Senior Economist and Head of Investment Promotion

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

- 262196**Salary**:

- £62,555 - £73,000- National: £62,555 - £71,233 - London £65,819 - £73,000 - Senior Policy Analysis Allowance - £4245**Job grade**:

- Grade 6**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DIT - SI: Analysts**Type of role**:

- Analytical
- Economist
- International Trade**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Darlington, LondonAbout the job

**Job summary**:
The Department for International Trade (DIT) helps businesses export, drives inward and outward investment, negotiates market access and trade deals and champions free trade.

Our responsibilities are to:

- Help businesses export
- Drive inward and outward investment
- Negotiate market access and trade deals
- Champion free trade

**Foreign investment**

This is an exciting time to work on foreign investment promotion and policy in government. Foreign investment plays an important role in the UK economy. Whilst only 4% of local business units in the UK were foreign owned in 2020, they were responsible for 36% of UK business turnover and employed over 5 million people.

Foreign investment drives economic growth across UK nations and regions, making a significant contribution to economic growth, Net Zero, R&D, and Levelling Up; all of which are flagship UK government objectives. DIT plays a crucial role in this, through programmes delivered by staff in the UK and around the world, working closely with foreign investors to land investment projects. There is significant interest in foreign investment from Cabinet Ministers and Senior Officials across Whitehall, and the postholder will be playing an important role to shape and drive this important government lever.

**Investment Promotion and Policy Analysis (IPPA)**

Investment Promotion and Policy Analysis (IPPA) is an inter-disciplinary team of analysts which undertakes projects to inform and influence DIT and HMG foreign investment promotion and facilitation activities and policymaking in areas of both inward and outward 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 and innovative analysis to improve the evidence base on foreign investment analysis and influence senior decision-making.

The team leads on the analytical strategies for supporting and influencing DIT’s foreign investment promotion, facilitation, and policy advocacy activities in both inward and outward investment. The team works closely with the Investment Directorate, UK Regions and HMTC, DDAT teams, and other government department colleagues (BEIS, DHLUC, HMT etc..) for establishing policy positions on foreign investment.

We are hiring a **Senior Economist** to lead the IPPA team. The postholder will lead an economic team to deliver a programme of work and lead analysis to advance understanding of why, where, and how foreign investment occurs, and its impact in the society. 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.

**Hybrid working**

Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas.

Informal hybrid working arrangements will be available as agreed with the vacancy manager and in line with the requirements of the role.

Most DIT employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in an office, on average. If your office location is London, you will be eligible to receive London weighting.

**Job description**:
The post holder will provide leadership on a broad programme of work which includes:

- Supporting the evidence-based design of DIT’s investment transformation programme.
- Establishing close working relationship, cooperation, and engagement with other government departments, like FCDO, DHLUC, BoE, BEIS, HMT to identify common areas of research and analysis and fostering DIT’s leadership in foreign investment.
- Deploying and operationalising evidence to establish policy positions with foreign investment on overarching HMG themes such as levelling up, net zero and R&D.
- Leading a range of research work to further develop our understanding of the investor support needs when investing in the UK, and implications for DIT’s services.
- Briefing Ministers and senior leadership on investment position of the UK and global investment trends.
- Developing insights on bilateral investment flows to support UK’s FTA discussions.
- Leading advancement of evidence base on outward direct investment to inform policy development.
- Working across DIT’s Analysis Group to develop evidence on overlapping areas related to investment.
- Leading and managing cross departmental quantitative