Job Description

This is the Internal Only Recruitment Site for UK Research and Innovation Staff for roles within Innovate UK (UKRI).

Please apply for jobs via this site only if you are employed by UK Research and Innovation (employees with access to Innovate UK's Workday system may apply via the "Careers" application within the system)

If you are not a current UKRI employee you can view vacancies at the externally advertised stage at the links given in the "About Us information on the right". If you wish to apply for the position below, please ensure that you comply with the requirements of the recruitment process by submitting both a full CV and application letter. Ideally, you should also advise your manager of your application.

Applications must be submitted by

06-06-2026

Economic Appraisal Specialist

Innovate UK is undergoing a pivotal strategic realignment to the government’s new industrial strategy with a commitment to back the businesses with the greatest potential to scale and grow into the industry leaders of tomorrow.

*Please note this advert will close on the 5th of June 2026 at 23.59pm.

Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here

Title: Economic Appraisal Specialist

Band: UKRI Band E (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Salary: £46,743 gross per annum

Reports to: Lead Specialist – Economic Appraisal

Location: Field based

Contract: Fixed Term Until (31/05/2028)

Employees applying for any opportunity which may mean being away from your substantive role for a

temporary period of time, please refer to the Recruitment Policy for further information in the first

instance. If you are made an offer, please ensure you liaise with your Line Manager and the designated

HR Team as soon as possible in order that implications of any move are clear and understood, prior to

a move taking place.

Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.

The Team:

The Economic Appraisal and Evaluation (EA&E) team is part of the Strategy directorate in Innovate UK. Innovation is a key component of economic growth, and it is the team’s role to ensure that appropriate evidence is collected and interpreted through economic appraisal and evaluation to inform Innovate UK’s decision making. This evidence will be instrumental in the development of effective programmes, build understanding of impact, and assess the overall performance and balance of Innovate UK’s portfolio. Innovate UK will make extensive use of this evidence to demonstrate its impact to other government departments, including HM Treasury

We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role.

Job Purpose:

Innovate UK is undergoing a pivotal strategic realignment to the government’s new industrial strategy with a commitment to back the businesses with the greatest potential to scale and grow into the industry leaders of tomorrow. In addition, Innovate UK has recently published its updated Strategy - Innovate UK: turning breakthrough ideas into industry giants. This refreshed mission translates into an ambitious pipeline of new programmes across different industrial strategy sectors. Many of these programmes require UKRI, DSIT and HM Treasury level business cases to progress. This implies that a comprehensive analysis of the qualitative and quantitative benefits of the programmes will need to be assessed using a mixed methods approach to assess value for money in alignment with the HM Treasury’s Green Book and Magenta Book.

Reporting to the Lead Specialist for Economic Appraisal, this role will provide hands-on economic case support to programme teams across Innovate UK as they develop business cases for submission to UKRI, DSIT and HM Treasury, including one large portfolio business case for investment in innovation infrastructure. Deployed into programme teams as a trusted economic business partner, the postholder can expect to support the end-to-end development of economic cases: building economic models, developing benefits and costs frameworks, applying sensitivity analysis, and drafting economic case narratives that meet Green Book standards and withstand scrutiny by approving bodies.

While the primary focus is delivery at pace, the postholder will also have the opportunity to shape how Innovate UK does economic appraisal for the long term by sharing expertise with programme teams, refining guidance based on live experience, and embedding good practice so that colleagues across the organisation are better equipped to embed, commission and interpret economic analysis in the future.

We are looking for a proactive, technically confident economists who are comfortable in a busy delivery environment, build credibility quickly with new teams, and will be energised by the prospect of putting rigorous economics at the heart of the UK’s next generation of innovation investment.

We are recruiting up to four candidates for this role. Up to three of these will support a broad range of programme business cases, while one will be focused on supporting the development of a large portfolio business case for investment in innovation infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Author the economic case component of Innovate UK business cases, including the development of options appraisal, benefits and costs modelling, BCR and VfM analysis (mixed methods synthesis), and sensitivity and risk analysis, in line with Green Book and Aqua Book standards.
• Build bespoke economic models to support programme business cases, ensuring they are proportionate, transparent, well-documented, and robust to scrutiny from UKRI, DSIT and HM Treasury.
• Work directly with programme teams as their economic business partner, providing hands-on support, interpreting programme logic and evidence into economic analysis, and drafting economic case narrative that clearly communicates value for money.
• Support programme teams to develop and articulate theories of change and logic models that underpin the economic case, ensuring benefits pathways are credible and evidenced.
• Respond to feedback from internal stakeholders and external assurers at UKRI, DSIT and HMT, iterating economic analysis to secure approval.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of Innovate UK's economic appraisal templates, guidance and tools, sharing insights from live cases to improve consistency and quality across the portfolio.
• Share expertise with programme teams and non-specialist colleagues, helping to build Innovate UK's longer-term economic capability.
• Collaborate with evaluation colleagues within the EA&E team to ensure economic analysis aligns with evaluation plans and that benefits articulated in the economic case are measurable and evaluable.
• Communicate technical economic evidence clearly and accessibly to a range of audiences, including senior leadership, programme teams, and external approvers, highlighting key findings, implications, and limitations.
• Maintain awareness of current and emerging good practice in economic appraisal, particularly as it applies to R&D and innovation policy, and apply this knowledge to strengthen Innovate UK's cases.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with programme teams, analytical colleagues, and external stakeholders including UKRI and DSIT economist counterparts.

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

Shortlisting criteria

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting

(I) – Assessed at interview

(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview

Person Specification:

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential –

• This is a technical economic role. Applicants must have a degree-level (or higher) qualification in a course which contained at least 50% Economics content, or have considerable equivalent experience applying these skills in a professional work environment. (S)
• Demonstrable ability/experience authoring Green Book-compliant economic appraisals, including for business cases structured under HM Treasury's Five Case Model. (S&I)
• Demonstrable ability/experience of authoring the economic case component of business cases for submission to central government, UKRI, or equivalent approval bodies. (S&I)
• Ability/experience building bespoke economic models from scratch, including options appraisal, cost-benefit analysis, BCR calculations, and sensitivity analysis. (S&I)
• Ability/experience of managing multiple complex analysis projects simultaneously, delivering to tight deadlines and responding to iterative feedback from reviewers and approvers. (S&I)
• Evidence of strong written and oral communications skills, including explaining technical economic concepts to non-technical stakeholders. (S&I)
• Ability/Experience of working with and influencing internal stakeholders, including programme teams and senior decision-makers, and building credibility quickly in new organisational settings. (S&I)

Competencies:

All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:

Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management

Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria’s listed in the person specification.

Travel Requirements:

Field-based: There will a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles.

Equal Opportunities:

We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.

UK Research and Innovation:

Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online http://www.ukri.org/

Employee Benefits:

We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days’ annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Flexible Working:

We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.

Pre-employment Screening:

To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.

Applications must be submitted by;

06-06-2026