Background
The Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) service – operated by Payments Directorate – is the backbone which underpins all financial transactions in the UK and is essential for the functioning of the economy and the implementation of monetary policy and financial stability. It holds accounts for banks, building societies, financial market infrastructures, non-bank payment service providers and provides sterling settlement services for Bacs, CHAPS, ICS (cheque clearing), CREST, Faster Payments (FPS), LINK, Mastercard, Visa and PEXA.
Role and responsibilities
The role holder will be responsible for the oversight and leadership of the RTGS operational team, to ensure the safe and efficient operation and change management of the RTGS/CHAPS service and business continuity in the event of operational or technical disruption to the services provided.
You will encourage an environment of continuous improvement and learning, ensuring process optimisation and risk mitigation.
You will have input to strategic decision making and shaping of payments policy in support of the Head of RTGS Operations and the rest of the Payments executive team.
- Responsible for a large team of operational specialists and business analysts working alongside Technology analysts within the RTGS Control Centre. You are responsible for high-level decision making and defining roles and responsibilities of the team. You will develop your direct reports through sharing information effectively, coaching and communicating a clear vision to ensure that staff are productive, engaged and motivated to deliver the directorate’s aims. This will include setting clear goals and smart, stretching objectives that are aligned to those of the overall strategy.
- You will lead any incident related to the live service, be responsible for invoking our local Bronze response and act as ‘Recovery manager’, and work closely with the communications team (‘Response manager’) to ensure timely and accurate updates to key stakeholders. You must be capable of responding to any incidents related to the live service in a calm and pragmatic manner.
- The role holder will develop effective working relationships with external and internal counterparts, representing the Bank on a range of policy and operational matters. This includes but is not limited to, Technology, Swift, EUI, Pay.UK and others as required. You will present regularly to the division’s senior leadership team to keep them updated on key operational matters that support the strategic priorities for Payment Operations. This engagement responsibility extends to external representation at operational working committees.
- You are a subject matter expert for the team, with particular focus in certain topics to provide challenge and support on behalf of the wider division. You will use this expertise to work with other managers and senior managers within Payments Directorate to set policy and strategy. You will embed a culture of continuous improvement within the RTGS operational team, removing waste, ensuring ‘single source of truth’ and ‘one best way’ for processes.
- You are responsible for planning, documenting and executing testing of plausible scenarios that could cause disruption to the RTGS service, this links to operational resilience testing and contingency testing with participants.
- You will line manage and work with the Operational Resilience Manager to ensure that the full suite of contingency tests are executed with our internal and external stakeholders in accordance with audit and regulatory requirements. You will be responsible for ensuring that all associated documentation remains up to date, including the RTGS/CHAPS asset map.
- You will be responsible for business user acceptance testing (UAT), and will manage a group of people who perform this role for RTGS/CHAPS. This will require close coordination with the RTGS Change & Planning Office and Technology teams to ensure adequate resourcing and robust scheduling, high-quality test execution based on realistic scenarios, and strong issue resolution.
- You represent the Head of RTGS Operations in their absence at internal and external fora.
Minimum criteria
- Excellent leadership, stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Clear written and verbal communication skills,
- Demonstrable operational expertise and change management experience,
- Decision making under pressure allied to an ability to see the bigger picture,
- Strong understanding of operational resilience and operational risk management.
- Ability to develop talent and be an effective people leader, building opportunities for your team to excel and develop their talents.
Essential criteria
- Understanding of the wider UK and international payments landscape.
- Understanding of the practical application of Agile change management practices
- Experience of managing budgets
- Experience of wider bank operations/payment operations
Please note that this role includes a rota of weekday shifts (typically between early morning and RTGS close) and occasional weekend working.
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 as follows:
- Leeds - £65,440 - £73,620
- London - £72,720 - £81,810
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 one or more interview stages.
This role closes on July 13, 2026
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.
