Deputy Director - Fiscal

Office for Budget Responsibility; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Office for Budget Responsibility seeks a senior role to lead fiscal analysis and engage with key stakeholders. This position involves managing teams, ensuring high-quality outputs, and maintaining relationships with Government entities. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong leadership, extensive knowledge of public finances, and excellent communication skills.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Flexible working patterns

Generous parental leave packages

Defined Benefit pension scheme

Cycle-to-work scheme

Retail discounts and cashback

Qualifications

• Strong leadership and management capabilities.
• Extensive knowledge of the UK public finances.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the OBR’s fiscal analytical teams to meet objectives.
• Maintain OBR's reputation for high-quality forecasts.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders in Government.

Skills

Leadership

Management

Communication

Stakeholder Management

Negotiation

Collaboration

Education

Knowledge of UK Public Finances

Job description

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was established by the Chancellor in May 2010 to provide independent assessments of the economy, public finances and fiscal sustainability.

Alongside each Autumn Budget and Spring Statement, we provide independent forecasts of the economy and public finances to inform the Government’s fiscal policy decisions, examine the impact of the Government’s policy decisions on the public finances, and assess the prospects for achieving the Government’s fiscal targets.

The OBR is comprised of the Budget Responsibility Committee (BRC) – Richard Hughes (Chair), Professor David Miles, and Tom Josephs – who are currently supported by around 50 civil servants, including economists, public finance analysts, and business support staff. As we are a small organisation with a flat structure, all roles offer direct exposure to senior staff and the opportunities to manage relationships with stakeholders across government and to project manage work programmes. You would get the chance to work flexibly and develop your ability to project manage the delivery of a range of high-profile publications.

About the Role

This role provides a unique opportunity to work closely with the Budget Responsibility Committee (BRC), the Chief of Staff, and the OBR’s team of highly motivated experts on the full range of issues that are relevant to the OBR’s annual publications and information provision. It includes a high-profile and central role in engaging with the Treasury, HMRC, DWP, the Bank of England, and macroeconomic and fiscal experts around the UK and the world during the production of our Economic and fiscal outlooks, Fiscal risks and sustainability reports, and other publications. The postholder also works with the Chief of Staff to guide, manage and motivate OBR staff.

This role is being recruited concurrently with, and as a counterpart to, the Deputy Director – Economy role. These roles have been split for the first time to reflect the size and workload of the office and need for separate senior oversight of the economic and fiscal aspects of our work. The complementarity of the two roles will be considered through the application process, and the precise responsibilities of each tailored to fit the successful candidate(s).

Key responsibilities of the role will include:

• Leading the OBR’s fiscal analytical teams to delivery on the OBR’s statutory and wider objectives. This will involve a comprehensive watching brief across the public finances and relevant Government policies.
• Working with the BRC to maintain the OBR’s reputation as an institution that produces high-quality and transparent forecasts and analysis, including by representing the OBR at external events.
• Working closely with the Chief of Staff to ensure a strong and motivated OBR staff team that works efficiently and effectively, and to oversee the OBR’s corporate structures and financial management.
• Collaborating with key stakeholders inside and outside Government to maintain strong working relationships, particularly with seniors in the Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions.
• Working with the BRC and staff to ensure that OBR’s outputs are communicated clearly and transparently to Government, Parliament, external analysts and the public.

Person Specification

While in post, the successful candidate will be expected to perform well across the full range of Senior Civil Service behaviours set out in the Success Profile framework and demonstrate commitment to Civil Service values.

The criteria for the purposes of selection are:

• Strong leadership and management capabilities.
• Extensive knowledge of the UK public finances and experience working on public finance issues.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management, negotiation and representational skills.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with colleagues.

To apply for this post please submit your application via Civil Service Jobs by 23:55 on 8 June 2025. We can only accept applications made via the Civil Service Jobs platform.

Benefits of working with us include:

• 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King’s birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant).
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
• Generous parental and adoption leave packages
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme and season ticket advancesand payroll giving
• Access to a retail discounts and cashback site

For more information about the role and how to apply, please follow the apply link.

If you need any reasonable adjustments to take part in the selection process, please tell us about this in your online application form, or speak to the recruitment team at [e-mail]