Economist (Infrastructure and Price Controls) in London

Successful candidates may be based in any of our office locations - Cardiff, Glasgow, or London, we are especially welcoming applications from people based in the Cardiff and Glasgow.

Hybrid working - on average, currently one day per week in the office, or approximately 20% of the month.

Job summary Ofgem is Great Britain's independent energy regulator.

Our primary responsibility is to protect energy consumers, especially the most vulnerable, while at the same time working with government, industry and consumer groups to deliver a clean, more affordable and secure net-zero energy system at the lowest cost to consumers and drive economic growth.

We have an exciting opportunity for an Economist (Infrastructure and Price Controls) to join our Office of Research and Economics within the Strategy, Economics, Research and Net Zero (SERN) directorate.

This is your chance to play a key role in shaping the UK's energy future by ensuring that major infrastructure and regulatory decisions are grounded in robust, high quality economic analysis.

You'll work flexibly across priority projects in Ofgem's Infrastructure portfolio, contributing to areas such as RIIO price controls, network regulation and the assessment of largescale infrastructure proposals.

Your work will help ensure that our decisions are evidence based, deliver value for consumers and support the transition to a fair, affordable and resilient net-zero energy system.

• Assist across different work areas in Ofgem's Infrastructure directorates in the context of operating in a new and growing team designed to work flexibly.
• Support the delivery of high-quality analytical work packages producing analysis and impact assessments for infrastructure projects, including Ofgem's RIIO price controls
• Develop effective relationships with team members and infrastructure policy leads and team members, to ensure effective work

Key Responsibilities

• Undertake, support and collaborate with policy teams in applying economic thinking and producing robust quantitative and qualitative analysis, including to inform policy design.
• Contribute to Ofgem's work on impact assessments as well as supporting on appraisals, cost-benefit analysis and policy analysis.
• Review and quality assure economic models, challenge input data and assumptions, and interpret output data.
• Contribute to producing both internal and external documents presenting or communicating analysis, often in a non-technical way.
• Assess the reliability and relevance of evidence and give objective advice.
• Collaborate with teams across Ofgem and in some cases with partners (e. g. DESNZ, NESO) to provide assurance on the quality of analytical work on major projects.
• Key Stakeholder Relationships
• Chief Economist, Head of Economic Analysis, Principal and Senior Economists in the Office of Research and Economics.
• Policy teams from across the Infrastructure Group, particularly those involved in analytical work underpinning key Ofgem decisions.
• Where appropriate to the work packages, external senior stakeholders including academics, other regulators, government departments etc.

Person Specification

Please ensure you demonstrate clearly within your supporting statement (not more than 1250 words) how you meet each of the criteria below.

In the event of receiving a large number of applications an initial sift may take place on the identified lead criteria outlined below.

Essential

• Degree in Economics/related subject or comparable capability built through relevant professional experience in economic analysis (LEAD CRITERIA).
• Ability to effectively communicate and synthesise analysis, ideas and data for a variety of audiences, both verbally and in writing (LEAD CRITERIA).
• Ability to flexibly and effectively deliver high-quality work in a timely way across a range of different analytical projects.
• Analytical skills using relevant software packages (one or more of R, STATA, Python, or Excel). Ideally experience of applying these tools in a professional context.

Desirable

• Experience of working on comparable economic issues with an understanding of the principles of economic regulation (e. g. working in the energy sector, consultancy, price controls, regulated companies, regulators or government departments).

Salary and Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,123, OFGEM contributes £9,885 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 30 days annual leave after 2 years
• Excellent training and development opportunities
• The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits
• Hybrid working (currently 1 day a week in the office but this is kept under review)
• Flexible working hours and family friendly policies
• Plus lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050
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