Chief Economist

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) plays a pivotal role in shaping one of the UK's most important labour market policies: the National Minimum Wage, which includes the National Living Wage. Our recommendations directly affect millions of workers and thousands of businesses across the country and sit at the heart of the Government's Make Work Pay agenda.

The LPC is a unique social partnership, with a board of nine Ministerially appointed Commissioners representing employers, workers and academia. Commissioners role is to recommend minimum wage rates to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade each October.

We are seeking a Chief Economist to lead the analytical work that underpins these recommendations. Reporting to the Secretary, the Chief Economist is a critical role in the small secretariat of civil servants who support the Commissioners. This is a rare opportunity to combine labour market expertise, strategic leadership and high-profile policy influence within a unique social partnership.

As Chief Economist, you will be the LPC's senior analyst and lead the evidence and research that underpins the Commission's recommendations to Ministers. Working closely with Commissioners, senior officials and external experts, you will shape debates on low pay, labour market performance and minimum wage policy.

Leading a talented analytical team, you will ensure the LPC remains at the forefront of labour market research and evidence-based policy making. You will be responsible for:

• Evidence base: the recommendations of the LPC to Government are firmly based in evidence. You will ensure that the LPCs evidence base remains robust, reliable and timely so that we can provide high quality advice.
• Communication: Having a robust evidence base is one thing, communicating it effectively is another. You will meet the challenge of communicating evidence that can be complex, contradictory and incomplete.
• Research programme: You will set the strategic direction of the LPC's research programme, overseeing both commissioning and delivery.
• Analytical team leadership: You will lead and develop a high-performing analytical team (currently comprising three G7 economists and one SEO statistician), supporting innovation, professional development and collaboration.
• Economic and statistical analysis: As well as overseeing and quality assuring the work of your team, you will undertake your own high quality and original analysis. This will include econometric analysis of the minimum wages impacts on a host of factors including pay, employment, hours worked and prices.
• Networks: you will maintain and build a network of experts and academics to ensure the LPC has access to the latest thinking and research on minimum wages and broader changes in the labour market. This will include minimum wage policy makers and experts in other countries.

Working pattern and location

This is a full-time role, based in the Low Pay Commissions office in Canary Wharf in London.

Essential criteria

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage;

• Big picture knowledge of labour market economics You must have a strong understanding of labour market economics and the factors affecting low-paid workers and employers. You will be able to apply economic theory and evidence to real-world policy questions and understand the wider economic, social and political context in which minimum wage decisions are made.
• Effective decision maker and analyst you must have strong technical and analytical skills and be able to grasp and make sense of complex and contradictory evidence, use sound judgement and provide clear advice. You must have a good understanding of econometric techniques and approaches.
• Communicating and influencing You must be able to explain complex issues clearly and with high impact and credibility and create coherent narratives. Importantly, you must be able to adapt your approach to different audiences, levels of expertise and knowledge.
• Leadership You must be able to effectively lead a high performing group of analysts. This includes strategic oversight of their work as well as motivating them, stretching them to develop their own skills and encouraging collaboration.

Desirable Criteria:

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates;

• Knowledge and experience of datasets pertaining to the UK labour market such as the Labour Force Survey (LFS) or the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).
• Experience of designing and commissioning policy related research and evaluation projects from academics or other external contractors.
• Experience of software for statistical analysis, including R, SPSS or Stata.

To discuss the role, please contact [email protected]