Jobs

What we are looking for

In compiling our shortlist, we look particularly for excellent academic results and for an interest in and understanding of how economic theory can be used to improve public policy. Research Economists carry out research to a high academic standard, with an awareness of the policy context, and communicate the results to a wide audience.

Successful applicants to a Research Economist position will have gained, or be expected to gain, at least a very good 2:1 on an undergraduate degree course with a significant economics component (e.g. economics, or a degree with economics as a major), or a relevant master's degree. Candidates with relevant work experience in the public, private or not-for-profit sector and those who have or expect to have a strong PhD, who are interested in doing general microeconomic research, may also apply. Many staff have previous computing, econometric or theoretical skills; these are not essential, although strong numeracy and the willingness to learn are.

You will be expected to be able and willing to present your work to a range of audiences, including the academic and broad public policy communities. This may include addressing conferences and seminars, writing for newspapers, and appearing on radio or television. Relevant training – for instance, in broadcasting skills – will be provided.

Diversity

We strive to foster a respectful and inclusive environment, in which people from all backgrounds feel welcome. Our approach to flexible working has helped to ensure that we employ a balance of men and women at all levels of seniority. Staff of many nationalities work together at the IFS, along with a range of visiting academics from the UK and other countries.

Our selection decisions are made on the basis of potential to carry out and communicate excellent research, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, religion or social class.

When short-listing and interviewing we are looking for potential and enthusiasm for economics, an ability to think using an economic tool kit and to communicate this clearly: the process is designed to draw these out and to identify the positive attributes that a candidate has, rather than to catch them out with trick questions or find out what they don’t know.

Application process

We ask candidates to fill in an application form, so that short-listers can compare like with like when looking at information about applicants. As part of our efforts to increase diversity among our staff, IFS uses BeApplied, a job application platform designed to encourage applicants from all backgrounds and to decrease bias in the hiring process.

 As well as information about academic performance, we ask candidates to answer the following questions:

• What is it about IFS and the type of research we do that makes you want to work here?

This question will be read and scored anonymously, separately from the rest of your application.

You will be asked to provide two referees. These should usually be academic referees, unless you are not a recent graduate and have relevant work experience. We will contact all academic referees for short-listed candidates.

Aptitude tests

As part of the application process, we also ask you to take short online numeracy and critical thinking tests. These tests will be used as additional information, used in combination with the information you provided on your application form. The results of these tests will be reviewed alongside your application form when shortlisting candidates.

Process for short-listed candidates

As part of the selection process, longlisted applicants will be invited to a screening call conducted by an Associate Director at IFS. This call forms a required stage of the application process and will include an economics case study question. The purpose of the call is to assess candidates’ ability to apply economic concepts and reasoning to real-world problems.

We aim to shortlist around 20 candidates, from roughly 300 applicants. When we contact short-listed candidates, we will first ask them to prepare a short written answer to a set question, to be sent back by email a few days before the interview. 

The videos below contain examples of the sorts of questions we might ask and examples of the sort of answers we're looking for. Candidates should note that these are merely illustrations. Interview questions may be of a different style (e.g. more technical in nature), and successful answers could be different from those in the videos (e.g. a successful candidate might use more or less technical economic 'jargon' in their answer). The key thing we're trying to assess is a candidate's ability to think through an economic problem in an intelligent way and to explain their reasoning, and these videos are intended to give candidates some sense of what to expect.

First interview

This answer will provide the initial basis for discussion in the first interview. Part of the reason we do this is to help candidates relax, as they will be familiar with the material for the initial discussion. Another reason is to allow us to assess your written as well as spoken communication skills.

Each candidate will attend two consecutive interviews on the same day, where the discussion will focus on applying economic theory to policy-relevant questions. The interview panels are made up of three people per panel. These include senior managers and team leaders, most of whom have a space in their team for a new economist.

Candidates will be asked to use economics to analyse a topical policy question, such as the impact of tax changes or government policies on education. Up to a further five topics will then be covered, each focusing on a different aspect of the Institute’s research. We select candidates based on the potential we believe they have to think in an intelligent way about economics and its application to policy questions. Each interviewer will privately note down a score after every question to indicate how well they think candidate answered the question. The scores are entered into a spreadsheet at the end to allow the panels to reach a fair assessment.

Second interview

A smaller number of candidates (about 10) will then be called back for a second interview. This time, there will be one interview with a panel of six people. Candidates are asked to prepare a presentation in advance which they give at the start of the interview. We then follow up with a set of questions about the issues raised in the presentation. We then have another question or two similar in nature to that asked at the first stage.

