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Salary Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.
Scottish Water invests over £850million each year on Capital Investment projects, so when it comes to making decisions about how we spend that money, we’re laser-focused on making sure we are meeting the needs of our customers and deliver value for money for Scottish taxpayers.
Our Chief Economist’s team plays a crucial role in making that happen. Their expertise is key to developing and deploying strategic and economic analysis, including cost-benefit analysis, to inform our investment plans and decision making.
We’re looking for someone to join the team to help us transform the way we use economic analysis at Scottish Water.
What you’ll do
You will be joining a small team of dedicated specialists and new graduates, reporting to a Senior Advisor or Team Leader, to apply economic thinking and analysis that creates an evidence base for investment decision making. The goal is to bridge near-term decision making and longer term progress towards achieving Scotland’s Water Sector Vision at the lowest reasonable economic cost to our customers over the long term.
You can expect to be involved in activities like:
- cost-benefit analysis in Scottish Water for different types of investment choices
- economic analysis underpinning our plans
- evidence for our Strategic Review of Charges
- long-term tariff setting, Principles of Charges and efficiency
- investment appraisals
- projections and monitoring of progress.
A key focus of the Chief Economist’s team is the development of new and innovative analytic processes and tools that collate and process cost and benefit information to compare investment choices against future scenarios. The analysis will inform strategic discussions, enable new approaches and help us monitor our performance as we strive to make Scotland’s Water Sector Vision a reality.
The team support the day-to-day application of Ethical Based Practice and Regulation and work closely with colleagues across many different disciplines. The work involves the design and build of new applications with colleagues and consultants, that present fantastic opportunities to develop your skills in a wide range of areas.
What you’ll need
Not surprisingly, you’ll need a background in economics, ideally within the field of applied economics and/or strategic economic analysis.
While knowledge of the water or utilities industry would be useful, outside perspectives are always valued. So we’re very open to people from other sectors, e.g. academia, government or other public bodies where there is a strong focus on regulatory economics.
It is very likely that you’ll have a graduate qualification in an economic focused discipline within some work experience.
You’ll be a Microsoft Excel user, with further skills in other data analysis tools such as R or Power BI.
Communication is key. This role requires collaboration with interdisciplinary teams. You’ll need to be able to explain topics both verbally and in writing.
Character is important to us. Across the whole of Scottish Water, we look for people who are Bold, Responsible, Inspiring and Caring.
Looking out for you
While the work we do is important, we know it’s not the only thing that matters. That’s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance.
You’ll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take paid time off to volunteer in your community.
When it comes to major life events we have family-friendly policies around adoption, maternity, and parental leave. And for the everyday? We embrace flexible working.
For your future, there’s our pension (the ‘know-what-you’ll-get-when-you-retire’ kind), as well as life assurance.
As for some nice extras? You can expect an annual company bonus. Not to mention access to SW Splash – handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping.
The not-so-small print
The salary range for this role is £31,380 - £43,350.
If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until midnight on Friday 22nd of March.
Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional, and will be confirmed on completion of our pre-employment screening, e.g. referencing, criminal record checks, license checks, etc. These checks are conducted on our behalf by a third party. Don’t worry - we’ll ask your permission before starting these checks.
A few final things worth knowing…
Research shows that some people avoid applying for jobs unless they can meet every single criteria. If you’re interested in this job, but don’t tick all the boxes, apply anyway! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. Everyone has a learning curve. So don’t rule yourself out!
Let us know if there are any changes we can make to our recruitment process to help you perform at your best. Lots of our people have disabilities or neurodiverse conditions (including some of our recruiters!). We're also aware that some people might be experiencing temporary challenges because of life events, like menopause. We’re very used to making adjustments, so please don’t be afraid to ask.
As part of our commitment to developing a flourishing Scotland, it’s important that all our employees are Scottish taxpayers. If you join us, your home address will need to be in Scotland. If you don’t already live here, you'll need to commit to moving here within your first three months.
Finally (finally!), candidates who haven’t submitted an application in the last 12 months will have their records removed from our recruitment database. You won’t need to do anything. Your data will be automatically deleted.
We’re here to help. Ask us anything at
SWRecruitment@ScottishWater.co.uk
