SEO Economist – Floods & Water

Working within Defra, we deal with a vast range of issues that profoundly impact people’s lives. We are responsible for England’s environment, our countryside and rural economy, the food and farming sectors and have lead responsibility for protection from a wide range of natural threats and hazards. We are looking for an ambitious and enthusiastic SEO economist to support the domestic and international policy agenda in Floods & Water for a role which will be critically important to achieving our vision of ‘creating a great place for living’. This is a particularly exciting time to join the Defra group as you will have the opportunity to contribute towards and influence the development of new approaches and policies on a wide range of issues affecting millions of people in the UK. You will play an active role in shaping and delivering the Defra group’s priorities, working creatively and collaboratively with others to deliver excellent outcomes. Working with us will provide significant opportunities to develop your own skills and future career. 

Water is vital for life – clean, freshwater for drinking and sanitation, providing for farms and industry, creating and sustaining the ecosystems on which all life depends. Our water supply is a finite natural resource, facing increasing pressures from climate change and population growth. And too much water in the wrong place leads to floods or sewer overflows that pollute our rivers. Never before has the political, media and public attention been as focused on the water environment as it is now.  And we have an ambitious forward agenda set out in our Environmental Improvement Plan. Together this adds up to a fantastic opportunity to make a real and lasting difference to benefit people and the environment.

Defra’s Floods and Water Directorate leads the government’s work on the water system – water quality, water resources, floods protection and emergency response. We are a friendly, high-performing, and inclusive directorate, and our work has a real impact on people’s lives and the environment.  

Your personal qualities will be as important as your professional experience; and we welcome applications from all backgrounds. If you believe you have the skills and qualities we are looking for, then we would like to hear from you. The Defra group is dedicated to promoting equality and valuing diversity. We are committed to ensuring that every talented and hard-working person has the opportunity to rise to the top, whatever their background and whoever they are. 

We are seeking an experienced and capable individual who will contribute towards delivering an improved environment whilst maximising value for money. Specialist knowledge is not required from applicants, as we value the importance of an individual’s range of skills, however we are looking for a strong foundation in microeconomics. You will play an active role in working creatively and collaboratively with others to deliver excellent outcomes. 

Defra’s responsibility for water quality and availability has never felt more important or exciting. This role is a fantastic opportunity to support high-profile economic work to make sure England’s water system delivers for people and the environment, working hand-in-hand with policy in a fast-paced environment where analysis has a significant impact.

Achieving “Clean and Plentiful Water” is a key element of Defra’s 25 Year Environment Plan and Defra’s Plan for Water. The water environment in England faces multiple pressures from human activities, including intensive land use, pollution from agriculture, processing of wastewater, and water usage. Significant change is needed if we are to meet the government’s challenging water objectives.

We are looking for an experienced analyst to support economic input and research into potential improvements that could be made to the water regulatory model in support of Defra’s Plan for Water. As set out in Defra’s Plan for Water, this should help support measures to transform and integrate our water system, address sources of pollution and boost our water supplies through more investment, tighter regulation, and more effective enforcement.

We are also seeking an individual who relishes the opportunity to evaluate and challenge economic analysis in the wider team – helping support other economists in the Analysis and Evidence for Floods, Water and Contamination Team on other projects as needed. The wider team operates flexibly.

Please use your personal statement to demonstrate how you meet the below criteria.

Essential Skills for role:   

• You must be a member of Government Economic Service or have the ability to meet the criteria
• The ability to apply economic tools and techniques, and synthesise evidence from a range of sources, as appropriate
• Theoretical and empirical knowledge of market forces, market failure, and how these impact on the incentives of economic agents
• Excellent analytical skills including quantitative skills (at least intermediate proficiency with Excel) and ability to quality assure others’ analysis
• Experience producing high-quality and policy-relevant analysis along with the ability to clearly communicate such analysis in both written and verbal format
• Ability to work under pressure and to competing deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across a multidisciplinary analytical team, building and managing relationships with policy colleagues and wider groups to achieve progress on shared outcomes
• Experience in undertaking economic analysis ensuring application of Green Book Principles
• Experience researching, judging the quality of, and summarising evidence in order to inform policy

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• GES – Application of knowledge.
  As a Senior Executive Office (SEO) grade economist you should be able to demonstrate your abilities against the GES technical framework: GES Technical Framework 2022 – GOV.UK at SEO/Level 2 Practitioner grade.

• 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 average employer contribution of 27%

Blended Working

Defra operates a blended working policy subject to business need, giving people the flexibility to choose when and where they work and collaborate with others.

Individuals are expected to work from one of the office locations stated in the advert to connect with their colleagues, as required by their role and business team needs. There is flexibility to split the working week, spending minimum of 40-60% in the workplace, unless exceptional circumstances apply and/or you are a contractual home worker.

Job contact :

• Name : Kelly Wiles
• Email : Kelly.wiles@defra.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk