Head of Fiscal Economics & Sustainability Branch (Range E)

HM Treasury ,
London, Greater London
More Details

Overview

Job Description

About HM Treasury The Treasury is the United Kingdom's economics and finance ministry. It is responsible for formulating and implementing the government's financial and economic policy. Its aim is to raise the rate of sustainable growth, and achieve rising prosperity and a better quality of life with economic and employment opportunities for all. About the Group Fiscal Group The Fiscal group is responsible for ensuring the sustainability of the public finances, over both the medium term and the long term, thereby supporting economic stability and growth. Operationally, it ensures that Government's financing needs are met, over both the short and medium term. About the Team FSP plays a key role at the centre of the Treasury's policy-making. The team closely monitors the public finances, jointly producing the monthly PSF statistical release. It produces risk and scenario analysis on the fiscal forecasts, identifying issues, linking with the Economics Group and Chief Economic Adviser, and providing challenge to the OBR's official forecasts and long-run projections as necessary. It provides advice to the Chancellor on the fiscal framework and, working very closely with other central fiscal teams, on the fiscal policy judgement at each fiscal event, on the OBR's Fiscal Sustainability and Fiscal Risks reports, and on the spending envelope. The team undertakes a combination of quick turn around analytical pieces using a range of models and techniques, and longer-run research pieces to provide a robust evidence base to support fiscal policy decisions. Finally it has a key representational role on UK fiscal policy, explaining it to external stakeholders including the IMF, OECD and Credit Rating Agencies. FSP is also the departmental sponsor of the relationship with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) acting both as its primary customer and relationship manager, and also fulfilling governance roles including managing appointments to the BRC. Key accountabilities This post heads the Fiscal Economics and Sustainability branch in FSP. The postholder will have line management responsibility for three Assistant Economists. This high profile branch has a broad range of responsibilities, offering an excellent opportunity for candidates looking to deploy and develop a broad range of skills, such as: applying their analytical, economics, research and communication skills to inform the thinking of senior officials and ministers; managing internal and external stakeholder relationships; planning, managing and leading analytical projects involving multiple teams; advising senior officials and ministers on a broad range of policy topics; and ensuring the support and development of three Assistant Economists. Key responsibilities will include: Leading on the economics of fiscal policy within HM Treasury, using the branch's range of models and quantitative research capabilities. This could include (for example): analysis on the principles of fiscal intervention; fiscal multipliers and automatic stabilisers. As a source of analytical expertise within the team, the branch regularly contributes analysis to FSP's broader strategy work. Quantitative long-run sustainability analysis: develop, maintain and deploy the Treasury's internal modelling capability for producing long-run projections and sustainability analysis for the public finances, as well as undertaking supporting supplementary pieces of work and producing detailed technical advice for senior managers and ministers. In the run up to the Office for Budget Responsibility's Fiscal Sustainability Reports, the branch will work with the OBR and HMT colleagues to understand, challenge and provide briefing to ministers on the analysis and policy challenges outlined in the OBR's report. Plan and oversee a programme of research into a wide range of fiscal issues pertinent to the sound management of fiscal policy and the public finances, to ensure that policy is supported by the best available evidence base. This will involve supporting direct reports to undertake detailed analysis and produce cogent written and verbal reports and presentations, as well as drawing on the expertise and analytical capability of others in FSP team, the wider department and external experts and stakeholders. The branch's research function also means it provides the team's surveillance function to monitor, understand and evaluate the wider international policy debate. This includes drawing upon academic evidence and the advice of international experts like the IMF and OECD. Migration analysis, develop, maintain and deploy the Treasury's internal modelling capability for analysing the fiscal impact of migration in order to produce a robust evidence base for informing decision-making, in conjunction with HMT migration policy leads and economic analysts and Home Office colleagues. Providing line management to three direct reports (Range Ds / Assistant Economists), as well as intellectual leadership and s

People also viewed