1/21, SS2/21) and the requirements for material outsourcing notifications and incident reporting;
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality outputs.

Desirable Criteria

• Understanding of PRA, Insurance Directorate and FCA priorities relevant to this area of work.

With the screening questions, please put N/A to the screening question “Please give examples highlighting your skills that are applicable to the requirements of this role. In your response, please include: - The situation or task – the context and challenge involved - The actions you took – what you were personally responsible for - The outcome – the results achieved and the impact of your actions Your examples can be drawn from any role, project, or experience. We are interested in what you did and how you applied your skills. (max 300 words). However, please do ensure you answer in full the screening question “Explain why you are interested in this role and how your skills and experience meet the minimum and essential criteria, as outlined in the job". 

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

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.

This role offers a salary of circa £65,440 - £73,600. In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:

• Currently a non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• An 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 Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited. The Bank cannot guarantee that you and / or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful. Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.

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 interview stages.

This role closes on 19 Oct.

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.