Senior Economist WCC618582

Job Details:

Salary range: £53,109 - £72,669 per annum
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: 36   
Contract type: Temporary for 23 months
Closing date: 1 October 2024 
Interview date: 7 October 2024 and 14 October 2024 (may be subject to change) 
Contact details for an Informal Discussion: Alexandra Hill and Paul Mayo, Chief Economist via email on: jhill-mayo@westminster.gov.uk

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF AWARD-WINNING CARBON SAVINGS ON HIGHWAYS PROJECTS 

The Strategy & Intelligence Team in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories, where we go above and beyond for our residents – in all sorts of pioneering ways. By being smart and courageous with the council’s finances we can achieve more for our residents and wider society, especially when working closely with other council departments. 
Our approach to responsible procurement and the way we work collaboratively with our suppliers can bring significant benefits, including huge reductions in environmental impact. 

Take the award-winning Kings Street footway scheme. This was the first scheme of its kind in the UK to switch all possible high carbon materials and equipment for zero and low carbon alternatives. This included using electric tools and excavators, low carbon foundations, concrete and paving and zero-emission deliveries to site. The result? A 79% carbon saving compared to traditional techniques.

And why does this success matter? Because Kings Street has formed a blueprint for future projects. Its success has been translated to five further paving schemes, which have achieved savings of up to 94% operational carbon against comparable sites. A subsequent resurfacing project in Third Avenue achieved another UK first in its use of 85% recycled material on the roadway. These schemes demonstrate that partnership working with our suppliers can help us meet the councils net zero carbon targets. 

Please view the extraordinary story of the King Street footway scheme here. 

The Role:

As a Senior Economist you can make your own powerful contribution to achieving the best outcomes for our residents, businesses and visitors by bringing economic thinking to the heart of council decision-making.  Home to the West End and many other attractions, Westminster is a high-profile local authority with great influence on London’s wider economy, but we also support a large number of vulnerable local residents, and communities that are experiencing significant deprivation. 

This is an unrivalled opportunity to work as part of a dynamic, collaborative, 30-strong team addressing a wide range of complex issues, from supporting the night-time economy to solving health inequalities. With regular access to senior leaders, you’ll offer valued insights to projects and policy. The varied nature of the work offers some opportunity to shape your own workload around the issues that interest you.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

The scope and freedom of this role means it would suit a self-starter who enjoys thinking about the bigger picture and who can make links across different agendas.  You will be expected to develop an expertise across several policy areas and keep up to date with the latest datasets and research. 

You’ll bring proven skills in applied economics and quantitative analysis, most likely gained during study for a first degree or masters in a relevant discipline.  Some experience of working as an economist is also important. Good project management and stakeholder management skills will be needed to operate across a diverse portfolio and stay on top of your brief.

Influencing and communication is a key part of the role. We’ll look to you to champion the benefits of economic advice to those not familiar with the work, but also to explain the limitations of economics.

Ready to manage a busy workload, you’ll also be able to prioritise your work and ensure you are focused on where you and your team can add most value. You’ll be pragmatic, and capable of working as part of team that pulls together to solve a diverse range of problems.

The Council is committed to achieving diverse shortlists to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. We especially encourage applications from a global majority background and, while the role is open to all applicants, we will utilise the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to appoint a candidate from a global majority background where there is a choice between two candidates of equal merit. If you are from a Global Majority background, you can self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments.

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster, contributing to more than £70bn of Gross Value Add. 

Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit  https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application , we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.