Katherine Braddick is stepping up to become the Treasury's new director general for financial services, it has been announced.
The Warwick and Cambridge-educated Braddick joined the Treasury as director of financial services in 2014, after stints at independent regulators the Prudential Regulation Authority and the now-abolished Financial Services Authority. She has also worked for the Association of British Insurers.
The Treasury confirmed on Monday that Braddick would "immediately" begin work as its new financial services DG, succeeding Charles Roxburgh who has gone on to become the finance ministry's second permanent secretary.
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Braddick's in-tray is likely to be dominated by the Treasury's response to Britain's decision to leave the European Union, and its far-reaching implications for the UK's financial services industry.
In the statement announcing her appointment, the Treasury stressed Braddick's EU-facing experience.
"As Director of Financial Services she has led on the development and negotiation of financial services policy in the EU and international fora and the international competitiveness of the UK in financial services," it said.
Just this weekend the British Bankers' Association – a lobby group representing the major players in the banking sector – said many London-based financial services firms were already considering relocation.
"Most international banks now have project teams working out which operations they need to move to ensure they can continue serving customers, the date by which this must happen, and how best to do it," BBA chief executive Anthony Browne wrote in The Observer.
Many in the banking sector would like a Brexit deal to retain as much as possible of the current "passporting" regime, which allows firms to trade across the EU and the European Economic Area without separate authorisation in individual member states.
A Treasury job specification for the role now occupied by Braddick said the new DG would play "a central role" the Treasury's work to negotiate "a new relationship with the European Union in financial services".
The Treasury job ad also made clear that the Brexit vote will require a major "change management programme" at the ministry itself, led by the successful candidate.
"The outcome of the EU Referendum will clearly have a significant impact on the Financial Services and Financial Stability Groups," it said.
"This will mean changes to the way in which these Groups are structured and operate."
The Treasury's new financial services chief will also be involved in "significant" international travel "to conduct negotiations and build relationships with the European Commission, Finance Ministries and international organisations", according to the specification.
Braddick started her career as a civil servant in 1996, joining the then-Department for the Environment.