Location
London (E14 4HD) or Birmingham (B5 4UA) with hybrid working and flexible homeworking options available.

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£57,783 per annum

About the Role
Join Ofwat’s Chief Economists Team as a Principal Economist. We have 4 permanent roles available and are also open to loans and secondments of up to 2 years. As a Principal Economist, you will play a key role in delivering our regulatory commitments for customers and the environment. You will lead on key areas of the Chief Economists Team’s work by providing rigorous economic thinking and advice to inform policies and help Ofwat deliver its strategic objectives, including the transition to the new regulatory regime. This role requires excellent analytical skills, significant experience in regulatory economics, and the ability to manage the design, development, and delivery of economic projects. You will be supported by an economics director and will have responsibility for managing more junior team members. This is an exciting opportunity for someone seeking a varied role that combines economic advice, leading economic and quantitative analysis projects, assessing policy impacts, stakeholder engagement, and managing and developing senior associate and graduate economists.

About Us
We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales. Following the Independent Water Commission’s final report, the UK government has set out a bold new direction that brings together expertise across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment. We collaborate with government and other regulators to establish a new body for England, combining strengths with the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, and Natural England. We also continue to engage with the Welsh Government to support future decisions for Wales. Our mission remains to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you are passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water.

Experience
- Significant knowledge of microeconomics and regulatory economics.
- Experience applying economic analysis in economic regulation and/or competition policy.
- Experience managing the design, development, and delivery of economic projects.
- Excellent analytical skills, including identifying, analysing, and interpreting a range of data and insights to inform evidence-based decisions on complex problems.
- Experience building constructive working relationships and engaging with internal and external stakeholders.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to explain complex issues clearly and concisely in non-technical language.

About You
You will be a confident and skilled economist with a passion for regulatory economics and making a positive impact on customers and the environment. You will be comfortable leading projects and managing junior colleagues, with strong stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications
An undergraduate degree in economics or a discipline with significant economic content is essential.