FOREIGN INVESTMENT

This is an exciting time to work on foreign investment promotion and policy in government. Foreign investment plays a vital role in the UK economy.
Foreign investment drives growth across the UK, making significant contributions to government objectives such as the Industrial Strategy, Net Zero and regional growth. DBT plays a crucial role through programmes delivered by staff in the UK and globally, working closely with foreign investors to land investment projects across the UK and in all sectors.
With the creation of the expanded Office for Investment (OfI), there is an increasing recognition that evidence and analysis can underpin a faster paced and flexible offering to foreign businesses seeking to invest, while also allowing for a more rigorous and well-formed view of how the OfI should be targeting offerings to maximise the benefit to wider society.
Investment Analysis – Investment Promotion and Policy Analysis
We are an inter-disciplinary team of analysts that undertake projects to inform and influence HMG investment promotion and facilitation activities and policymaking in both foreign and business investment. We are a world-leading team in our field, collaborating with international partners such as UNCTAD, the OECD and World Bank, delivering ground-breaking analysis to improve the evidence base on investment and influence senior decision-making.
We work within the OfI to inform, appraise, monitor and evaluate DBT’s activities and contribute to the global understanding of investment impacts and best practice to influence these across Government.
We are hiring a Senior Assistant Economist in Investment Policy Analysis. The postholder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to deliver a programme of work and lead economic analysis on the development of the investment evidence base to support FDI policy and strategic development. Some examples of recent analysis are analysing FDI relationships between the UK and third countries, analysing the interaction between trade tariffs and FDI and impact of economic uncertainty on FDI. The postholder will work collaboratively across the department and organisational boundaries with relevant policy, operational and analytical specialists to influence a high-profile policy area.

JOB DESCRIPTION

As a Senior Assistant Economist within the team you will be responsible for:

• Developing the overall evidence underpinning both day-to-day and strategic decision making across the department to maximise the impact of investment. Using economic theory to explain existing FDI relationships and the potential impact on FDI from changes in economic policy in the UK and major overseas markets.
• Drawing on academic literature and academic expertise to enhance the Investment Promotion and Policy Analysis (IPPA) evidence base on economic events and their expected impact on inward and outward FDI.
• Leading on Green Book economic appraisal for DBT’s interventions, providing advice on value for money, impacts and additionality of programmes to inform DBT senior officials and returns to HMT for fiscal events such as spending reviews.
• Reviewing, updating, synthesising and providing upwards briefing on the latest trends in investment data to support investment strategies and planning, effectively communicating data and analysis to seniors.
• Work across the wider analytical community to synthesise investment analysis and ensure the key analytical insights from projects are distilled for non-technical audiences.
• Where appropriate, leading on the commissioning and procurement of external research and monitoring and evaluation projects and managing contractors to deliver high quality evidence to challenging timelines.
• Contributing to wider team development, including support for more junior analysts in the team and in making a wider corporate contribution to DIT.

The role may require occasional travel abroad to engage with DIT staff and external stakeholders.

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum 2.1 or Masters in a degree that is at least 50% Economics.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

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

• Economics

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)
• 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

As a Senior Assistant Economist within the team you will be responsible for:

• Developing the overall evidence underpinning both day-to-day and strategic decision making across the department to maximise the impact of investment. Using economic theory to explain existing FDI relationships and the potential impact on FDI from changes in economic policy in the UK and major overseas markets.
• Drawing on academic literature and academic expertise to enhance the Investment Promotion and Policy Analysis (IPPA) evidence base on economic events and their expected impact on inward and outward FDI.
• Leading on Green Book economic appraisal for DBT’s interventions, providing advice on value for money, impacts and additionality of programmes to inform DBT senior officials and returns to HMT for fiscal events such as spending reviews.
• Reviewing, updating, synthesising and providing upwards briefing on the latest trends in investment data to support investment strategies and planning, effectively communicating data and analysis to seniors.
• Work across the wider analytical community to synthesise investment analysis and ensure the key analytical insights from projects are distilled for non-technical audiences.
• Where appropriate, leading on the commissioning and procurement of external research and monitoring and evaluation projects and managing contractors to deliver high quality evidence to challenging timelines.
• Contributing to wider team development, including support for more junior analysts in the team and in making a wider corporate contribution to DIT

This role would generally suit someone who has;

• Excellent track record of technical skills and the practical application of said analysis.
• Track record of delivery through collaboration and partnering in complex and uncertain environments and with stakeholders, including evidence of high personal impact and judgement