Economist

UK Research & Innovation

Economist

Salary: £45,272 (London allowance of £5,129 if based in London)

Hours: Full Time / Part Time (Min 0.8 FTE)

Contract Type: Open Ended

Location: London or Swindon (Hybrid working available)

Closing Date: Monday 4th August 2025

Job Overview

This is an exciting opportunity to join a multi-disciplinary analytical team that works on areas at the heart of the UK research and innovation (R&I) system. Our work plays a key role in delivering the government’s ambition to strengthen the UK’s position as a global science and technology superpower, set out in the UK Science and Technology Framework.

The role sits within the Strategic Analysis team (within a wider analysis team and the Investment Planning and Strategy directorate) which has a wide remit including analysis of the Research & Innovation system, Economic Appraisal, Data Science and Thematic Analysis, and analysis for Investment Strategy.

Responsibilities

• Leading on business case analysis, with a focus on economic cases. This would usually require ex-ante value for money analysis with a quantitative component developed in Excel
• Mentoring junior analysts to deliver economic appraisal projects
• Supporting evaluation, policy, and science teams in the delivery of the economic component of their evaluation projects. This includes reviewing invitation to tender documents, bids, and early drafts.
• Supporting analysis for fiscal events and spending reviews
• Engaging with internal and external analysts to develop robust methodologies and analysis for evaluation of UKRI investments
• Developing guidance and training for both analysts and non-analytical audiences
• Supporting the Lead Analyst on the conception and development of key ex-ante and ex-post economic appraisal projects. This would typically require modelling in Excel or R.
• Running literature and evidence reviews assessing their robustness and relevance. This would require finding and analysing relevant sources and data sets to fill knowledge gaps, summarising the key findings for users;

About you

• Degree in Economics (with at least 50% of course modules in Economics) or equivalent work experience (S)
• Experience carrying out public sector Green Book compliant value for money analysis (S&I)
• Knowledge of and experience in Applied Econometrics (S&I)
• Highly proficient in Excel (S&I)
• Experience in building strong relationships with technical and non-technical users of analysis at varying seniority levels (S&I)
• Drawing on a broad range of quantitative and qualitative analytical tools and methods to deliver high quality pieces of analytical work at pace (S&I)
• Clearly communicating analytical findings, limitations, and uncertainty (S&I)

To view the full job description please click apply and visit our careers page

Benefits

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package! We are committed to supporting employees’ development and promote a culture of continuous learning! A list of benefits below;

• An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme
• 30 days’ annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent)
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities
• Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice
• Flexible working options

Please click here for more details on the https://www.discover.ukri.org/benefits-of-working-at-ukri/index.html

Application Process and Shortlisting Criteria (how to apply)

Applicants are invited to submit a CV and a statement of experience (no longer than 1250 words), covering the following 4 areas:

1. Analytical skills - examples from previous experience that provide evidence to support your application for an analytical role as specified above. Please refer to the “Requirements” and “About you” sections above. You might also like to refer to the GES Technical Framework (maximum 500 words)

Examples from previous experience that demonstrate your aptitude in the following three behaviours (maximum 250 words for each behaviour):

1. Working together
2. Delivering at pace
3. Communicating and influencing

For guidance on Civil Service Behaviours, please see Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours (SEO grade)

In the event that we receive a high number of applications, we will shortlist based on the lead competency – analytical skills. You should consider using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for each of the skills and behaviours, including analytical skills.

Applications that don’t follow the instructions outlined above will not be considered

For more information, please contact the hiring manager: Stefania Cerruti, Lead Analyst for Economic Appraisal and Business Cases ([email protected])