Economic Advisor: Transport Economic Research
| Posting date: | 17 November 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £57,515 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National - £57,515 and London £62,034 |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 30 November 2025 |
| Location: | Birmingham |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 435501/3 |
Summary
Can you turn complex analysis into clear, evidence-based insights that influence national policy and spending decisions?
Would you thrive in a collaborative, high-profile team at the forefront of transport economics and appraisal?
If so, we’d love to hear from you!
DfT is a high-profile department at the heart of UK government. We work with agencies and partners to support the transport network that helps businesses and gets people and goods travelling around the country. We plan and invest to make journeys better.
Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:
- Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
- 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday
- Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.
Read more in the Benefits section below!
Find out more about what it's like working at DfTc.
The Transport Economics and Appraisal (TEA) team leads innovative research and analysis to inform transport policy and investment decisions. We ensure rigorous economic appraisal underpins key spending proposals and maintain strong links with academia and industry to advance transport modelling and evaluation methods.
In this role, you will work collaboratively with a G7 economist to develop and apply methods for analysing the wider economic impacts of transport investment. You will design and conduct high-quality research on the productivity, employment, and place-based impacts of transport interventions, using tools such as econometrics, data science, and GIS. Your work will inform updates to the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG), particularly the A2 and M5.3 units, contributing directly to the Government’s Growth Mission and the implementation of the 2025 Green Book review.
This is a high-profile post at the heart of DfT’s analytical community, offering opportunities to influence national investment decisions, develop appraisal guidance, and contribute to evidence-based policymaking across the transport sector.
Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:
- Empirical research on transport impacts, such as: contextual factors driving transformational impact, understanding synergies across multiple interventions in a place, dynamic clustering, and induced investment.
- In-house analytical work using data sources and tools available across the Department, for example, transport data and the DfT Connectivity Tool.
- Advancing engagement with colleagues in academia through knowledge exchange formal collaborations, the latter may include co-funded PhD studentships and joint research bid developments.
- TAG ownership and updates of supplementary economic modelling guidance (M5.3) strengthen the methodological content and ensure it clearly links to and complements to guidance in the A2 units.
For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.
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