Graduate Assistant Economist

Would you like to join the graduate training scheme at Oxford Economics?

Do you follow economic events closely? Would you like to advise organisations on the implications for the countries, industries, cities and business trends that matter to them? To influence decisions about where businesses invest, what government policy should be, or how senior executives think about key business trends?

Who are we looking for?

Oxford Economics’ training scheme is for high-achieving graduates who want to apply their understanding of economics to real world issues. You must be able to put together logical economic arguments and explain them to convincingly to economists and non-economists alike. You will need to be a fast learner with strong analytical skills and keen attention to detail. You should be comfortable meeting tight deadlines and working under your own initiative.

Successful candidates are highly numerate and have good technical skills. They work well with others, take responsibility for the quality and timeliness of their work, and demonstrate a creative approach to problem-solving. Fluency in English is essential, as is the ability to communicate clearly and concisely.

We welcome applications from those who meet this description with:

• a degree in economics or a closely related subject, postgraduate degree highly desirable
• an excellent academic record
• fluent English, both written and spoken
• a demonstrable interest in economics
• some work experience, whether paid or voluntary (highly desirable)
• the right to work in the UK (or the country for which you are applying).
• We also consider applications from recent graduates with experience in academic research, the civil service, financial services or consultancy.

What training do we offer?

We are a fast-growing, independent consultancy with a global reach. Our goals are to provide excellent analysis, forecasting and analytical tools for our clients; and interesting, challenging and rewarding careers for our staff.

Graduate trainees do work that matters from their first week. They are supported by comprehensive training on the technical and business skills needed to handle economics projects, forecasts and research.

The training includes report writing, communication skills, influencing, presentation and project management as well as advanced excel skills, econometrics, our proprietary Global Economic Model and introductory programming. It is delivered through short courses, a group project and on-the-job training.

What work will you do?

Our culture is modern, open and collaborative. You will be working closely with experienced economists and expected to take responsibility for your work from an early stage.

Depending on the team you join, you will contribute to Oxford Economics’ global macro, city and sectoral forecasts and prepare briefing articles on topical economic issues; develop econometric forecasting tools; undertake scenario and policy analysis; or assist senior economists on a variety of consultancy projects.

Here are some examples of recent reports and projects.

• A platform for Japanese Opportunity – (https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/recent-releases/A-Platform-for-Japanese-Opportunity)
• The state of scientific research productivity (https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/recent-releases/The-State-of-Scientific-Research-Productivity)
• Future of Construction (https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/recent-releases/Future-of-Construction)
• European Cities; Why Warsaw out-performs its rivals, at least for now (https://blog.oxfordeconomics.com/content/why-warsaw-out-performs-its-rivals-at-least-for-now)

What are the opportunities for progression?

If you do well you can expect rapid promotion. Successful progress through the training period is marked by completing a six-month probationary period and earning promotion from Assistant Economist to Economist after one year.

You may choose to gain experience elsewhere in the firm. As a fast-growing company, we can offer a flexible career path designed to suit your strengths and interests.

At all levels we offer a competitive salary package, including a performance-related bonus, and regular pay reviews.

What is the working environment like?

We are now a global organisation employing 250 economists, but we strive to retain the best features of the original start-up environment. This means an informal but hard-working culture where flexible working arrangements are available. We cultivate entrepreneurial thinking, for example in supporting staff to pursue opportunities and map their own career paths.

As well as working hard, we encourage employees to volunteer in the community. There are regular social events and staff parties, and more informal lunchtime and evening activities, often organised by individuals.

Depending on the location, you may be entitled to private health care, retirement savings, annual purchase leave scheme and various other company benefits.

We have positions in London, Oxford, Belfast, New York, Singapore and Dubai.

The teams with those positions are

Cities

National-level economic analysis provides only a partial guide to the dynamics unfolding in the world’s major urban centres. Our unique suite of forecasting services cover nearly 7,000 cities and regions across the world, providing regularly updated data, forecasts and analysis for each location. Our city consultants also work in the areas of urban and regional development, bespoke model building and location benchmarking.

Tourism Economics

Tourism Economics is an Oxford Economics company dedicated to analytical support for the Travel & Tourism sector worldwide. We provide quarterly updated global forecast travel data-sets for 185 countries and over 300 cities consistent with the economic and demographic outlook for origins and destinations. Tourism Economics also support businesses and destinations with economic impact analysis that highlights the value of visitors, events, developments, and industry segments, as well as policy analysis and market assessments that define market allocation and investment decisions. 

Scenarios and modelling

Our work focuses on building scenarios in our industry leading Global Macro Economic model. We work on a wide range of scenarios from business planning to inform investment decisions, regulatory scenarios to aide compliance for financial institutions and policy analysis to assess the impact of government decisions. We also work on our Global Scenario Service that assesses the impact of the most pertinent risk facing the global economy.

Macro and Investor Services

We analyse current and thematic developments in the world economy, producing country and asset price forecasts and research analysing the key risks and uncertainties for our clients. Aside from the monthly forecast round, our key outputs include country reports, research briefings and data insights, all of which are regularly referenced in the financial press.

Economic Impact Consulting

The Economic Impact Consulting team tackles a wide range of questions raised by our clients, from quantifying the economic impact of major companies and industries, evaluating the effect on the UK economy of leaving the EU, to estimating the value created by cultural institutions. Further examples of our work are available here.

Industry

Industry The industry team is responsible for quarterly updates of forecasts and associated sector and country reports across 77 countries and more than 100 sectors. Economists take responsibility for a specific sector such as automotive, construction, chemicals, food/beverage etc for all countries covered. In addition, the team has a large and diverse portfolio of consultancy work to which all economists contribute in addition to their forecasting duties

EMEA Macro Consulting

The team delivers bespoke macro consultancy and research projects for private and government clients on a variety of macroeconomic themes, drawing heavily on OE’s internal suite of models. Projects typically involve economic forecasting, scenario analysis and custom model development, across topics such as international trade, financial markets and the consumer sector.