Can you see yourself shaping the future of active travel through meaningful economic insight and collaboration across government?
Do you thrive on using evidence and analysis to champion smarter investment decisions that make a real difference?
If so, we'd love to hear from you!
Active Travel England is enabling people nationwide to be more active by making streets safe and accessible for walking, wheeling and cycling. We do this by building capability across the country to deliver high-quality networks, routes and places. We engage, we enable, we assure and we advocate to make active travel a core part of transport planning. At the heart of everything we do is raising standards in street design, to ensure our country’s streets become safer and more accessible.
ATE’s ambition is to put data, analysis and evidence at the heart of decision-making. To do this it needs a strong, capable, multi-disciplinary analytical team.
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 Active Travel England - Department for Transport Careers
Job description
This is an exciting opportunity to shape the economics function in ATE, engaging with and supporting the wider active travel analyst community across the department. It is a broad and varied role that will involve technical analysis, programme design and management, and building effective, collaborative relationships with a wide range of stakeholders working in active travel and related fields.
The analysis that you will provide is critical to ensuring that ATE understands what initiatives to invest in and where to focus investment to meet its statutory responsibilities, achieve its strategic objectives, and optimise value for money to the taxpayer. It will also be pivotal in making the case for future investment in active travel and demonstrating the contribution active travel makes to the UK economy, society, and the environment. It will have a prominent role in advice to Ministers and in negotiations with His Majesty’s Treasury and No.10.
You will enable the economics team to:
- Strengthen links between appraisal and evaluation, working closely with ATE’s research and evaluation leads to ensure relevant appraisal data is available to feed into planned evaluation projects and providing professional input into the design, delivery and quality assurance of evaluations.
- Build the evidence base and improve the availability of data on the impact and value for money of active travel investments in England, working closely with colleagues from across the Digital, Data and Analysis Directorate.
- Champion value for money in investment decision-making, ensuring it is a key consideration and highlighting any risks and uncertainties that should be accounted for by decision-makers. This will include helping to embed knowledge and capability within delivery partners such as Local Transport Authorities (LTAs).
- Lead analytical input into Ministerial briefings, external comms, strategy development, and business case development. This includes ensuring evidence informing and underpinning the case for investment is fit-for-purpose; undertaking options assessment and economic appraisal of preferred options; and drafting the economic case.
- Monitor performance of the value for money of ATE’s investment portfolio. This includes using existing data and evidence to determine the typical costs, benefits and value for money of different types of active travel interventions and how this varies by context.
For further information on the role, please read the attached 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.
Person specification
You will need the following experience:
- You are an experienced economist with a strong track record of designing and leading timely delivery of complex analytical programmes.
- You have demonstrable experience of developing robust and proportionate approaches to appraise and assess value for money of investment proposals, including expertise in leading cost benefit analysis and application of techniques detailed in the Green Book and supplementary guidance.
- You have strong analytical skills and demonstrable experience of using analysis to influence strategic and operational decision-making.
- You can build and manage effective working relationships with people from a range of disciplines and across organisational boundaries.
- You are comfortable working in a fast-paced, changeable environment and able to adapt quickly and easily to change.
- You have demonstrable experience of scoping, designing and delivering economic analysis to influence policy decisions.
- You have experience of communicating complex technical subjects to a range of audiences, including senior stakeholders.
- You have experience of designing and leading the delivery of value for money evaluation utilising guidance in the Magenta Book and Green Book.
Additional Information
Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements
Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.
Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.
This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.
The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.
Visa Sponsorship
Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.
Qualifications
- First or upper second-class honours degree in economics (or international equivalent)
- OR a postgraduate degree in economics
- If it is a joint degree, at least 50% of the course modules must be in economics
- The degree(s) must have included both macroeconomics and microeconomics
See the GES Membership webpage for more details.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
- Seeing the Big Picture
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 5th April 2026
