Economic Policy Manager
Salary: £60,000k
Type: Permanent
Location: London (Hybrid)
Closing date: 11th Oct
Process: CV and Cover Letter
About The CBI
We serve as the catalyst between industry and government to drive positive change, speaking for businesses of all sizes and sectors across the whole economy, in every UK region and nation, ensuring sustainable growth for the benefit of society. Our voice represents 170,000 businesses. This includes over 1,100 corporate members, plus nearly 150 trade associations. Our corporate members alone employ over 2.3 million private sector workers.
Role Summary
Reporting to the Director of Economic Policy, the core of the role is to lead the CBI process around fiscal events. This includes overseeing and authoring the CBI’s submissions to the Chancellor, coordinating input from across the policy floor, leading the membership engagement strategy, liaising with press and campaigns teams, and overseeing the microeconomic analysis function which supports policy development.
This involves strategic thinking and thought leadership, including CBI policy development and how to best deploy our key messages to Government, members and the media. The role also involves briefing for senior CBI staff meetings with the Chancellor and other economic ministers and close working with the tax policy arm of the team.
Key Responsibilities
Policy development for fiscal events
Lead on the strategy and planning for fiscal events, including:
- Working with policy advisors and directors across the policy directorate to ensure a pipeline of new/innovative CBI policy recommendations for fiscal events (Budgets, Autumn Statements and Spending Reviews)
- Project management of fiscal events process, including matrix management of project team resource from the policy directorate
- Ensuring CBI policy recommendations are credible and realistic in light of the fiscal and economic context, and that the overall package of CBI policy recommendations is coherent
- Overseeing the CBI’s microeconomic analysis function supports policy development across the policy floor to ensure policy positions are grounded in economic theory and are well evidenced
Communication & Lobbying
- Draft clear and compelling CBI submissions to the Chancellor ahead of fiscal events, working in close collaboration with policy teams and directors across the policy directorate
- Find innovative ways of presenting and justifying our policy asks and the narrative holding them together, both written and verbally, and work with the press team to maximise media pick-up
- Build strong working relationships with Treasury officials and make a compelling case for our policy asks when lobbying
- Play a leading role in communicating the work and role of the Economic Policy team internally
Interactions with members
- • Seek innovative ways to maximise our member service by leveraging the work the team does around fiscal events and the fiscal intelligence we gather
- Get member input into CBI policy development (through Regional Councils, roundtables, Finance Directors’ Networks etc.) and brief members through a variety of forms on the fiscal intelligence we gather
Briefing and team working
- • Provide briefing for senior CBI staff meetings with the Chancellor and other economic ministers on the CBI fiscal policy stance and our policy recommendations for fiscal events
- Work closely with the tax policy arm of the team to support our policy positions
- Direct line management of a Senior Economist, effectively delegating and managing their work
Knowledge & Experience
- A broad awareness of the policy and political landscape and fiscal context (with the ability to pick up a more detailed understanding while in post)
- Experience of project or programme management in any setting
- A good foundation in economics
- An understanding of economic drivers and fiscal policy is desirable but not essential
- Experience working in a coordination or strategy role is desirable but not essential
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to give clear direction
- Strategic thinking, with the ability to take a step back and look at policy asks across key areas
- Persuasive influencing and negotiating skills, with the ability to reach compromise and solutions with stakeholders.
- Good interpersonal skills with the ability to develop strong relationships within and beyond the CBI
- The ability to work at pace/under pressure and with a high level of autonomy, flagging risks and opportunities to the wider Economic Policy team and Director of Economic Policy
- Project management skills, including timeline planning and resource allocation