Economist

Join Ofwat's Major Projects and Markets Directorate as a Senior Associate Economist!

About Us

We’re Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority – a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.

As the economic regulator of water and wastewater companies in England and Wales, our role is to enable, incentivise and hold companies to account for providing the very best for customers, communities and the environment now and in the future. We also oversee the markets in the water sector to ensure they’re working for customers.

The work that you’ll be involved in every day will help us to deliver our strategy, to make us the regulator we want to be and help the sector to deliver for customers and society.

The Role

We are looking for an Economist to join the Charging and Developer Services team at Senior Associate level. Our team's responsibilities include setting the rules for how water companies charge household and business customers, supporting and developing the new connections market, and regulating the fast-growing market for new appointees (or NAVs). We work across Ofwat and with external stakeholders (including Defra) to develop and monitor policy. We focus on delivering better outcomes for customers and the environment, in the short-term and the long-term.

This is an exciting opportunity to join us and play a key part in shaping how we improve the new connections market for the benefit of customers. You will play a crucial role in how we regulate the developer services market, reflecting the changes we have made as part of PR24, aimed at delivering better outcomes for customers, society and the environment. You will help to develop our policy on developer services and implement our approach, engaging with internal and external stakeholders. You will also support our work on charging trials, analysing outputs from existing trials, engaging with incumbent companies on new trials and adapting our approach based on lessons learned.

Much of this work interfaces with our price review (PR24) or other aspects of Ofwat's duties and strategy. We work closely with Ofwat colleagues, including the Chief Economist's Team, Price Review, Business Retail, Government Engagement and the RAPID (Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development) team. You will need to coordinate inputs from different parts of Ofwat, including colleagues working on customer policy, Business Retail, markets and water efficiency.

Why Join Us

• Meaningful Impact: Contribute to our purpose to drive water companies to deliver more for customers and the environment.
• Innovative Work Environment: We embrace agile working and a culture of trust, flexibility, and collaboration.
• Development Opportunities: Gain valuable experience and develop your skills in a supportive and dynamic setting.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home combined with meaningful collaboration in our London or Birmingham offices.

Other Benefits

• Excellent employer pension contribution ranging from £10,659 to £14,485 per annum. 25 days’ annual leave, increasing to 30 with each year of service, plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave.
• Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership.
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
• Recognition vouchers scheme rewarding your hard work.
• Generous shared parental leave and pay supporting your family life.

What you bring

Experience, skills and knowledge

• An undergraduate degree in economics and/or a discipline with significant economic/numerate content.
• Knowledge and/or experience of microeconomic analysis and/or markets, competition and regulation, and the benefits they can deliver for customers. This includes the identification and application of relevant economic, legal and policy frameworks and requirements.
• Experience of developing, managing and implementing policy.
• Experience of building and maintaining constructive working relationships with a diverse set of internal and external stakeholders to understand their needs, expectations, and priorities, and to influence and collaborate effectively to deliver desired outcomes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including experience of identifying, analysing and accurately interpreting a range of data and insights to inform evidence-based decisions and solutions for complex problems.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to understand and concisely explain complex issues in non-technical language.
• Ability to effectively plan, prioritise and deliver multiple projects and programmes of work at the same time.

Attributes

• Committed Learner
• Makes Relationships Count
• Adaptable Thinker
• Delivers Outcomes

Attributes as per Ofwat’s Framework for Success for Senior Associate Grade. You can read more about our attributes here.

To read more about the role and selection process, please follow the link to apply.

Applications Deadline: 23.55 on 22 September 2024

Location: Birmingham, GB

Posted Date: 9/19/2024