Manager, Sector Exercising & Response, Sector Resilience

UK Finance is the collective voice for the banking and finance industry. Representing around 300 firms across the industry, we act to enhance competitiveness, support customers and facilitate innovation.

We work for and on behalf of our members to promote a safe, transparent and innovative banking and finance industry. We offer research, policy expertise, thought leadership and advocacy in support of our work. We provide a single voice for a diverse and competitive industry. Our operational activity enhances members’ own services in situations where collective industry action adds value.

The operational resilience (OpRes) of the financial services sector is of critical importance to UK Finance members and their customers. Helping our members build more resilient organisations supported by a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework is a core UK Finance priority.

In support of this, UK Finance runs the Cross Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG) in partnership with the Bank of England. CMORG exists to enhance the resilience of the sector through public | private collective action strategies.

Job Purpose

This position will lead CMORG's sector exercising programme in collaboration with the Bank of England and industry partners. The programme follows a two-year cycle: year one focuses on Sector Simulation Exercise (SIMEX) implementation with the Bank of England, while year two transitions to a series of industry-led technical exercises.

The successful candidate will oversee exercise execution, governance management, findings documentation, and enhancement initiatives. You will collaborate with the Sector Exercising Group (SEG) and Sector Response Framework (SRF) Group under CMORG, while engaging with senior committees including the Cross Market Business Continuity Group (CMBCG) and various sector response groups.

Additionally, you will contribute to the strategic development of the SRF—the industry's collective approach to systemic incident management. A key responsibility involves supporting the SRF co-chairs and ensuring that insights gained from exercises and actual incidents translate into meaningful improvements that strengthen the framework and enhance the industry's resilience against future systemic disruptions.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading UK Finance’s support for SIMEX every two years, working closely with key stakeholders such as in collaboration with the Bank of England and industry participants.

Note - SIMEX occurs every two years (i.e. 2026, 2028). This exercise consists of around 9-12 months of planning ahead of the execution of the exercise. A findings report and a programme for delivering sector enhancements follows this.

• Leading UK Finance’s industry-led technical exercise programme, delivering two technical exercises in non-SIMEX years, including consulting industry on scenario selection, design of the scenario, and managing logistics.

Note - Technical exercises are undertaken on non-SIMEX years (i.e. 2027, 2029). There are typically two technical exercises hosted during a calendar year, with their own findings report and enhancement action plans.

For both SIMEX and Technical Exercises, other key responsibilities are:

• Working with industry and the SEG to support the design of scenarios that would effectively stress the financial services sector and key response tools, including liaising with industry, regulators and Government to inform scenario selection.
• Supporting the governance for SIMEX and the technical exercises, including leading on the design and documentation of planning and logistics for the exercise. This would include ownership of key artefacts such as the inject pack and master events list.
• Support exercising governance through minute taking and leading on actions.
• Lead on the drafting of the technical findings report and support the industry and Bank of England in drafting the lessons learned and full report.
• Lead the design of the findings into a programme to be delivered through CMORG.

Sector Response Framework

• Support the co-chairs of the Sector Response Framework Group by coordinating exercise inputs, sharing insights and contributing to the strategic oversight of the framework.
• Translate lessons learnt from exercises and real incidents into actionable improvements to enhance the operational effectiveness of the Sector Response Framework.

Wider activity

• Maintain oversight of the sector exercising calendar, acting as the central point of coordination and recording details of upcoming exercises across industry. This includes tracking key details such as dates, scenarios and thematic focus areas to help avoid scheduling conflicts and to support the delivery of a diverse and balanced programme of exercises across the sector.
• Support the ongoing evolution and enhancement of CMORG’s risk register.
• Support wider activity as it links to exercising and scenarios, such as the development scenario library activity across CMORG.
• Support the wider policy teams within UK Finance where required.

Skills and Competencies

• Experience of coordinating and leading testing and exercising within a financial services, Government, military, security or similar setting.
• Project management experience, including managing and chairing steering committees, and developing project reports, artefacts and minutes.
• Engaging with senior stakeholders across regulators, Government and industry including experience in resolving different views between key participants.
• Research, design and content development, analysis, briefing and drafting, including writing papers, media content, blogs and online material.
• Capable of taking the lead as the subject matter expert and credibly presenting to Boards or high-level governance committees.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, together with the ability to effectively manage stakeholder relationships.
• Ability to work within multi-disciplinary project teams, provide input to others’ work and deliver excellent outcomes in a timely and agile fashion.

Qualifications

• A degree or other equivalent, relevant qualification.
• Relevant business continuity qualifications welcomed but not essential.

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