Assistant Economist

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 342162**Salary**:

- £32,802 - £36,625- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Higher Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- HSE - Science Division (SD)**Type of role**:

- Economist**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time, Compressed hours**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Bootle, BuxtonAbout the job

**Job summary**:
The Economic and Social Analysis Team provides leadership and quality service in social research/ economics to help HSE protect people and places. We provide high-quality, evidence-based advice covering the full breadth of HSE’s remit, producing analysis and research used across UK Government, industry, academia, international bodies e.g. OECD and EU.

HSE economists provide advice and analysis on the development of HSE strategy/ policy in tackling serious occupational injury; work-related ill health including cancer and mental health; and serious industrial accidents.

**They are able to consider a variety of key questions/ policy areas important to the **development** of the economy and the protection of workers and members of the public, including**:

- What are the costs/ benefits of changes in health and safety regulation to workers, businesses and wider society?
- What are the economic impacts of reducing likelihood or impact of major accidents at hazardous workplaces e.g. power plants, chemical factories, and offshore installations?
- How should HSE determine the appropriate type/ level of intervention in responding to health and safety failures, how should behavioural ‘nudges’ be designed for maximum effectiveness?
- What are the quality of life/ welfare costs associated with workplace injuries and illnesses, how can we measure the impacts of long-latency health issues at work, such as exposure to asbestos and other carcinogens?
- What incentives do businesses and workers face to comply with health and safety regulations?
- What are the impacts of the business cycle on health and safety outcomes?

To provide sound evidence-based answers to these questions, we collaborate with other analysts/ specialists in HSE, including statisticians, social researchers, psychologists, medics, policy advisors. We also work with economists in other Departments on Cross-Governmental research on the value of life and health; delivering strategic aims to promote the use of economics to support decision-making as part of the Government Economic Service.

**Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of 22.2 hours per week**

**Job description**:
As part of a specialised team, currently comprising seven Economists and eight Social Researchers, Assistant Economists (AEs) have many opportunities to take on responsibility and develop their skills. The Economic and Social Analysis Team provides advice across the scope of HSE’s remit - from offshore oil and gas exploration to genetically modified organisms - and this offers great variety to AEs that will help form a solid basis for a career as a government economist.

The main responsibilities and activities of this post can include:

- Producing high quality regulatory impact assessments of specific legislative changes to support Ministerial decision-making and to satisfy the evidence standards of the Smarter Regulation Directorate
- Supporting Economic Advisors in developing HSE’s evidence base on the economic impacts of health and safety risks in collaboration with other analysts, scientists and policy advisors
- Promoting opportunities in HSE and the GES through engagement with students at local university economics degree programmes and guest lecture

**Person specification**:
**Essential Skills and Criteria**:
You should be able to demonstrate the following attributes:

- Experience of spotting opportunities to promote and use economics which enables you to conduct associated research
- Experience of working independently towards your own objectives and to support team objectives, effectively prioritising competing demands to deliver to deadlines
- Experience of using forward planning for self and team to identify and suggest solutions to risks and issues

**Qualifications**:

- Applicants will need to possess or will be expected to have a first or upper second-class honours degree. Here are the essential criteria:
- Hold an Economics degree by August 2024, or if you completed a joint degree, at least 50% of the modules must be economics, or you must have a MSc in economics.
- Modules must have covered both micro and macroeconomics to qualify.

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

- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
- Working Together

**Technical skills**:
We'll assess you against