Interview expenses

We will pay all reasonable travel – and accommodation, where needed – expenses for candidates coming from with the UK. For the first interview, we carry out interviews via Zoom for all candidates. We will typically cover expenses for any candidates coming to the second interview (regardless of where they are located in the world), as we would prefer to carry these out face-to-face rather than remotely.

Job offers

We expect to be able to make job offers during the week following the interview.

We will give feedback on their application and interview performance to all candidates who came to an interview and have not been offered a job.

Candidates from outside the EU can apply, and the role is eligible for a Skilled Worker visa. Any job offer will remain conditional until the visa application to the Home Office is successful.

At the IFS, we hire economists with a range of experience levels and at different stages in their careers. Some of our staff join straight from an undergraduate degree, others having completed a masters, others straight after completing a PhD, and others after working elsewhere. 

In addition to the information about the recruitment process available here, there are two areas worth clarifying for individuals looking to join the IFS with, or in anticipation of soon obtaining, a PhD. 

Hiring routes

The IFS hires PhD candidates (or holders) via two routes. The first is the ‘traditional’ route for IFS Research Economists (more information here), the process for which seeks to test applicants’ underlying economic knowledge and intuition; their ability to think through economic policy problems; and their ability to communicate economic ideas. The process here would be the same as for candidates applying with an undergraduate or masters degree (though we would have higher expectations of someone applying with a PhD). The second route is via the academic job market, where the process is based around the presentation of a job market paper and an interview more heavily focused on the applicant’s research agenda. 

Typically, applicants coming in via the job market would be hired for a specific role in a specific team within IFS, where there is a need and demand for that individual’s skill set, and where their research agenda aligns with that of the team. Candidates will be assessed based on their academic credentials, quality of job market paper and alignment with IFS research topics. Those hired via this route are expected to lead a research agenda within the IFS, continuing their research projects and starting new projects in collaboration with IFS colleagues. 

Those who join via the ‘traditional’ hiring route would not typically be expected to set nor lead their own agenda (though it is common for individuals to finish and submit their job market paper). Instead, they would be expected to join the projects for which senior IFS researchers have secured funding and have a research plan in place. This might suit those who are flexible in how they develop their research agenda, and those particularly keen to gain experience of a mix of academic and policy-focused work. 

Applicants should also note that the two routes operate on different timeframes: the ‘traditional’ route is generally concluded before Christmas, whereas offers to applicants via the academic route are generally made after ‘flyouts’ in the new year. 

Finally, applicants should note that we do not recruit permanent staff from the academic job market every year. We do run our ‘traditional’ hiring round on an annual basis. 

IFS seniority and pay structure 

The IFS operates salary scales for researchers which function like a set of ladders. The ladder for Research Economists has 17 rungs. This spans those who have joined the IFS with an undergraduate degree to those with four or five years of experience.

Generally, those with a PhD would join partway up the ladder. Given the greater expectations for those joining from the academic job market, compared to the ‘traditional’ Research Economist hiring route, we would expect them to join on a higher rung, further up the pay scale. 

It is important to clarify that, while someone joining the IFS with a PhD and/or a proven track record of research or other relevant work experience may have the same job title (“Research Economist”) as someone with an undergraduate degree, pay and expectation levels would be higher for the PhD holder. A successful applicant with a PhD can expect to be promoted relatively quickly, subject to performance, onto the next seniority ladder: Senior Research Economists (SRE). SREs at the IFS are expected to develop a track record of publications in top economics journals, to help raise funding for and lead a research agenda, and to influence policymaking. 

We aim to foster a respectful and inclusive environment, in which people from all backgrounds feel welcome and valued. Diversity is about visible and non-visible factors, which include personal characteristics such as sex, sexual orientation, gender, race, age, background, culture, disability, personality and work-style.

We focus on inclusive approaches to recruitment and selection and are committed to employment policies that promote diversity and inclusion in employment regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, sex, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity status, race, religion or belief. IFS fosters an equitable and inclusive working environment, welcoming people of all genders, and with roughly equal numbers of men and women working at both senior and more junior levels. Especially in a small organisation like IFS, the difference in average pay between men and women will naturally vary over time. Over the last three years (2023 to 2025), median full-time equivalent pay was 1% higher amongst men than amongst women.

We also support flexible working arrangements wherever possible, so that staff can work in ways that suit their personal circumstances. Our approach to flexible working has helped to ensure that we employ a balance of men and women at all levels of seniority. Staff of many nationalities work together at the IFS, along with a range of visiting academics from the UK and overseas.