Head of Research Economics


Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Salary:	£71,734 to £83,355 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	London
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	9 Nov 2026
Closing date:	29 Nov 2026

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Summary

Lead primary research within one of the AIEI’s two pillars - either designing and delivering frontier empirical work, or designing and developing the Institute’s economic models and scenario frameworks. Heads of Research Economics own significant research workstreams, set methodological standards and mentor junior researchers, bringing specialist academic or applied expertise to bear on the economics of AI. They work with the relevant Head of Analysis to align the research portfolio with policy demand and to ensure findings are translated into decision-relevant insight.

We are recruiting for up to 2 roles under this advert: 1 to lead the Modelling & Scenarios work programme; 1 to lead the Data & Empirical Research work programme. Please make clear which role you are most interested in.

Roles are advertised as permanent positions, but we are open to these being arranged as secondments.

The AI Economics Institute (AIEI) is a joint research organisation of HM Treasury and the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC). The AIEI has been established to build and maintain the analytical capability needed to put the UK government at the forefront of understanding AI’s economic impacts. Announced by the Chancellor in the March 2026 Mais Lecture and launched in June 2026, it is the first government-backed institute of its kind in the world.

AI has the potential to substantially reshape the structure of firms, sectors, and labour markets. The opportunities are extraordinary. AI could drive productivity gains and unlock new sources of growth. At the same time, the transition also carries risks depending on the pace of technological development and how the economy adapts. The AIEI exists to build the data infrastructure, research capability and external relationships needed to assess these impacts rigorously and at pace, and to ensure the resulting evidence informs policy makers. The Institute will assess both opportunities and risks under a range of scenarios, examining how AI affects productivity, labour markets, firms, growth and the income distribution, with particular attention to how the gains are shared across regions, income groups, sectors and generations.

The AIEI is not a policy-setting body. UK government departments remain responsible for policy decisions in response to AI. The Institute’s role is to improve the quality and timeliness of the evidence and analysis on which those decisions rest. It focuses on priorities where it has a comparative advantage as a research institute at the heart of government, avoiding duplication of work that can happen equally well elsewhere, and engaging widely with academia, business and civil society to inform its work and contribute to public understanding.

The AIEI is modelled on the AI Security Institute, particularly in its research focus, its approach to bringing in external talent, and its access to advanced tools. It is a small, high-calibre organisation, planning to grow to around 35 FTE by the end of its first year. It will bring together talented civil servants with Research Economists who have hands-on experience of delivering frontier economic research. It is chaired by Nobel Prize winning economist and former Chief Economist of the IMF, Simon Johnson. A world-first ambition is to link private sector data, including AI usage data, to government administrative data, providing a unique and rich data ecosystem for empirical research. The Institute’s ambitions for developing world leading macroeconomic modelling capability are similarly high.

The two research pillars

The AIEI’s research function is organised around two complementary pillars set out in the published prospectus. All four role types in this campaign are being recruited into one of these two pillars, depending on the specialism of the candidate:

Data & Empirical Research - developing the data infrastructure, measurement frameworks and empirical research needed to establish an evidence-based picture of AI’s economic effects as they develop, including causal analysis of AI’s impacts on productivity, labour markets, firms and workers.
Modelling & Scenarios - connecting potential pathways for AI’s development and adoption to economy-wide outcomes, building cutting edge economic models and plausible but stretching scenarios, testing assumptions, and ensuring policy conclusions are robust to the uncertainty that remains.

Analysts and Research Economists

Each research pillar brings together two complementary types of role. In this recruitment campaign, we are hiring for both role types, at G6 and G7:

Research Economists (this advert) lead the most technical primary research projects, including methodologically demanding, causal empirical studies, and development of novel, robust economic modelling tools. This work will ensure the Institute’s evidence base is of the highest quality and at the frontier of understanding. These roles require deep, specialist technical skills, typically including a PhD and/or a track record of producing high-quality research.
Analysts bridge the gap between technical research and policy, carrying out a mix of their own primary research and analysis that synthesises internal and external evidence to answer policy-facing research questions. They are strong analysts in their own right, and their distinctive contribution is helping to answer the questions that matter most in government, drawing out the clear, policy-relevant insight to inform decisions. These roles demand the judgement and influence to drive research impact at the centre of government. Analyst teams will be interdisciplinary, covering the four Government analytical professions (economics, social research, statistics, operational research).

Both role types are essential, work side by side within each pillar, and carry equal standing in the Institute. The distinction is one of emphasis, not calibre: Research Economists lead frontier research; analysts deliver research and analysis that is policy-relevant, well-directed and lands with impact. Project teams may combine both roles, with responsibilities agreed according to the technical and policy-facing needs of each project. Whichever route you come in through, you will be working on the same critical questions – how AI impacts productivity, work, firms and growth - with unique access to data and modelling capability and proximity to policy decisions. The roles will also work together as a coherent research function, all contributing to the same research agenda, with strong collaboration across team boundaries.

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