How you can contribute
The BIS offers a unique opportunity to contribute to global financial stability through roles in economics, policy research, banking, IT, and corporate services.
Whether supporting high-level policy discussions, managing central bank investments, developing cutting-edge technology, or ensuring operational excellence, you will work alongside experts in a collaborative, multicultural environment.
The BIS provides a platform to make a meaningful impact on the global financial system, with opportunities ranging from PhD fellowships to specialised roles in governance, risk management, and innovation.
Economics, policy analysis and research
Join the BIS and you will have the chance to contribute to policy debates at a high level, as well as the opportunity to publish research on topics that matter.
You will explore research themes and analyse policy issues for the world's leading central banks and financial regulators, support discussions among central bank governors and other senior officials, or compile and disseminate key data sets on the global financial system. Whatever your role, you will work alongside colleagues who are experts in their field, as well as monetary policymakers, regulators and academics.
As an economist at the BIS, you will work on issues that are of importance to policymakers globally. Your involvement in up-to-the-minute policy debates will ensure your work is both timely and of real-world relevance. Providing new thinking on important topics facing central bank governors and other top-level decision-makers who regularly meet here is both rewarding and challenging. You will have close contacts with the academic world through the BIS's research networks, as well as via participation in high-profile conferences.
The combination of research and policy helps provide variety, balance and interest to our economists' working lives. At the BIS, we publish economic analysis and research on monetary and financial stability issues, often in collaboration with central bank economists and academics from around the world. In addition, many of the bodies responsible for shaping the regulatory framework of tomorrow are based at the BIS in Basel, including the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Stability Board.
For PhD economists starting out on a career, joining the BIS offers the chance to work with internationally recognised experts from both academic and policy backgrounds. The insight you will get into monetary economics and financial stability is unparalleled, giving you early exposure to issues that the academic world will subsequently take up. In addition, the range of research topics you will work on will give you a broader perspective on both monetary and financial stability.
As a research analyst, you will support our team of economists, in an environment that fosters knowledge-sharing and collaboration. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about central bank issues and key topics that could shape your future career. Because these topics are so wide-ranging, you will get exposure to a broad remit of international data and empirical approaches.
The BIS is a source of key statistics on the global financial system, including the international banking statistics and other key data sets covering derivatives, the securities market and the foreign exchange market, as well as international macroeconomic indicators. As a statistical analyst, you will use various statistical tools and methods to help create important sources of insight into the global financial system, while learning about central bank issues and topics that will develop your expertise and widen your future career choices. In addition, you will get exposure to an exceptionally broad remit of international data, and how it is used for policy purposes.
- Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
- Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures
- Committee on the Global Financial System
- Markets Committee
- Central Bank Governance Forum
- Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics
- Financial Stability Board
- International Association of Insurance Supervisors
- International Association of Deposit Insurers
Committees and hosted associations
By providing analysis and policy recommendations and helping to develop regulatory standards, the Basel-based committees and associations support central banks, and other authorities in charge of financial stability. Communication and collaboration among these groups are enhanced by the fact that they are housed under one roof at the BIS.
The committee secretariats prepare the meetings, draw up background papers and reports, organise the collection of international data and publish the work of the groups they serve. Members of committee secretariats work on current policy issues as part of a cooperative process, which requires a combination of technical expertise and strong communication and process management skills. Open positions for policy experts at some of these Basel-based groups are typically filled via a nomination process from the committees or associations themselves.
The BIS's Financial Stability Institute (FSI) promotes the supervisory standards and practices devised by the Basel-based committees and associations. The FSI assists financial sector supervisors in strengthening their financial systems by organising conferences and other events for supervisors, and by producing publications and online seminars.
Banking and risk management
The BIS offers financial services to some 140 central banks and monetary authorities worldwide, many of which invest part of their foreign exchange reserves with us.
We are well placed to understand the risk and return objectives that central banks pursue and to respond to the evolving needs of reserves managers. Our approach centres on the open exchange of expertise and ideas, and a long-term perspective.
The Bank's financial and operational risks are overseen by an independent, risk management function that is also responsible for ensuring an integrated approach to risk management.
Each BIS customer has a dedicated relationship manager who is responsible for promoting the Bank's financial services. We offer a full range of fixed income, money market, foreign exchange, gold and asset management services. You will work closely with our customers to gain a clear understanding of their investment objectives and constraints and their overall foreign exchange management requirements.
Working as a dealer, you will have close exposure to both the markets and the central banks. You will be contributing to the development of new products, as our fixed income and money market treasury products are tailored to the evolving needs of central banks. This makes it a fascinating and rewarding place to work.
In these roles, you will be managing portfolios of government bonds and high-grade fixed income instruments on behalf of our customers. It will be your aim to deliver consistent outperformance against the benchmark, without adding significant risk. Even though our product range is rather compact, the size of the investments you will be managing and the variety of the work will offer you plenty of opportunity to learn and grow.
In this middle office role, you will have the opportunity to work on a wide range of risk management issues, which will offer you a stimulating learning curve. Although organisationally independent from the front office, risk analysts work closely with their customer-facing counterparts. Furthermore, interaction and cooperation with the central banking community is very satisfying.
Our settlement officers oversee transactions for our central bank customers. Working with a wide range of different currencies makes these back office roles highly demanding. Your work will help safeguard the integrity of the BIS's banking business.
