Senior Economist

The Independent Football Regulator

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) has been established to protect and promote the sustainability of English football, for the benefit of fans and the local communities football clubs serve. 

The IFR will help improve financial sustainability of clubs, ensure resilience across the leagues, and safeguard the heritage of English football. It will operate a licensing regime; set corporate governance standards and monitor, protect, and promote financial resilience. It will also enforce compliance with requirements on financial regulation, club ownership and directors, fan engagement, and heritage protection.

The IFR will also have powers to prohibit clubs from joining competitions that are not fair or meritocratic, or that threaten the heritage or sustainability of English football.

Responsibilities Include:

• Developing the scope of the analysis (what are the key questions to ask?)
• Developing the frameworks of analysis (how do we answer those key questions?)
• Identifying information requirements and data collection (what data do we need to answer those key questions?)
• Undertaking the analysis and drawing robust, well-evidenced conclusions
• Communicating these findings to a range of audiences
• Engaging with industry stakeholders, academics and other experts throughout the process

Essential Requirements

• A background in economics, with either a university degree in Economics (2:1 or above) or a postgraduate degree in Economics
• Relevant experience working in economic analysis and research
• Strong analytical skills, being able to identify the key questions to ask and how best to use economic analysis to answer them
• Ability to effectively communicate complex ideas and findings to a range of audiences
• A motivated team player, who is able to establish constructive and collaborative relationships with a range of people

Desirable Skills 

• Experience in a regulated industry or a background in football

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Robin Masters (the vacancy holder), and will take place on:

• Thursday 27th November at 11.00am

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

Please register your interest by filling out this form and you will be sent an invitation. The invites will be sent the night before the session. The sessions are not recorded.

Please note that the session will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc) to careers@footballregulator.org.uk

If successful you will join a Non Departmental Public Body and will be employed as a Public Servant. 

If you are an existing Civil Servant or a DCMS employee you will no longer have access to Civil Service benefits including the Civil Service pension. 

The terms and conditions of employment include:

• Pension 12%  An employee contribution of 5%, with an employer contribution of 7%.
• Flexible Benefit 8% Employees can choose to invest 8% of their base salary into their pension, or take as cash (post tax)
• Reward we will have a performance based reward programme.
• 31.5 days annual leave
• Flexible and hybrid working, 40% in office attendance
• Occupational sick pay
• 9 months paid Maternity Leave + generous paternity and adoption leave.
• A bespoke L&D programme to help you achieve your personal CPD, including paid membership fees
• Cycle-to-work scheme and much more!

The Interview

The interview process will assess experience through competency questions and a presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, length of time, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview. 

Prior to the interview you will be sent the competency questions in advance. 

Your interview will take place remotely via Teams.

Further Information 

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. 

The IFR has a location neutral pay scale. For more information on this, please see the ‘Candidate Information Pack’ attached. 

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. To request an adjustment, please email careers@footballregulator.org.uk 

Accessibility 

If you are experiencing accessibility difficulties with any of the attachments, please contact us. Contact details can be found in the 'contact point for applicants' section of the job advert. 

Feedback 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. 

Security 

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check and complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. 

Nationality requirements 

This job is broadly open to the following groups: 

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 

Diversity and Inclusion 

The IFR is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found.  

Contact point for applicants: Email: careers@footballregulator.org.uk