CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES

As a Senior Economist you will be responsible for:

• Delivering complex economic analysis that supports our work on price controls and other aspects of the regulatory frameworks for airports and ATS.
• Ensuring that the analysis that supports the CAA’s decisions is robust to external challenge and scrutiny and supported by appropriate quality assurance processes.
• Inputting economics advice in relation to wider CAA policy areas typically led by colleagues outside of the ERCP team, such as consumer protection interventions, promoting resilience and sustainability across the aviation sector and delivering airspace modernisation.
• Representing the CAA in meetings with stakeholders on a wide range of economic or regulatory issues.
• Overseeing the work of our technical advisors and consultants and providing a critical review of the analysis provided.
• Reviewing and challenging regulatory business plans and submissions from stakeholders.
• Ensuring key deliverables are provided on time and to a high quality.
• Translating technical economic and other issues into simple explanations, analysis and presentations that will be suitable for non-technical audiences.
• Line management of more junior members of the team.
• Championing CAA values and D&I policy.

You will also be expected to support the delivery of other aspects of the regulatory and price control framework as required and may need to work with other regulators and represent the CAA at external groups, such as the UK Regulators Network (UKRN).

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE THAT ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE JOB:

• A degree or an equivalent qualification (or closely associated subject).
• At least 5 years of experience conducting economic analysis to inform decision making within a government department, regulator, regulated company or consultancy (or other relevant experience).
• A track record of managing your own workload and the workload of others, prioritising tasks appropriately and solving problems creatively.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues from a variety of different backgrounds, including outside of your own team, and to explain economic input and analysis to non-economists in a way that can be readily understood;
• Very good analytical skills and the ability to design and oversee detailed economic analysis.
• Ability to write clearly and produce persuasive written documents for publication.

DESIRABLE SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• Understanding of issues in regulatory economics.
• Experience of regulatory finance and accounting issues.
• Knowledge of aviation and/or other transport sectors.
  We welcome applicants from both private and public sectors. For applicants currently working in the Civil Service, we encourage applications from those working at Grade 7 (or equivalent) or above.

IF YOU DO NOT MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS, WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ACCEPT YOUR APPLICATION.

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The CAA values high ethical standards and personal integrity among employees. If invited for interview you will be asked to complete a declaration of interest.

THE ROLE

The Economic Regulation and Competition Policy (ERCP) team is a vital part of the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Consumers and Markets Group (CMG). It protects consumers by ensuring that airports and air traffic service (ATS) providers do not exploit their market position, oversees the CAA’s competition responsibilities and provides economics input and support to the CAA’s wider policies and initiatives. The team is responsible for the economic regulation of Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL), Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) and the monopoly air traffic services provider for the UK, NATS (En Route) Plc (NERL). Understanding the impact of policy options and our actions is essential in ensuring we protect the interests of consumers, while enabling wider aviation policy.
Senior Economists play an important role in our work in setting price controls and developing the regulatory frameworks for airports and ATS, and our wider policy work. This includes work on costs and incentives, regulatory investigations, and mechanisms to set regulated charges, as well as assessing economic and consumer impacts in the development of CAA policy and strategy.
As a Senior Economist (Regulation), you will play an important part in the economic assessment of key policy issues and initiatives across the price controls, competition and wider policy projects. This will involve working across the team to review and challenge submissions from the regulated companies (including the assessment of business plan information), develop policy options and manage the work of external consultants. It will also involve driving forward key workstreams, the drafting of high-profile policy documents and working effectively with our own external advisors and consultants. Our decisions have the potential to be contentious and need to be robust to legal challenge.
This role is permanent and offers the opportunity for professional development, through working within a highly experienced team, directly influencing and engaging with senior leaders, and working across a wide variety of high profile and interesting economic and policy issues.
We understand that work-life balance is key and would be happy to consider those seeking part time work and/or a job share as well as those seeking a full-time role. We operate (and are committed to) a hybrid working model, with the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. The team currently requires attendance in the office around one and half days per week for full-time employees (pro rata for part time colleagues) on average and we will keep this under review based on team needs.

As a Senior Economist you will be responsible for:

• Delivering complex economic analysis that supports our work on price controls and other aspects of the regulatory frameworks for airports and ATS.
• Ensuring that the analysis that supports the CAA’s decisions is robust to external challenge and scrutiny and supported by appropriate quality assurance processes.
• Inputting economics advice in relation to wider CAA policy areas typically led by colleagues outside of the ERCP team, such as consumer protection interventions, promoting resilience and sustainability across the aviation sector and delivering airspace modernisation.
• Representing the CAA in meetings with stakeholders on a wide range of economic or regulatory issues.
• Overseeing the work of our technical advisors and consultants and providing a critical review of the analysis provided.
• Reviewing and challenging regulatory business plans and submissions from stakeholders.
• Ensuring key deliverables are provided on time and to a high quality.
• Translating technical economic and other issues into simple explanations, analysis and presentations that will be suitable for non-technical audiences.
• Line management of more junior members of the team.
• Championing CAA values and D&I policy