THE PERSON:

We are looking for someone with policy and political savvy who can develop, iterate and land evidence-based policy ideas. You may have worked in national or local government or in other parts of the policy making process, but your ability and enthusiasm are more important than your experience.

Key skills include:

• Economic expertise and technical skills: with a strong econometric foundation, you’re able to conduct economic analysis and modelling using large data sets. You’re familiar with quasi-experimental approaches for evaluation. Specifically, you are a fluent user of either R or Python with a willingness to learn the other as necessary, and have experience using of git/GitHub for collaboration
• Policy application and communication: You have the ability to translate economic findings into policy-relevant insights, and to make complex or technical issues and ideas easy to understand. You write clearly and concisely, adapting your communication to suit different audiences, and are able to produce externally-facing outputs such as data visualisations
• Strong interpersonal skills: You have a strong appetite to engage stakeholders on the problems to be solved. You are a team player, and can build collaborative relationships internally. You can offer challenge and build consensus.
• Independent: You have an ability to work independently, and proactively identify priorities or develop new ideas, while being part of a wider team. You take initiative, including in relation to your own professional development
• Outcome focused problem-solver: You’re invested in the end outcome of a bit of work, whatever it is, and are up for working in multi-disciplinary teams on the ‘how’. You have a disposition to consider how something could work better, and you proactively give feedback or solve problems to improve ways of doing things at work.
• Organised project manager: You are highly organised, able to scope and manage your work to ensure objectives are met, juggling priorities and surfacing for input and steers as needed.
• Domestic policy wonk: You have an excellent understanding and interest in domestic policy, specifically on the workings of UK public spending priorities and cross-government economic policy coordination

THE ROLE

In this role, you will be part of the central policy Team (c.9 people) at Nesta - strengthening Nesta’s relationships with policy-makers and bringing fresh, innovative and pragmatic solutions to some of the biggest challenges the country faces. Your focus will be honing the economic underpinnings of our work, maximising the credibility and deliverability of ideas across Nesta’s missions, with a particular focus on Government’s growth and clean energy priorities. You’ll work closely with Nesta’s Chief Economist, Tim Leunig.
You’ll also work with our multidisciplinary “A Sustainable Future” mission team and can expect to collaborate with colleagues who also have expertise in research, data science, design, behavioural science and communications across the Nesta Group (which includes the Behavioural Insights Team).
You can expect to be conducting economic analysis, modelling and evaluation, synthesizing evidence and insights for policymaker audiences, identifying and engaging with key stakeholders, and developing and landing policy proposals.
You will need to be a technically adept applied economist, a resilient self-starter, curious about a wide range of policy domains, adaptable to change, and excited by the potential impact of mission-driven approaches in government.

PLEASE NOTE WE ARE RECRUITING FOR TWO DIFFERENT ROLES DEPENDING ON EXPERIENCE.

Location: This role is based in Blackfriars, London, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office.
Term: Permanent
Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements including full-time, part time and jobshare. We encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do.
Reports to: Head of Policy
Flexibility: This role is available to be a job-share