Senior Associate Economist (Charges and Developer Services)
Ofwat (Water Services Regulation Authority)
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 22nd September 2024
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About the job
Job summary
We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.
We are at the source of everyday life. We help the sector build trust and confidence with customers, the environment and wider society: keeping water flowing, bills affordable and helping ensure the health of our rivers and waterways.
We have an opportunity for a Senior Associate Economist, to join the Charging and Developer Services team at Senior Associate level. 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.
Our work is high-profile and fast-moving, within a dynamic and agile environment. 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.
You can find out more about why you should join Ofwat, our strategy, values and our framework for success in the attached Information for Candidates Pack.
Job description
The Role
The Charges and Developer Services 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.
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.
Key Deliverables
In this role you will be expected to:
- Lead on specific work areas, taking responsibility for their successful delivery.
- Undertake (or help to commission) quantitative and qualitative economics.
- Develop policy, including identifying and appraising options, assessing impacts and making suitable recommendations.
- Engage with and present to colleagues and stakeholders to share insights and expertise from our work, so that we are maximising synergies with related work areas and effectively focusing our combined efforts to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment.
- Draft key parts of reports and publications to a high standard.
- Create and champion an inclusive working environment that supports growth, wellbeing, and continuous improvement in our delivery.
- Listen to, influence and work with complex, and sometimes difficult, external stakeholders to optimise the impact of our work, including water companies, representative bodies, Government departments, third parties and customers.
- Strongly contribute to Ofwat’s wider leadership, by engaging, contributing and supporting our work to make Ofwat a great place to be.
Person specification
To be successful in this role you will need the below essential experience, skills, knowledge and attributes:
Experience, skills and knowledge
- An undergraduate degree in economics and/or a discipline with significant economic/numerate content.
- Lead criterion: 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 Band. You can read more about Attributes here.
Qualifications
Benefits
Why You Should Join Us:
We’re forward-thinking, creative, innovative, and ambitious. We constantly push the boundaries and embrace new ways of working.
With us, your work matters, your voice is heard, and your impact is felt. Ours is a culture of trust, flexibility, autonomy, collaboration, and innovation. We all want positive change for water customers, the environment, and the future of water.
But for us, change is more than what happens on the outside – we’ve always pushed boundaries internally, too. From becoming the first Civil Service organisation to achieve ‘Smarter Working’ status, to gaining our prestigious ‘Smarter Working Maturity’ award, we’ve consistently demonstrated our commitment to embracing innovative ways of working. Our people do their best work when given freedom over where, when, and how they work. Which is why we trust our teams to balance meaningful collaboration in the office with the flexibility of working from home.
You will also benefit from:
- Excellent employer pension contributions of 28.97% (around £10,659 to £14,485 per annum for this role). You can find further details about pension schemes under Terms and Conditions in the Candidate Pack.
- 27.5 days leave (25 days annual leave + 2.5 days privilege leave) increasing to max 32.5 days with each year of service, plus bank holidays
- Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail
outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership. - Flexible working arrangements that suit your lifestyle.
- Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
- Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
- Generous shared parental leave and pay.
- Enhanced sick pay.
- Regular development opportunities.
- Health and wellbeing initiatives.
- Season ticket loan for home-to-office travel.
- Cycle-to-work scheme.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
How to apply
Apply through the Civil Service Jobs website where you’ll be asked to create an account and complete an application form (CV and personal statement). If you’re unable to make an electronic application, please contact recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk and we will support you in completing your application.
Please ensure you have submitted your application in full ahead of the deadline listed below. Unfortunately, we won't be able to consider late applications.
Please see the candidate guidance on our website for more detail and tips on how to best make your application.
Selection timetable
- Closing date: 23.55pm 22 September 2024
- Sifting: Week Commencing 23 September 2024
- Interview date(s): Week Commencing 30 September 2024
Assessment process
Sift Stage
We operate a blind sifting model to eliminate bias. All candidate identifying information will be removed from applications.
At sift stage we assess your application (CV and personal statement) against criteria 1, 2, 3, & 4 listed in the Person Specification Section above.
Use your personal statement to address the Lead criterion and tell us about your 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.
You may find the STAR method useful in structuring your personal statement.
In the CV section of your application, please state clearly how your skills, experience, and knowledge meet essential criteria 1, 3 and 4.
In the event of receiving a large number of applications, a pre-sift will take place on just the lead criterion.
Ensure that anything submitted as part of your application is factually accurate, and you are not presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by AI, as your own.
Interview Stage
Our transparent interview process involves candidates receiving a list of attribute-based questions in advance. This has been proven to help neurodiverse candidates and others to perform better at interview and is part of our inclusive culture.
We will assess your Experience, Skills and Knowledge as well as Attributes (set out in the professional requirements section) at Interview Stage.
You can read more about Attributes in Ofwat’s Framework for Success.
As part of the interview process, we may require a short presentation. Further details will be provided to shortlisted candidates upon invitation to interview.
Please note that the interviews will be conducted via video conferencing software such as Microsoft Teams.
If you have any queries about any aspect of this role, selection process, or you require any reasonable adjustments please email recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk.
Please read the attached "Candidate Information Pack" for details on terms and conditions.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk
- Email : recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : recruitment@ofwat.gov.uk
Further information
