Economic Appraisal Specialist

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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