Job summary
The Grade 7 role of Head of Climate Economics is within the Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Division in the Climate Change Group. The Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Division is responsible for developing the strategic direction of climate policy within Welsh Government. A new team is being created to supplement existing resource to further develop our economic understanding of various decarbonisation and climate adaptation pathways for Wales.
This role will be to lead the new analytical team which will assess and communicate the likely economic impacts, both positive and negative of strategic carbon reduction and climate adaptation policy. This will include assessing how UK Policy will affect Wales, Welsh Government policy and the interplay between the three.
The team will also integrate findings with work of analysts developing potential strategic climate change pathways for Wales, assessing the costs and economic benefits for Wales. The team will also engage widely across Welsh Government, with UK Government and the Climate Change Committee drawing conclusions related to economic benefit and dis-benefit of policy choices and ensuring the analysis of the team is relevant and useful to each sector.
A key role for the team will be to promote good practice, and boost the rigour of analysis of WG policy, and ensuring high standards of analysis are promoted across Welsh Government and by its contractors.
The aim is for the economic analysis to inform strategic climate change policy choices for senior officials and Ministers.
The post holder will have management responsibilities, with an SEO level economist and Assistant Economist also within the team.
Job description
The Grade 7 role of Head of Climate Economics is within the Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Division in the Climate Change Group. The Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Division is responsible for developing the strategic direction of climate policy within Welsh Government. A new team is being created to supplement existing resource to further develop our economic understanding of various decarbonisation and climate adaptation pathways for Wales.
This role will be to lead the new analytical team which will assess and communicate the likely economic impacts, both positive and negative of strategic carbon reduction and climate adaptation policy. This will include assessing how UK Policy will affect Wales, Welsh Government policy and the interplay between the three.
The team will also integrate findings with work of analysts developing potential strategic climate change pathways for Wales, assessing the costs and economic benefits for Wales. The team will also engage widely across Welsh Government, with UK Government and the Climate Change Committee drawing conclusions related to economic benefit and dis-benefit of policy choices and ensuring the analysis of the team is relevant and useful to each sector.
A key role for the team will be to promote good practice, and boost the rigour of analysis of WG policy, and ensuring high standards of analysis are promoted across Welsh Government and by its contractors.
The aim is for the economic analysis to inform strategic climate change policy choices for senior officials and Ministers.
The post holder will have management responsibilities, with an SEO level economist and Assistant Economist also within the team.
Person specification
1. Lead the team responsible for strategic climate change economic analysis, creating an economy-wide view of costs and benefits of strategic climate policy on government, society, business etc.
2. Lead on planning and delivering analysis, building on existing Marginal Abatement Cost Curves, to identify the likely costs and benefits of strategic policy choices for Government. This will include both considering existing abatement choices and where investment by UK and/or Government will have a material impact on reducing technology or deployment costs and over what timeframe.
3. Lead on conducting cost-benefit analysis of new/existing adaptation policies, to ensure adaptation investment goes into the areas where it yields the greatest benefits, working closely with policy colleagues.
4. Lead analysis to contribute to the development of a whole-economy assessment of the costs of global inaction or varying degrees of action on Wales.
5. Lead engagement and work with all relevant policy areas to assess the economic impacts of existing policies and any policies in development.� Policy areas are also required to assess the economic implications of UK policy on Welsh Government, society, business etc.
6. Work with the Climate Evidence Team to inform the priorities of the economics team, by helping to identify areas where significant carbon savings may be achievable with Welsh action or Welsh action supporting UK Government action and developing future emissions pathways in the 2050 emissions calculator.
7. Work with the Social Science team to understand the distributional impacts of low-carbon transition, with analysis primarily exploring both the impact on households, and employment, to inform Welsh Government policy in attempting to alleviate any harmful effects.
8. Work with the wider central climate change team to manage interaction with Welsh Government�s Climate Change Portfolio Board to present mitigation / climate risk / adaptation economic evidence.
9. Contribute to briefing for Ministers and senior officials climate change economics and their impact in Wales.
10. Lead on specifying and procuring research packages for delivery by external contractors.
11. Work closely with colleagues in the Welsh Treasury to establish an improved framework of integrating GHG emissions reduction considerations into the budget allocation process.
12. Work with Welsh Treasury colleagues on the future fiscal implications of the low-carbon transition.
13. Building effective working relationships with relevant UK Government departments, other devolved governments, internal and external experts and stakeholders as required to support the analysis.
14. Responsibility for managing branch budgets, including those related to contract delivery.
15. Contributing to quality/improvement activities within own job, and corporately through the wider GES network.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
16. Leadership
17. Making Effective Decisions
18. Changing and Improving
19. Developing Self and Others
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
20. Application of knowledge - Leads development of analysis and synthesises evidence from a range of data and complex information sources, combining and developing these as appropriate.
21. Analysis of Data - Is proactive and innovative in considering how the data / analysis will be used by non-economists, stakeholders, and Ministers.
22. Effective communication - Is able to tailor the details when communicating economic concepts and evidence, ensuring that it is appropriate to the needs of specialists and non-specialist audiences.
Benefits
23. Learning and development tailored to your role
24. An environment with flexible working options
25. A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
26. A with an employer contribution of