Economics of Education Research Centre Lead

Job summary

We are recruiting for an experienced programme manager to establish, lead, and manage the Department for Education’s new flagship Economics of Education Research Centre.

This new externally-contracted Research Centre will build the evidence base to explore the effects of education on economic and social outcomes. By developing and applying advanced empirical analysis techniques, the Centre will offer crucial insights to guide policy decisions.

Moreover, the Centre will promote collaboration among economists, educators, and policymakers, ensuring that research findings are effectively applied to enhance educational systems and outcomes throughout people's lives.

This post will be responsible for the strategic direction of the Research Centre, and for managing the Research Centre once established. The postholder will work to the Chief Economist and sit in the Central Economics Team within the newly established Central Economics and Evaluation division, at the heart of the department’s analytical community.

Job description

The role will enable the Centre to deliver high-quality and timely research and analysis, supporting DfE’s aim to be first-class in its application of economic analysis, supporting our delivery against government Missions, and underpinning our Business Cases and future Spending Review bids.

Responsibilities will include, but not limited to:

• Establishing the Research Centre and leading on all communications with the Department, across Other Government Departments and with external stakeholders.
• Setting strategic direction; working with the Centre to identify strategic priorities and to prioritise the work programme.
• Leading engagement across the department (economists, analysts, policy makers) to promote the centre and ensure relevance and impact of the work.
• Project management of the research centre including:
  • Establishing and managing contractual arrangements for the Research Centre, including finance and budgeting.
  • Governance and regular reporting back to the department.
  • Ensuring high quality outputs are delivered on time and to budget.
• Working with the Centre and DfE communications directorate to ensure that all work is being communicated with highest level of impact.

Professional Analytical Badging

Candidates must already be part of, or be eligible and willing to join the Government Social Research (GSR) profession or the Government Economic Service (GES). Details on eligibility and how to become a member are here: GSR, GES. Please note that if you currently don't hold this professional badging you will be required to go through the relevant assessment processes, once in post- see links for more details.

Candidates who are already badged members of the GES or the GSR will not need to undertake badging as part of the interview process (for more information see below).

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Lead Criteria - Leadership: The ability to collaborate and lead through others to establish a strategy and vision for the work of the research centre.
• Delivery: Experience of delivering a large programme of analytical work with internal and external partners.
• Communication: The ability to communicate complex issues effectively and with impact at all levels within an organisation.
• A badged (or eligible to be badged) member of the Government Economic Service (GES) or the Government Social Research service (GSR).

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of or expertise in economics or education economics.
• Contract and budget management.
• Experience of establishing and managing a research centre or an external organisation, or experience of working with academics.

Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview in the event of a tie break situation to make an informed decision.

Memberships

Government Economic Membership or eligibility to join

OR

Government Social Research Membership or eligibility to join

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Please indicate if you are an existing GES/GSR member.If your response to the above question is no, using the links to the frameworks provided in the advert, please confirm you are eligible to become a member.
• GES Technical Skills at Grade 7GSR Technical Skills at Grade 7

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

• Please indicate if you are an existing GES/GSR member.If your response to the above question is no, using the links to the frameworks provided in the advert, please confirm you are eligible to become a member.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,185, Department for Education contributes £16,856 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.

Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

Stage 1 – Application

At sift stage, you will be assessed on your Experience in line with the essential skills listed in the person specification section of the job advert.

To apply for this role, please provide:

Your CV – Set out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role.

Your Statement of Suitability – In no more than 750 words, provide examples of how your personal skills, qualities and experience meet the essential criteria. This is not intended to be a cover letter, instead work through each essential criteria in turn. You may wish to follow the STAR technique to help focus your examples. The key things we are looking for are what you did, how you did it and what the outcome was.

To confirm, the maximum word count for the statement of suitability is 750 words. Please adhere to this limit as anything over 750 words will not be taken into account.

Candidates will also be assessed on their existing or eligible membership to the GSR, GES Framework.

The CV and Statement of Suitability will be assessed against the essential criteria detailed in the advert.

In the event of a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift on CV-only against the lead criteria.

Sifting is expected to take place in the week commencing 19 January 2026. Please note these dates are subject to change.

Please note, CV details must be contained within the template on the application form. Any CV or Statement of Suitability that has been emailed to our team will not be considered.

Stage 2 - Interview

The interview will be a 2-part process:

Part 1 - The interview will last approximately 60 minutes. You will be asked questions on the essential criteria listed above to determine your level of experience in these areas. You will also be asked questions to test your technical knowledge against GES or GSR competencies.

Part 2 - If unbadged, there will also be a technical assessment where candidates will be assessed against the GES competencies or the GSR competencies depending on which profession you are eligible to join.

• For existing civil servants who are already badged members of the GES or GSR, this will be an assessment against the GES or GSR competencies outlined in the respective technical documents
• For anyone who is looking to be badged as part of this recruitment process (external applicants or existing civil servants looking to join the GES or GSR), you will be assessed against the GES or GSR competencies outlined in the respective technical documents. There will also be an additional, more detailed assessment against these technical competencies as part of the recruitment process.

Please ensure you include in your application (CV or statement of suitability) which profession you are looking to join, and/or whether you are already a badged GES or GSR member.

Any candidates invited to interview will also need to provide their university transcripts to support assessment against the eligibility criteria.

Interviews will take place towards mid-February 2026. Please note these dates are subject to change. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Interviews will be held over video conferencing using MS Teams. If you are invited to interview, please ensure that you have access to this software and that you have your video turned on. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We receive many applications, and unfortunately we’re not able to provide feedback for candidates who aren’t shortlisted. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

All communications will be electronic therefore it is vitally important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder.

Other Information

Interviews may be via Microsoft teams or face to face; the vacancy manager will confirm prior to the Interview.

In your application, please don’t include personal information that identifies you.

This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment (opens in a new window).

Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:

• name/title
• educational institutions
• age
• gender
• email address
• postal address
• phone number
• nationality/immigration status

We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.

The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks.DFE@education.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs

Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.

Reasonable adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Department of Education via centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Please refer to the attached ‘Reasonable Adjustments Guide 05_2025 – accessible version’ at the bottom of the advert, for further information.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).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.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Andrew Luty
• Email : andrew.luty@education.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk

Further information

The Department for Education’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned via CentralRecruitment.Operations@education.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages

Attachments

DFE Terms & Conditions - accessible version Opens in new window (pdf, 215kB)Reasonable Adjustments guide 05_2025 - accessible version Opens in new window (pdf, 723kB)OGD Transfer Supplementary information - accessible version (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 327kB)