Two posts are available:
Grade 7 Economist (Social Justice, Early Years and Education)
Grade 7 Economist (Education)
The purpose of the posts will be to ensure the economic research and analysis needs of the policy areas they are supporting are identified, prioritised and met. This will involve providing economic advice and guidance and applying appropriate economic techniques to research and analysis.
The Social Justice, Early Years and Education role covers a wide range of topics and offers an exciting opportunity to support policies including tackling poverty, childcare provision, and. Examples of priorities in this area include:
+ Providing economic advice on universal and targeted approaches across a range of policy interventions to reduce or alleviate poverty.
+ Understanding how cross cutting policies can reduce poverty and facilitate economic activity and inclusive growth.
+ Providing distributional analysis of the interventions Welsh Government funds to understand who they support.
+ Developing economic evaluations of early years and childcare programmes, including Flying Start and the Childcare Offer for Wales.
+ Understanding the links between socio-economic background, educational attainment and longer-term economic outcomes.
+ Assessing the economic impact of reducing the equity gap in education and attainment.
The Education role offers an exciting opportunity to set the direction on economic analysis and support across a wide range of topics supporting education policies. Examples of priorities in this area include:
+ Strengthening the evidence base in relation to education economic analysis.
+ Developing economic evaluations of education policies, programmes and funding streams.
+ Reviewing and scrutinising education infrastructure business cases including those currently considered by the Education Investment Panel.
+ Assessing return on investment for programmes like Pupil Development Grant.
+ Identifying what works in the transition between Education, Employment and Training.
+ Assessment of universal primary free school meals and Additional Learning Need (ALN) reform interventions.
The post holders will need to work closely with other economists, social research, and statistical colleagues who help plan and implement analysis, research and evaluation across social justice, early years and education.
The post holders will be expected to provide expert support and practical assistance to colleagues at all levels of seniority in the policy areas they support., Grade 7 Economist (Social Justice, Early Years and Education)
Grade 7 Economist (Education)
The purpose of the posts will be to ensure the economic research and analysis needs of the policy areas they are supporting are identified, prioritised and met. This will involve providing economic advice and guidance and applying appropriate economic techniques to research and analysis.
The Social Justice, Early Years and Education role covers a wide range of topics and offers an exciting opportunity to support policies including tackling poverty, childcare provision, and. Examples of priorities in this area include:
+ Providing economic advice on universal and targeted approaches across a range of policy interventions to reduce or alleviate poverty.
+ Understanding how cross cutting policies can reduce poverty and facilitate economic activity and inclusive growth.
+ Providing distributional analysis of the interventions Welsh Government funds to understand who they support.
+ Developing economic evaluations of early years and childcare programmes, including Flying Start and the Childcare Offer for Wales.
+ Understanding the links between socio-economic background, educational attainment and longer-term economic outcomes.
+ Assessing the economic impact of reducing the equity gap in education and attainment.
The Education role offers an exciting opportunity to set the direction on economic analysis and support across a wide range of topics supporting education policies. Examples of priorities in this area include:
+ Strengthening the evidence base in relation to education economic analysis.
+ Developing economic evaluations of education policies, programmes and funding streams.
+ Reviewing and scrutinising education infrastructure business cases including those currently considered by the Education Investment Panel.
+ Assessing return on investment for programmes like Pupil Development Grant.
+ Identifying what works in the transition between Education, Employment and Training.
+ Assessment of universal primary free school meals and Additional Learning Need (ALN) reform interventions.
The post holders will need to work closely with other economists, social research, and statistical colleagues who help plan and implement analysis, research and evaluation across social justice, early years and education.
The post holders will be expected to provide expert support and practical assistance to colleagues at all levels of seniority in the policy areas they support.
Person specification
Core responsibilities will include:
+ Providing economic advice, support and briefings to policy colleagues, raising the awareness and knowledge of appraisal and evaluation techniques, and ensuring analytical rigour in the development of strategy, policy and interventions.
+ Promoting the effective use of economic analysis and evidence in policy development and delivery.
+ Leading and / or contributing to the drafting of documents, including Ministerial submissions, briefings, impact assessments, consultations, guidance material, papers and other written material as required. Provide responses to Ministerial correspondence and other government business for clearance by a more senior manager.
+ Providing answers to Welsh Government questions and contribute to Ministerial and Committee briefings on relevant economic issues.
+ Improving the evidence base for relevant policy and delivery by undertaking and communicating analysis/ economic data and designing, commissioning and managing strategic research and evaluation studies.
+ Keeping under review relevant research, reports and policy papers to develop an evolving evidence base that helps justify the need for particular interventions, provides appropriate benchmarks, and identify good practice.
+ Contributing to quality/improvement activities within own job, and corporately through the wider GES network.
+ Contributing to the drafting and delivery of the analytical sections of papers and reports, and supporting the wider evidence and analysis activities of the team, including the effective communication, briefing and dissemination of emerging analysis.
+ Building effective working relationships with relevant UK Government departments, other devolved governments, internal and external experts and stakeholders as required to support the analysis.
There are no line management responsibilities associated with the posts.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Seeing the Big Picture
+ Leadership
+ Working Together
+ Communicating and Influencing
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
+ Application of Knowledge Able to recognise when complementary expertise and collaborative working is required e.g., scientists, other social scientists, other government analytical professions and data specialists.
+ Analysis of Data Analyses and handles data for the purposes of producing evidence to directly advise decision makers as well as the wider team., This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Technical skills.
Welsh Government, like all other Government Departments use Success Profiles when we recruit. For each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. It raises performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
The selection process and stages are:
Number of Stages: 2 stage process
Stage 1 Application Form
Stage 2 Interview
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
+ individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
+ Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
+ Learning and development tailored to your role
+ An environment with flexible working options
+ A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
+ A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%