The high level of interaction between risk managers and other colleagues in the Bank makes this a good environment to work in as a risk management specialist. The strong focus on managing risk that you would find in an institution like the BIS still requires creativity and innovation to help solve new issues. Access to the BIS' research data and a culture of preparing research thoroughly help to enable top-quality work.
Our financial risk managers develop the Bank's financial risk strategy and policy. The main operational tasks are to measure, control and report the financial risks taken by the BIS and to ensure that this risk management activity is supported by sound processes, methodologies and IT systems.
Our operational risk managers support the business units in identifying, managing and minimising the operational risks that the BIS faces. It is not possible to avoid operational risks and the potential for associated financial and non-financial losses altogether. However, it is possible to mitigate such losses through appropriate policies and procedures.
Leading worldwide cooperation
At the BIS, we have an internationally collaborative approach. A good example of this is the opportunity our Banking team regularly has to design investment vehicles known as BIS Investment Pools (BISIPs), guided by an advisory committee of central banks. The most recent BISIPs allow participating central banks to invest in assets denominated in Chinese renminbi and Korean won.
Information management and technology
Our banking services for central banks, as well as our statistical and research capabilities, demand top-quality IT systems. We provide you with the necessary resources and investment to ensure you are working on the latest technology, and with all the appropriate training opportunities to maximise your skills.
Thanks to end-to-end involvement in technical development you will have the chance to see the impact on the end user. Colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds bring different knowledge and expertise to the team, which creates a stimulating working environment with opportunities for discussing ideas and developing innovative solutions to business challenges.
Working closely with the business departments and virtual teams of technical experts, you will create a roadmap for key applications and platforms, and promote common standards and methodologies across the Bank. You will provide expert advice and communicate regularly to senior management.
The decisions you make will ensure that your colleagues have the solution they need, on time and on cost. You will combine software expertise with a strong focus on the needs of your colleagues in the business departments, as well as leadership skills to ensure that the solutions you deliver meet the most demanding technical standards.
In collaboration with business areas, ensuring that the Bank's IT and information assets are adequately protected against cyber-security risks is a key priority. Our team of experienced professionals in security engineering, cyber defence and information security help us achieve this goal.
Your priority is to know the IT needs of your business colleagues, define those needs for your IT colleagues, and provide thoroughgoing support.
You will support the business departments in managing their information effectively, enabling collaboration and ensuring efficient record-keeping. Promoting the guidelines on retention, classification and access, you will seek to continuously improve the operational practices related to document and records management.
Other corporate services
From HR to communications, finance, facilities management and meeting services, our corporate service teams draw on outstanding professional expertise. They all play a key role in helping to support the Bank's core work. Working in a multicultural environment to support a broad range of activities, you will contribute directly and visibly to the organisation's success.
Everyone who works in our corporate services teams plays a vital part in our mission - to contribute to global monetary and financial stability. The effort we put into providing an excellent level of service to our customers is mirrored in the high quality of our support staff.
Reflecting the international activities of the BIS, financial reporting has a very high profile within the organisation. As part of our finance team, you will create reports that inform and support management decisions. The level of expertise among your colleagues is high, which is just one of the reasons why the BIS is an interesting place to work.
More than 600 people from over 60 countries work at the BIS, in a wide range of disciplines - including recognised experts in their field. This makes it a particularly interesting place if you are an HR professional. In your role as part of a small HR team, you will master a wide range of skills and work with a wide variety of people across all levels of the organisation. This interaction with experts from different disciplines offers an environment of continuous learning that is highly rewarding.
There is a high level of interest in the work we do at the BIS. As part of the communications team, you will play a key role in connecting the Bank with its global audience. Whether you are involved in editing and drafting, media and public relations, digital communications or any of our communications roles, you will be central to helping the BIS achieve its mission, working closely with colleagues across the organisation.
We help ensure the smooth running of the logistics for the meetings of central bank governors and other officials from around the world that take place at the BIS. The quality of this support is highly valued by our guests, many of whom return on a regular basis. As a member of our high-performing and friendly team, you will be an important contributor to the Bank's mission of supporting international cooperation among central banks and other financial sector supervisors.
Given the BIS' distinct position amongst global financial institutions, it is paramount that our procurement function adheres to best practice and top due diligence standards. The range and diversity of projects we handle gives an insight into the different parts of our organisation, and it's satisfying to know that our work contributes value.
Corporate Security ensures the physical security of people in the Bank's premises as well as the provision of first-aid services and fire safety. Our security professionals enjoy international exposure, as well as, nurturing customer services and hospitality.
As both a bank and an international organisation, the BIS offers engineering and facility management professionals a wide range of interesting challenges in planning, operating and improving its buildings and their infrastructure. Applying our expertise to meet these challenges cost-effectively earns us both professional satisfaction and the recognition of our colleagues.
Legal and internal audit
These roles are instrumental in upholding the Bank's high business and governance standards. Our lawyers have the opportunity to work on both banking and public international law in a single institution. Our internal auditors apply and enforce the highest standards and practices to provide assurance to the Board of Directors.
The Legal Service provides legal advice and assistance to the BIS Board, management and all BIS units on institutional, corporate, financial transactions, employment and other matters. As a member of a small team of legal staff with varied professional backgrounds, you will make full use of your negotiation and drafting skills as well as your command of international financial and administrative law.
Internal Audit helps the Bank accomplish its objectives by evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance systems. Our team comprises a small number of highly qualified and talented individuals who aim to be best-in-class in their field. Work is varied and challenging, with a high level of exposure to senior management. We also regularly exchange views and know-how with our colleagues from major central banks.