Senior Economic Modeller (Energy Systems)

Job summary

Ofgem is Great Britain’s independent energy regulator. Our primary responsibility is to protect energy consumers, especially the most vulnerable, while at the same time working with government, industry and consumer groups to deliver a clean, more affordable and secure net-zero energy system at the lowest cost to consumers, and to support economic growth.

We are now seeking two Senior Economic Modellers – Energy Systems to join our Strategy, Economics, Research and Net Zero directorate. This is a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of Ofgem’s growing modelling capability, helping to build and apply an industry‑standard energy system model to inform some of the most important regulatory and investment decisions shaping the UK’s transition to Net Zero.

In this role, you will play a central part in establishing and embedding Ofgem’s new energy system modelling tool, expected to be an industry-standard platform such as BID3 or PLEXOS. You’ll run, interpret and present modelling outputs that directly inform policy, regulatory design and long‑term system planning. Your work will support major programmes across networks, flexibility, system operation and decarbonisation – helping ensure decisions are grounded in clear, well-evidenced analysis.

You will collaborate closely with experienced economists and analysts to shape our modelling approach and ways of working, including assumptions, scenarios, sensitivity analysis and quality assurance. You’ll apply your quantitative skills not only to system modelling but also to wider economic analysis where needed, producing high‑quality advice and clear, accessible outputs for senior decision‑makers.

Strong communication skills will be key, as you translate complex modelling insights into clear recommendations for a broad range of audiences. You will also work with colleagues across Ofgem to help turn policy and regulatory questions into well‑defined analytical tasks, ensuring modelling is targeted, relevant and impactful.

Collaboration is at the heart of this role. You will work with policy and analytical teams across Ofgem, as well as engaging external stakeholders including government, the National Electricity System Operator and academic or industry experts.

You will be part of Ofgem’s well‑established economics and analysis community, benefiting from strong peer networks, professional development and opportunities to broaden your skills. As the modelling capability matures, you’ll also have the chance to contribute to cross‑cutting projects where your expertise adds value.

Read on to find out more!

Job description

Key Responsibilities

You will work alongside economists, analysts and other technical specialists to shape Ofgem’s modelling approach, including scenario design, sensitivity analysis and proportionate quality assurance. You will also apply your quantitative skills to wider economic analysis where needed. You will produce clear drafting for internal and external audiences, including briefings and consultations, supported by strong project management and a focus on reproducible, well-documented analysis (including version control and repeatable workflows where appropriate).

You will work alongside experienced analysts and economists to shape Ofgem’s modelling approach, ensuring it is robust, and proportionate to the question at hand, and apply your quantitative skills to wider economic analysis beyond system modelling where needed. You will provide clear, concise drafting for internal and external audiences, including contributions to briefings, internal decision documents, consultations and other outputs, supported by strong project management and quality assurance to ensure timely, high-quality delivery. You will help embed good analytical practice, including transparent documentation of assumptions, version control and repeatable workflows.

You will build constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders and work collaboratively across teams to plan and deliver outputs effectively.

Key Outputs and Deliverables

In this role you will contribute to building and embedding Ofgem’s energy system modelling capability, while delivering high-quality analysis that supports key regulatory and policy decisions. Working as part of a team, you will be expected to:

• Support capability build and model deployment: Contribute to the in-house deployment of an established energy system model, including helping shape the practical workflows, documentation and governance needed to use it effectively.
• Develop model-specific expertise: Where relevant, upskill in energy system modelling tools and approaches (for example BID3 or PLEXOS), with training and support, and apply this learning quickly in delivery. Direct prior experience with these tools is welcomed but not required.
• Deliver decision-ready energy system modelling: Run and interpret modelling to answer priority questions for Ofgem and the energy transition, producing outputs that are robust and proportionate to the decision context.
• Provide analytical advice across Ofgem: Apply your quantitative and economic analysis skills to support teams across the organisation, translating complex evidence into clear recommendations for a range of audiences.
• Maintain high analytical standards: Ensure analysis is quality-assured and reproducible. Critically assess evidence, articulate what it can and cannot tell us, and identify key risks and mitigations.
• Collaborate with technical experts: Work closely with economists, analysts, and other technical colleagues to deliver a coherent work programme and build expertise across the modelling community.

