Principal Economist - Economic Policy

Principal Economist

Closing Date – 22nd Jan

Location – London (Hybrid)

Process – Cover letter & C.V.

Salary - £53-57k

About the CBI:

We serve as the catalyst between industry and government to drive positive change, speaking for businesses of all sizes and sectors across the whole economy, in every UK region and nation, ensuring sustainable growth for the benefit of society. Our voice represents 170,000 businesses. This includes over 1,100 corporate members, plus nearly 150 trade associations. Our corporate members alone employ over 2.3 million private sector workers.

Role Summary:

This role has responsibility for building the economic evidence base to support policy development across the CBI, providing expertise on the UK public finances and leading the CBI’s work on either Competition and Economic Regulation, or Business Rates. The role involves regular engagement with government officials, business leaders, executive boards and other business decision-makers to form CBI positions and share intelligence on current economic trends and the policy landscape.

The individual should have an excellent grounding in economic analysis for policy evaluation, with experience of leading on policy development also beneficial. This role reports to the Lead Economist (Economic Analysis).

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead on the delivery of economic projects within the CBI’s microeconomic analysis function, supporting policy development across the organisation to ensure policy positions are grounded in economic theory and are well evidenced.
• Lead the CBI’s policy on Business Rates, including managing the CBI’s Business Rates Working Group and holding relationships with key government officials and stakeholders.
• Lead the CBI’s policy on Competition and Economic Regulation, including convening the Competition Working Group when needed and holding relationships with key government officials and stakeholders, including the CMA.
• Work with the Lead Economist (Economic Analysis) on fiscal events to ensure policy proposals are consistent with the CBI’s approach to fiscal policy, and ensure that policies are costed appropriately in CBI outputs throughout the year
• Responsibility for producing the UK public finances forecast within the CBI’s biannual forecast, working with the Lead Economist in the Economic Intelligence team
• Represent the CBI at events including Finance Director Networks and Economic Briefings to present on the outlook for the economy and the future of Economic Policy

Knowledge & Experience:

• Degree in Economics or related subject, or equivalent experience
• Solid, proven experience as a professional Economist
• Strong understanding of the current economic climate and awareness of politics and government
• Experience with either Business Rates or Competition & Economic Regulation
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to form relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, including business leaders
• Strong presentation skills including an ability to present complex economic concepts to a non-technical audience
• Excellent quantitative skills with experience using Excel for data analysis and economic modelling
• Ability to work autonomously and manage project workstreams
• Outstanding collaboration and an ability to work with people from other disciplines, including tax, commercial, political and policy

Diversity & Inclusion:

At the CBI, we are committed to attracting diverse talent that represents the society we live in.

We are committed to attracting diverse talent that represents the society we live in.

We encourage applications from all, regardless of age, sexuality, socio-economic background, disability, ethnicity, gender, religion, or beliefs. We are committed to building a culture of belonging and inclusion and this is reflected in our policies, practices, and internal employee-led networks and supported by our executive leadership team.

We are a family friendly organisation, and we encourage flexible working as we want our employees to achieve a healthy work-life balance. Currently our employees are hybrid working, but we encourage colleagues to collaborate and innovate, by working together in regional and national offices.

Our employee-led networks are: REE Network, LGBT, HAND, Women’s and Working Families and we have qualified Mental Health First Aiders who support our employees in having good mental health.