Economist

The public sector client is looking to recruit an Economist for a 5 month temporary contract based in London. The successful candidate will have the relevant skills and experience specified below. Please Note: This assignment sits inside of IR35. Job Description: Climate change is one of the biggest and most pressing challenges facing Government’s across the world. In this role you will be at the heart of the Department’s strategy to accelerate the shift to greener transport, and drive more sustainable travel behaviours, to ensure that transport plays its part in meeting this challenge. Transport is now the largest contributor to UK domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing 27% of domestic emissions in 2017. In recognition of the need to go further and faster, the Government announced the UK’s first Transport Decarbonisation Plan in October last year, which will bring together a bold and ambitious programme of coordinated action to end the UK’s transport emissions by 2030. To deliver against these ambitions we are looking to expand the team, and this is a newly created post to develop the modelling and analytical capabilities required to shape and support the development of the strategies and policies that will underpin the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, and drive the reduction in carbon emissions from transport over the coming decades. You will be part of the Environmental Analysis team – a high-performing and dynamic team of 12 analysts responsible for providing timely and robust analysis and specialist advice to the Energy, Technology and Innovation (ETI) directorate in DfT. ETI is responsible for the Department’s environmental and clean growth strategy, overseeing the development and delivery of policies to reduce carbon emissions from transport, support the transition to zero emission vehicles, drive the uptake of renewable transport fuels, improve air quality, set regulations on vehicle safety and emissions, and put innovative new technology on the roads. You will be responsible for developing new analytical capabilities and improving existing models related to vehicle take-up, emissions, and costs, to help decision makers understand how best to meet the Department’s key environmental and clean growth objectives – in particular the eradication of emissions from transport and 100% uptake of zero emission technologies. The analytical models and tools which the post-holder will be responsible for developing cut across a number of ETIs work areas. You will therefore play a key role within both EA and ETI, and have the opportunity to work on a range of issues and with colleagues across the directorate. Duties and responsibilities: Key duties and responsibilities are likely to include: Review of team modelling capabilities: You will undertake a review of the team’s existing modelling tools, evidence base and analytical capabilities, and working with the Head of Environmental Analysis establish the key gaps and priorities, before establishing a model development programme. Cost-benefit analysis: You will develop the team’s cost-benefit analysis framework and toolkit, to ensure that robust value for money assessments of key policies can be delivered. This will include developing approaches to quantifying impacts which are outside the scope of standard transport appraisal – including consumer surplus and industrial benefits. Marginal abatement cost curves: You will collect evidence and data on the costs and impact of new technologies and policies, and work with analysts in the Climate Change Strategy team to develop tools which enable the team to provide clear and robust assessments of the most cost-effective pathways to decarbonising transport, including through marginal abatement cost curves. EV consumer choice modelling: You will work with analysts in the Office for Low Emission Vehicles team to build the evidence base and enhance our models for EV consumer purchasing behaviour. This will include testing evidence on consumer preferences, improving our understanding of manufacturer strategies and costs, and improving our capability for analysing likely industry responses to changing consumer behaviour. Freight modelling: You will work with analysts in the freight decarbonisation team to build new analytical and modelling capabilities to understand scenarios for freight emissions, and the impact of different policies to reduce these. Wider modelling: You will also help to build the evidence base and improve modelling capabilities to understand the impact of a number of key uncertainties related to transport emissions – including the future cost of batteries and EVs, and the effect of zero emission vehicles (and future mobility models) on travel demand. Building team capability: You will be expected to share your expertise and knowledge with members of the team, and ensure a smooth and effective handover of any models, to ensure they can continue to be used and developed in the long-run. The role is suitable to applied economists and economic modellers. They must have experience of developing, using and scrutinizing economic models for the purposes of forecasting and assessing the impacts of policy proposals. They need to be able to identify and source appropriate data sources and be comfortable working with a wide range of evidence to gain insights. They must have experience of cost-benefit analysis and be comfortable applying different methodologies and techniques to find solutions to difficult problems. Application of knowledge Apply economic tools and techniques, and synthesise evidence from a range of sources, as appropriate. Provide expert advice with regards to appraisal, impact assessments, evidence based business cases, and evaluation. Have an in-depth theoretical and empirical knowledge of how markets function, being able to advise on the impact that various policy interventions might have. Analysis of data Be able to source, handle, and analyse data for the purposes of producing evidence for policy advice. Work with and understand economic models and interpret output data for the purposes of providing supporting evidence. Be proficient in using Excel and other relevant software packages. More information about Technical Other helpful information you need to know Level of security clearance:DBS - Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Working Pattern: Full-time; Part-time; Job share; Flexible working Minimum Requirement: Devising methods and procedures for obtaining data in relation to budgets and the economy. Development of an economic framework. Understanding various sampling techniques that may be used to conduct different types of surveys. Creating and using various econometric modelling techniques to develop forecasts. Understanding and interpreting data gained from models and other research sources. Analysing data to test the effectiveness of current policies, products or services and advising on the suitability of alternative courses of action, allocation of scarce resources and providing sound evidence to support these decisions. Explaining research methodology and justifying conclusions drawn from research data. Providing economic advice to a range of stakeholders and evaluating past / present economic issues and trends. The successful candidate will have a valid DBS or be willing to apply for one on CV submission. If a job offer is made we will confirm further details in relation to the clearance level requested for this assignment. Please Note: The lower pay rate advertised in this job description is the highest PAYE daily/hourly pay rate that the client is willing to pay up to. The higher pay rate advertised in this job description is the highest Umbrella Company daily/hourly pay rate that the client is willing to pay up to. This job was originally posted as www.totaljobs.com/job/89829599