Job of the Week: COO, UK Infrastructure Bank: Build that stack...

The UK Infrastructure Bank –  launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in June 2021 to provide £22 billion in infrastructure finance – is looking for a Chief Operating Officer (COO), who will also be responsible for IT.

The UK Infrastructure Bank is currently operating without its full suite of staff and functions. It hired its first CFO in September, appointing Annie Ropar, the respected former CFO and CAO of theCanada Infrastructure Bank.

It was set up to fill a hole left by the end of European Investment Bank financing for infrastructure.

As such the role is a compelling greenfield one for an ambitious COO with a healthy appetite for a challenge.

We’re making the role The Stack’s latest Job of the Week.

What’s the UK Infrastructure Bank, prithee?

The Bank is a publicly owned limited company with HM Treasury as the sole shareholder. It had invested in eight deals worth £760 million and mobilised over £4.5 billion of private capital as of August 2022.

A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) in June 2022 found that “a range of important operational framework elements were not in place at launch, for example around people, processes, and technology.”

It had 127 staff as of  April 2022 – an eye-popping 94% of which were interim, temporary and contracters.

It has continued to build out its team and advisory board since.

NAO's July 2022 report said that the bank currently relies heavily on existing HM Treasury systems – for financial management, for example – but it has in place plans to develop its own technology solutions.

“The Bank is currently reliant on a number of HM Treasury IT systems for HR and finance administration, and on using bespoke spreadsheets to manage deal flow and credit risk. This relatively fragmented approach means that the systems are not directly suited to the Bank’s long-term needs and increases its operational risks.

“The Bank recognises that it needs to implement its own IT systems, particularly as it increases in scale… it is undertaking a project to deliver this transition, which it expects to complete by December 2023.”

UK Infrastructure Bank COO vacancy: As greenfield as it gets

Advertising the UK Infrastructure Bank COO role, the company said that the successful candidate will have “overall responsibility for the Operations, IT, PMO, Procurement, and Facilities for the bank and will play a significant leadership role, reporting directly to the CEO” – as it is set up as a private company some of the restrictions around pay of the public sector as less onerous and the salary should be competitive.

Responsibilities will include overseeing “the implementation and growth of ‘front to back’ operations systems and processes to support the bank’s key functions, including banking, portfolio management, finance, compliance, risk, and HR” and ensuring that “the bank’s technology and services are created to regulatory and industry standards, with effective management of data, information, and cyber security controls.”

In short, you’ll be pivotal to helping build a bank almost from the ground up.

Nb: HM Treasury has provided the Bank up to £22 billion in capital. This is a combination of direct funding from HM Treasury, transfer of existing commitments to the Bank, and a line of credit whereby the Bank can borrow up to £7 billion from the Debt Management Office or $1.5 billion through private markets per year.

Apply here.