We are hiring! Junior Consultant role now open for applications

We are excited to be hiring for a new Junior Consultant – details of the role are below:

Application closing date: 14^th July, with interviews expected to be held by video call from w/c 12^th August.
Location: London / Hybrid. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.
Start date: As soon as possible.
Salary: £32,000 – £35,000, dependent on experience.

We are happy to consider applicants who wish to work part-time. WPI Economics is committed to diversity, and so if you require any reasonable adjustments to be made at any stage of the application process, please let us know.

Please apply using this link.

What is the opportunity?

WPI Economics is an economics, data insight and public policy consultancy that specialises in conducting research, analysis and modelling that makes an impact on important social and economic policy debates. We are driven by a desire to make a difference, both through the work we undertake and by taking our responsibilities as a business seriously. Though our work, we answer questions like:

• How can we build consensus around the need to tackle poverty in the UK and what could be successful in doing so?
• What effect did government interventions have on poverty during the pandemic?
• What are the implications of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis on poverty and inequality in the capital?

In each of these areas we have provided clients with in-depth policy research, strategic advice and hands-on support to help them understand, design, and / or implement policy.

Our consultancy is continuing to grow and we are looking for a new junior consultant to join our team and work on various projects across our wide-ranging portfolio. This is a chance for you to use your solid grounding in data analysis and research to make an impact. You will work with our large and varied client base, giving you an insight into the policy needs of public, private and third sector organisations.

What are the responsibilities?

We are a small team of 20, meaning that we all cover a range of different areas of work. You will be involved directly and indirectly on a range of topics, from investigation of social policy issues to understanding the economic and social impacts of new technologies and industries. Day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Conducting rigorous analysis of data, using programming languages (R/Python) and statistical packages (Stata);
• Developing and improving in-house codebases for modelling, statistical analysis of data, and data visualisation;
• Working with our data insights team to communicate the findings in engaging visual ways;
• Writing up your findings engagingly;
• Representing WPI Economics externally with clients and other stakeholders, including handling client queries and contributing to stakeholder interviews and roundtables;
• Helping to develop effective policy recommendations.

We are especially interested to hear from candidates who have experience in applying statistical and/or economic techniques to provide real-world analysis and insight.

You will also contribute to the direction and growth of a growing small business as we grow into new policy areas and engage with new clients.

Core Attributes/Characteristics:

Essential:

• Quantitative experience: experience of applying statistical and/or economic techniques to provide analysis and insight that makes an impact with experts and non-experts.
• Coding experience: ability to manipulate data using programming languages and/or statistical software. Desirable technologies include R, Python, and STATA.
• Communications and writing skills: the ability to distil complex analysis clearly and concisely into a clear and comprehensible set of findings in both verbal and written formats.
• Research skills: experience of using a wide range of sources including government documents, academic literature, and grey literature, to produce insightful and accurate analyses and summaries of policy issues.
• Policy interest: an interest in the main policy debates occurring within the United Kingdom, and interest/experience in applying theory to practical policy issues.

Desirable:

• Level 6-8 qualifications (or international equivalent) in a STEM subject. This could include Economics, Finance, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, or Engineering.
• Large-scale survey data experience: (e.g. Labour Force Survey, Understanding Society) and / or Government datasets such as Stat-Xplore and NOMIS would be an advantage.
• Data visualisation: Experience of (or desire to gain experience in) creating data visualisations and interactive data dashboards using R, Shiny and Highcharts.

Package:

We offer an attractive package that will be based on the experience and skills of the successful candidate The compensation for this role includes:

• £32,000 – £35,000 per annum, based on experience
• 25 days annual leave (plus a shutdown between Christmas and New Year)
• 3% pension contribution
• Season ticket loans
• Wellbeing package via Help@Hand, which includes virtual GP access
• A friendly office (with good coffee!)

Testimonials:

You can see what others have thought of working at WPI Economics here.

Equal opportunities, diversity and flexible working:

We are an equal opportunities employer and value diversity. Diversity in our team adds to our company’s creativity and productivity and to facilitate this we actively encourage flexible working arrangements. Members of our team already work flexibly, whether that is part-time or flexible hours and we would welcome discussing anything that would make WPI Economics work for you.

WPI Economics is an accredited Living Wage Employer and a certified B Corporation.

How to apply:

We take diversity seriously, so we have developed a name and university-blind approach to sifting applications before offering interviews. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

To apply you will first be required to submit the following using this link:

• A one-page covering letter
• Your CV

Please do not use AI tools in the production of these documents. We want to see how you think and communicate, so that we can start to get to know you as part of the process.

We will then contact all applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job, giving them a short exercise to complete. The CV blind sift of applications for interview will then be carried out entirely on the basis of your answer to the exercise to maximise the range of candidates that we bring forward.

The deadline for applications is midnight on Sunday 14^th July 2024. We will share details of the exercise shortly afterwards, and will then contact all applicants by the early August to confirm whether you have been selected for an interview. We expect interviews to be held over video conference w/c 12^th and 19^th August.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email recruitment@wpieconomics.com.

As part of any recruitment process, WPI Economics collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. Please see our full privacy policy here for details about how we collect and use that data. Equality and diversity data will be combined (aggregated) with other applicants’ data and analysed only on an anonymous basis. Non-anonymised data will be deleted once the data has been aggregated.