Key Stakeholder Relationships

Internal

• Workstream leads, team managers, and directors: to align modelling work with priorities and governance requirements.
• Economists, analysts, data scientists and other technical specialists: to ensure a coherent analytical approach, and consistent assumptions.
• Analysis Profession / Heads of Profession: to support professional development and capability-building across the community.
• Policy and delivery teams across Ofgem: as customers of modelling, to translate questions into tractable analysis and clearly communicate results.

External

• Central government departments and arm’s-length bodies (as appropriate): to engage on data, assumptions, methodological choices and shared evidence bases.
• National Electricity System Operator (NESO): to engage on system insights, data, and modelling approaches relevant to operational and planning questions.
• Regulatory counterparts, consultants, academia and think tanks (as appropriate): to draw on evidence and test approaches including emerging modelling methods.
• Wider energy sector stakeholders: to support engagement on modelling evidence where needed and ensure analysis is grounded in sector realities.

Person specification

Please ensure you demonstrate clearly within your answers to the application questions, how you meet each of the criteria below (no more than 1250 words).

In the event of receiving a large number of applications an initial sift may take place on just the identified lead criteria indicated below.

Essential Critieria:

• Complex quantitative modelling experience (LEAD): Demonstrable experience developing, running and interpreting complex quantitative models to inform real-world decisions in energy and/or other infrastructure/market settings. This could include energy system, power market, network, dispatch/optimisation, investment appraisal, or other large-scale analytical modelling.
• Analytical judgement and quality assurance: Ability to produce robust, transparent and reproducible analysis: selecting appropriate methods, documenting assumptions, quality assuring outputs, and communicating uncertainty/limitations and risk mitigations.
• Communication: Strong ability to distil complex technical material into clear, decision-ready messages for different audiences (both written and oral), with excellent drafting skills.
• Stakeholder engagement: Experience working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders (technical and non-technical), building constructive relationships and influencing outcomes through evidence.
• Delivery and organisation: Ability to plan and prioritise competing tasks, manage timelines, and deliver high-quality outputs in a fast-paced environment.

Desirable Criteria:

• Energy system / market modelling exposure: Familiarity with electricity market or energy system modelling approaches and/or tools (for example PLEXOS, BID3, Aurora, or similar), or demonstrable capability to learn and apply such tools quickly.
• Sector knowledge: Experience or working knowledge of GB gas and electricity markets and market arrangements.
• Technical skills: Proficiency in analytical language (e.g. Python, R, SQL, Stata) and strong data handling skills; advanced Excel capability is useful.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £47,895, OFGEM contributes £13,875 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; 30 days annual leave after 2 years; Excellent training and development opportunities; The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits; hybrid working (currently 1 day a week in the office but this is kept under review), flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Plus lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050. This exciting blend of professional challenge and personal reward identifies career opportunities at Ofgem as something to get excited about.

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 Behaviours and Experience.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the criteria listed in the role profile.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by [https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn].

At Ofgem, we expect our staff to carry out their roles with honesty, fairness and openness. They should follow the Civil Service code and be free from any influence or bias. We are committed to making sure interests are recognised, declared and managed appropriately so that we can fulfil our duties as an energy regulator. Our Conflicts of Interest policy outlines the types of interests Ofgem staff must declare before onboarding, and the rules they must follow throughout employment so that we can clearly demonstrate that our decisions are not influenced by private interests.

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

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.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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Lisa Buchanan
• Email : recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of these Recruitment Principles.

In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via recruitment@ofgem.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 website.

Attachments

Analysis Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 721kB)Role Profile_Senior_Economic_Modeller_Energy Opens in new window (pdf, 244kB)Terms and Conditions April 2025 Opens in new window (pdf, 366kB)