Senior Economic Adviser/Senior Analyst

Are you looking for an outstanding opportunity to use analytical insights and evidence to drive decision-making at the heart of Government, defining the Treasury’s and wider government’s approach to the transition to a zero-carbon economy and a well-adapted UK? If so, we’d love to hear from you!  

About the Team

The Climate and Environment Team (CET) acts as the focal point for HM Treasury’s work on climate change, net zero and the natural environment. The team leads on embedding domestic climate risk, net zero and environmental policy considerations into the work of the department. We work with teams in tax, spending, economics, trade, fiscal, financial services, and financial stability to use the range of levers which Treasury controls to ensure the government has affordable and economically efficient plans to achieve its legal commitments under the Climate Change Act 2008 and Environment Act 2021. 

We advance Treasury interests across some of the biggest policy opportunities and challenges facing the UK including climate mitigation and adaptation, decarbonising heat and buildings, water company regulation, waste sector reform, implementing England’s agricultural transition plan and reforming our domestic environment policy – including through new statutory targets for the recovery of the natural world.

The team leads engagement with and spending control for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and works closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Cabinet Office and No10 on the government’s overall climate change strategy and plan. We also support international colleagues in their efforts to galvanise global action on climate and nature.

About the Job

In this role, you will:

• Develop and drive the analytical approach to embedding climate across HM Treasury’s decision-making at Budgets, Statements and Spending Reviews, including work on the emissions impacts of decisions. Skills and understanding of carbon appraisal are advantageous.
• Build on the findings of the Net Zero Review and help take forward long term strategic analysis on the economic effects of climate change, including climate as a lever for driving growth, the costs, and distributional impacts of the Net Zero transition, the economic impacts of climate damage and the costs and benefits of adaptation.
• Engage externally to ensure the Treasury is making decisions informed by the best evidence, leveraging external expertise including the private sector and academia.
• Promote the unit’s role as the hub of climate analytical expertise and excellence to support policy teams across the Treasury.

About You

This role will suit analysts who enjoy working collaboratively in a fast-paced, strategic environment, with high levels of autonomy in determining how to maximise impact by developing new analysis and ways of working, including work to leverage expertise from outside of the Department and Government.

Candidates should ideally also have a good understanding of climate change economics, along with some modelling expertise. As an analyst, you will typically be expected to be confident applying appropriate quantitative analytical tools and techniques, assessing the reliability and relevance of evidence to support objective evidence-based advice and quality-assuring models. We are interested in coding skills (particularly R) but these are not a requirement for the role.

Some of the Benefits our people love!

• 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King’s birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant). Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees to take up to an additional 2 days off each month
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
• Generous parental and adoption leave packages
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions of 27%
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme and season ticket advances
• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity

For more information about the role and how to apply, please follow the apply link.

If you need any reasonable adjustments to take part in the selection process, please tell us about this in your online application form, or speak to the recruitment team at hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk