Senior Consultants

We are looking to recruit bright and motivated Senior Consultants in local/sub-national economic development/regeneration and/or innovation (focused on economic and social analysis, strategy development and action planning, appraisals/business cases and evaluation).

**Location**:Consultants are based in one of our offices (London, Manchester and Edinburgh). We have a hybrid working approach with time in the office combined with days working at home and time with clients, on fieldwork, etc.
- Public policy can shape a better society and should be guided by high quality research, analysis and insight. At SQW, we take a bespoke approach to each project, drawing on rich experience across a range of disciplines to inform policy and implementation. _

**About SQW**

**SQW** is** **one of the UK’s leading independent economic and social development consultancies. We provide **specialist research, analysis and insight to support public policy to shape a better society**. We work for a wide range of clients in the UK, including central government and its agencies, devolved administrations, Mayoral Combined Authorities, local authorities, universities, and for the voluntary, community and private sectors. We have 50 consultants working across the UK delivering insightful work that makes a positive difference and adds real value to our clients.

**Overview of the role**

We are seeking to recruit Senior Consultants with experience of, and interest in, one or both of the following policy areas:

- **Local/sub-national economic development** - Research and advice on policies and interventions linked to local economic development (with an increasing focus on sustainability/net zero and inclusivity alongside local economic competitiveness and regeneration). Projects range in scale from site level (including major new developments) through to sub-regions, city-regions and broader areas.
- **Innovation, enterprise and business growth** - Research and advice on policies relating to enterprise and business support, financial instruments to support firms, and the role of science and innovation in developing places, clusters and sectors.

Across these fields, our work includes the preparation of evidence-based strategies and action plans; appraisals and business cases; economic impact assessments; and policy and programme evaluations.

In practice, this means:

- conducting qualitative and quantitative socio-economic research on local and regional economies, e.g. analysing strengths, weaknesses and future prospects of local labour markets and key employment sectors
- preparing HM Treasury Green Book-compliant business cases for social, physical and economic interventions (projects and programmes)
- completing economic impact assessments - including as part of ex-post evaluations
- building capacity within partnerships, and supporting processes of strategy development and action planning.

As well as having experience of research, evaluation and business case development in a relevant policy field, Senior Consultants contribute substantially to project deliverables - including the preparation of both reports and presentations. Ideally, they should also bring skills and ideas in relation to the visualisation of data and/or their mapping.

Senior Consultants manage some smaller projects and deputy project manage larger or more complicated projects. They therefore need to be comfortable engaging with clients and working closely with both more senior and junior team members. They need to be confident analysts, including in terms of overseeing the work of more junior consultants. They also help us develop proposals for new work. This means thinking through approaches and methodologies which are deliverable and proportionate, but also creative.

For this role, Senior Consultants also need to bring real interest in, and enthusiasm for, the contribution that economic development/regeneration and/or innovation can make in improving outcomes at different spatial scales.

Joining as a Senior Consultant will provide the opportunity to make a real contribution to the growth and development of the business and contribute to a better society.

**Relevant skills and experience**

Applicants should have the following:

- significant experience in a comparable role
- excellent knowledge of relevant public policy in the UK
- a good knowledge of robust evaluation methodologies and approaches
- strong verbal and written communication skills

**What we offer**

We offer an excellent remuneration package which includes:

- Competitive basic salary of £41,000 or more, depending on experience
- Annual performance related bonus
- Flexible working
- Contributory pension scheme with up to 5% matching contributions
- Permanent Health Insurance and Death in Service
- Flexible benefits options, which include private health and dental schemes for individuals and their dependents, health assessments, electric vehicle purchase and bikes to work scheme
- Supp