UKIFS Economist

Fusion Energy Base; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 71,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fusion research organization in the United Kingdom is seeking a UKIFS Economist to drive the economic analysis behind the STEP programme. This pivotal role involves developing comprehensive economic evidence to justify funding and communicate impact effectively. The ideal candidate will have a degree in Economics, proficient in quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques, and will engage with various stakeholders to enhance the programme's value. A competitive salary and excellent benefits including a pension are offered.

Benefits

Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme

Corporate bonus scheme up to 7%

Flexible working options

Generous annual leave allowance

Qualifications

• Leading quantitative and qualitative data management and analysis.
• Understanding of Government driven Economic best practice.
• Ability to grasp complex issues quickly and see the big picture.

Responsibilities

• Lead on the Economic impact of STEP programme.
• Develop robust economic evidence-base for programme's value.
• Engage with stakeholders on evidence of value for money.

Skills

Quantitative data management

Qualitative data analysis

Interpersonal skills

Technical analysis techniques

Education

Degree in Economics or equivalent

Tools

R

Python

Job description

As our UKIFS Economist, you will take a leading role as part of a growing team which develops and delivers the benefits, monitoring and evaluation (BM&E) activities. It is an exciting time to join UKIFS, and this role will lead on the Economic impact of STEP, providing expertise to understand the opportunities and filling evidence gaps within this nascent sector. Your role will be vital in justifying continued funding of the STEP programme, leading the development of a robust economic evidence-base to demonstrate the value for money and return on investment of STEP, furthering the goals of the UK’s Fusion Strategy. UKIFS is growing, and you will join the central Business Strategy team as a key support to the Benefits, Monitoring and Evaluation Lead; generating timely and fit-for-purpose Economic evidence and insight to meet the stringent requirements of our various key stakeholders. Databases of economic evidence will be built upon your work to deliver monetisable insights that clearly communicate the impact of the programme to a range of audiences. This role will lead activities to enhance the evidence of value for money analysis, including both monetisable but also non-monetisable economic benefits (quantitative and qualitative), helping bring clarity to unique elements of the programme and what impact they are likely to deliver. You will bring expertise and lead on the Economic aspects of Evaluations to help improve understanding on how effective and efficient the programme is and to support continuous improvement. This opportunity will involve engaging with all aspects of the STEP programme as well as supporting the programme’s interface with the Government’s assurance and approval processes. You will also have ownership of the Economic Case of STEP business case(s), writing and producing this part of the business case in part through the production of analysis and through peer-reviewing the work of others. This role will involve close working with other Experts and Government Analysts, including Lead Economists within UKAEA and DESNZ.

£70,505 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension

• Degree in Economics or equivalent qualification and/or experience.
• Experience of leading quantitative and qualitative data management and analysis. May include developing programme benefits, monitoring and evaluation and economic aspects of strategic business cases.
• Understanding of Government driven Economic best practice and HMT requirements. Ability to use expertise to train and coach colleagues and explain risk and uncertainty.
• An ability to grasp issues quickly and understand the big picture for UKIFS, DESNZ, the wider fusion sector, and Government. Excellent interpersonal skills and confidence forging relationships across teams and Government.
• Ability to quickly respond to changing demands and priorities, with the confidence to take quick decisions without compromising the quality of work.
• Technical skills with experience of using a range of robust techniques to deliver analysis.

Beneficial

• Demonstrated experience of Government driven Economic best practice and HMT requirements.
• Experience of leading and delivering significant Economic analysis or evaluations together with an interest in fusion or science & engineering.
• Experience of using best-practice spreadsheet models and knowledge of R and Python.
• Experience of leadership and delivery in fast-paced, complex, and ambiguous environments.
• Experience of working with Government stakeholders on large scale complex transformative programmes together with an interest in fusion industry.
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary environment collaboratively with colleagues in finance, policy, engineering, scientific, commercial, project delivery, legal and senior leadership teams.

Additional Information

We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly women in STEM and individuals from British black and ethnic minority backgrounds, and individuals with disabilities. Our Executive team, supported by our 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) Partner and Inclusion Ambassadors, actively promotes EDI and takes steps to increase diversity within our organisation.

We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

UKIFS is committed to being accessible. Please email [e-mail] if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions. Whilst not required at this time, there is a possibility of an SC Clearance being required in the future. If a candidate already holds an SC clearance, that clearance can be transferred to UKIFS.

For applicants applying from outside the United Kingdom or those who have spent time outside the UK in the last five years, please visit the following link for information on criminal records checks:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications. We may consider your application for future positions or similar positions within the organisation.

We have a number of exceptional opportunities available at the moment, to view them all please visit Careers - STEP.

As an employee of UKAEA you will benefit from:

• Outstandingdefined benefit pension scheme,details of which can be found at the end of this advert.
• Corporatebonus schemeup to7%and aRelocationallowance (if eligible).
• Flexible working optionsincluding family friendly policies.
• Employee Assistance Programmeand trained Mental Health First Aiders,
• Generous annual leaveallowance starting with 25 days, plus 3 days Christmas closure and 2.5 privilege days, in addition to UK bank holidays
• A vibrantculturecommitted to equality and being fullyinclusive

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