Economic Advisor, Northern Powerhouse Rail
| Posting date: | 11 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £57,515 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National minimum - £57,515 London minimum - £62,034 |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 22 March 2026 |
| Location: | Leeds |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 451171/2 |
Summary
Do you have experience in building a strong evidence base to inform decision making, including scoping out and leading primary research projects?
Have you got experience leading a team and developing them?
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 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 DfT.
Major Rail Projects Analysis supports major UK rail programmes including HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and East West Rail. As a Grade 7 Economist, you’ll shape NPR’s development on a high‑profile, multi‑billion‑pound programme improving connectivity, growth and sustainability across the North. You’ll join a 25‑strong, multidisciplinary, friendly and inclusive team of analysts, with flexible and hybrid working across regional offices.
Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:
- Leading the development of NPR business cases, ensuring robust economic analysis underpins key decisions and aligns with HM Treasury Green Book and DfT’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG).
- Providing economic appraisal and value-for-money assessments for complex options, including station choices, phasing and network configurations, to support ministerial and senior decision-making.
- Acting as analytical lead for NPR modelling and appraisal, scrutinising outputs from sophisticated tools to ensure decisions are based on the best possible evidence and meet assurance standards.
Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.
For further information on the role, please read the role profile which 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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