Economic Appraisal Specialist

Job summary

The Team:

The Economic Appraisal and Evaluation (EA&E) team is part of the Strategy directorate in Innovate UK. Innovation is a key component of economic growth, and it is the team’s role to ensure that appropriate evidence is collected and interpreted through economic appraisal and evaluation to inform Innovate UK’s decision making. This evidence will be instrumental in the development of effective programmes, build understanding of impact, and assess the overall performance and balance of Innovate UK’s portfolio. Innovate UK will make extensive use of this evidence to demonstrate its impact to other government departments, including HM Treasury

We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role.

Job description

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Author the economic case component of Innovate UK business cases, including the development of options appraisal, benefits and costs modelling, BCR and VfM analysis (mixed methods synthesis), and sensitivity and risk analysis, in line with Green Book and Aqua Book standards.
• Build bespoke economic models to support programme business cases, ensuring they are proportionate, transparent, well-documented, and robust to scrutiny from UKRI, DSIT and HM Treasury.
• Work directly with programme teams as their economic business partner, providing hands-on support, interpreting programme logic and evidence into economic analysis, and drafting economic case narrative that clearly communicates value for money.
• Support programme teams to develop and articulate theories of change and logic models that underpin the economic case, ensuring benefits pathways are credible and evidenced.
• Respond to feedback from internal stakeholders and external assurers at UKRI, DSIT and HMT, iterating economic analysis to secure approval.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of Innovate UK's economic appraisal templates, guidance and tools, sharing insights from live cases to improve consistency and quality across the portfolio.
• Share expertise with programme teams and non-specialist colleagues, helping to build Innovate UK's longer-term economic capability.
• Collaborate with evaluation colleagues within the EA&E team to ensure economic analysis aligns with evaluation plans and that benefits articulated in the economic case are measurable and evaluable.
• Communicate technical economic evidence clearly and accessibly to a range of audiences, including senior leadership, programme teams, and external approvers, highlighting key findings, implications, and limitations.
• Maintain awareness of current and emerging good practice in economic appraisal, particularly as it applies to R&D and innovation policy, and apply this knowledge to strengthen Innovate UK's cases.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with programme teams, analytical colleagues, and external stakeholders including UKRI and DSIT economist counterparts.

Person specification

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential –

• This is a technical economic role. Applicants must have a degree-level (or higher) qualification in a course which contained at least 50% Economics content, or have considerable equivalent experience applying these skills in a professional work environment. (S)
• Demonstrable ability/experience authoring Green Book-compliant economic appraisals, including for business cases structured under HM Treasury's Five Case Model. (S&I)
• Demonstrable ability/experience of authoring the economic case component of business cases for submission to central government, UKRI, or equivalent approval bodies. (S&I)
• Ability/experience building bespoke economic models from scratch, including options appraisal, cost-benefit analysis, BCR calculations, and sensitivity analysis. (S&I)
• Ability/experience of managing multiple complex analysis projects simultaneously, delivering to tight deadlines and responding to iterative feedback from reviewers and approvers. (S&I)
• Evidence of strong written and oral communications skills, including explaining technical economic concepts to non-technical stakeholders. (S&I)
• Ability/Experience of working with and influencing internal stakeholders, including programme teams and senior decision-makers, and building credibility quickly in new organisational settings. (S&I)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £46,743, Innovate UK contributes £13,541 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

1st interview incl presentation.

Interviews will either take place remotely via Teams or in person face to face.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Recruitment@ukri.org
• Email : Recruitment@ukri.org

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment@ukri.org