Lead Economist

Innovate UK; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 59,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent UK research agency is seeking a Lead Analyst for Economic Appraisal in Swindon. This role involves overseeing a team responsible for robust economic analyses adhering to government standards. The successful candidate will support strategic projects, manage resources effectively, and mentor junior economists. A degree in Economics and experience in value for money analysis are essential. The position offers flexibility with hybrid working, allowing for both in-office and remote work arrangements.

Benefits

Outstanding pension scheme

30 days annual leave

Employee discounts

Flexible working options

Wellbeing initiatives

Qualifications

• Degree in Economics or equivalent work experience.
• Experience in public sector value for money analysis.
• Ability to manage a portfolio of projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Economic Appraisal team in delivering analyses.
• Manage resources effectively across projects.
• Support evaluation and policy teams with economic components.

Skills

Analytical skills

Excel proficiency

Project management

Leadership

Education

Degree in Economics

Tools

R

Python

SQL

Job description

UKRI

Salary: £58,589 per annum

Band: UKRI Band F

Contract Type: Open-ended or fixed-term external secondment opportunity (two years)

Hours: Full-time/ Part-time (minimum 0.8 FTE) (flexible working available)

Location: Swindon - Hybrid working available

Closing Date: Sunday 11th January 2026

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 R&I system, Economic Appraisal, Data Science, and analysis for Investment Strategy.

The successful candidate will lead the organisation’s Economic Appraisal team, reporting to the Head of Strategic Analysis. The successful applicant will work across directorate and organisational priorities, pivoting to new work areas as business needs evolve.

We are a team committed to diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from anyone with the skills required. The team works across the London and Swindon offices. A good proportion of the work can be done from home and there will be opportunities to visit colleagues in the London and Swindon offices and other UKRI sites.

We are committed to supporting each other’s personal and professional development and will support your learning and development ambitions in this role.

About The Role

As Lead Analyst for Economic Appraisal, you will be the standard-bearer for robust ex‑ante and ex‑post economic appraisal across the organisation, ensuring that HM Treasury’s Green Book standards are met.

With regards to ex‑ante economic appraisal, a primary responsibility of your team will be acting as the gatekeepers for all economic cases included in UKRI business cases, ensuring appropriateness for consideration at committees such as UKRI’s Investment Advisory Working Group and DSIT’s Investment Committee. Tasks related to this responsibility include ensuring that your team is supporting economic case development across the organisation, as well as reviewing the work of other economists. On major investments, your team will frequently take the lead on developing the economic cases. Whether supporting or leading on an economic case, this involves working closely with UKRI’s Business Case Hub and DSIT counterparts.

As for ex‑post economic appraisal, the main responsibility centres upon ensuring that economic analysis conducted within evaluations is suitable for use within the context of UKRI’s spending review bid and future business cases. Again, this rests upon ensuring alignment to cross‑government standards, such as adhering to the Green Book and Magenta Book. Practically, this involves your team supporting evaluation teams, as well as science and policy teams, by reviewing and advising on the economic components of their evaluations. Your team will work closely with the UKRI Analysis Evaluation team and evaluation teams across the organisation.

You will be responsible for line‑managing two direct reports, with an overall team size of four (including yourself). There is also an ambition to further increase the size of this team. Beyond this, you will be expected to mentor and provide guidance to junior analysts and economists across the organisation.

Key responsibilities of the role will include, but are not limited to:

• Managing the resourcing of your team to effectively support the development of business cases and evaluations across UKRI. This requires strict prioritisation and excellent stakeholder communication skills, as the demand for your team’s expertise often outstrips supply. A large part of this role is engaging effectively across both UKRI and government.
• Leading on the economic cases within UKRI’s most high‑profile business cases, which often get tabled at DSIT’s Investment Committee and considered through HM Treasury’s Treasury Approvals Process. This usually requires ex‑ante value for money analysis with a quantitative component developed in Excel.
• 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.
• Play a leading role in the Analysis team’s input into UKRI’s spending review bid. This requires having an excellent understanding of the evidence base that UKRI is able to deploy in this context.
• Developing a stakeholder community across government and within the R&I sector, sharing approaches for ex‑ante economic appraisal of different R&I benefits, as well as sharing knowledge on robust methodologies and analyses for the evaluation of R&I investments.
• Leading on the production and delivery of guidance and training material related to the development of economic cases, being able to tailor these materials to both analytical and non‑analytical audiences.
• Conceptualising and leading on key ex‑ante and ex‑post economic appraisal projects outside of the realm of business cases and evaluations. This would typically require modelling in Excel or R.
• You will be a key figure within UKRI’s economist community, and as such, you will be responsible for mentoring and developing junior economists across the organisation.

Personal Specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

Essential Skills And Experience

• Degree in Economics (with at least 50% of course modules in Economics) or equivalent work experience. (S)
• Analytical skills and experience: Highly proficient in Excel. (S)
• Analytical skills and experience: Experience carrying out public sector Green Book‑compliant value for money analysis. (S&I)
• Making effective decisions: The ability to manage a portfolio of projects, understanding where your team can have the most impact. (S&I)
• Leadership: Being an analytical leader and an expert in your domain. (S&I)

Other Desirable Experience

• Knowledge of and experience in applied econometrics. (S)
• Familiarity with the Magenta Book and experience in monitoring and evaluation, including identifying the strategic objectives and benefits of a project, and constructing a theory of change or logic model to link inputs to impacts. (S)
• Familiarity with the Aqua Book and knowledge of quality assurance best practices. (S)
• Experience coding in one or more of R, Python or SQL. (S)
• Experience applying economics to science, research and innovation would be desirable, but it is not a requirement. (S&I)

This role is open to all analysts with the relevant skills and experience. Applicants do not need to be badged to a Government Analytical Profession such as the GES, GSR, GORS or GSS to apply for this role. However, badged analysts are welcome to apply.

Application Process And Shortlisting Criteria (how To Apply)

Applicants are invited to submit a CV and a statement of experience (no longer than 1,000 words), covering the following three areas:

• Analytical skills and experience: examples from previous experience that provide evidence to support your application for an analytical role as specified above. Please refer to the Key responsibilities and Personal Specification sections above. You might also like to refer to the GES Technical Framework.
• Examples from previous experience that demonstrate your aptitude in the following two behaviours:

• Making effective decisions.
• Leadership.

For guidance on Civil Service Behaviours, please see Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours (Grade 7 and Grade 6 or equivalent 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.

We will hold a reserve list for 6 months of candidates who meet the criteria but who were unsuccessful at interview, from which further appointments may be made.

For more information, please contact the hiring manager: Patrick Rigby, Head of Strategic Analysis ()

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.

Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work‑life balance!

For Further Information On Our Benefits Please See

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact

Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to the Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costsor or contact

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