Director, AI Economics Institute (AIEI)

Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
London

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Job details

Permanent | Full-time
£105,000 - £162,500 a year
9 hours ago

Benefits

Annual leave
Company pension
Employee discount

Qualifications

Presentation skills
AI

Full job description

Details

Reference number

468893

Salary

£105,000 - £162,500

The post is at Senior Civil Service Pay Band 2 (SCS2) level. The current salary range is £105,000 to £162,500. Existing Civil Servants applying on promotion will be appointed to the salary band minimum or with an increase of 10% of their existing salary, whichever is greater. Individuals appointed on level transfer will retain their existing salary. Standard pay rules apply for existing civil servants.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 2

Contract type

Permanent
Loan
Secondment

Length of employment

Minimum of 3 years

Business area

Emerging Tech and AI Group

Type of role

Policy
Senior leadership

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share

Number of jobs available

Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Manchester

About the job

Job summary

As Director of the AI Economics Institute (AIEI) you will work closely across both HM Treasury (HMT) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), ensuring they are embedded in senior teams in both departments, and that the AIEIs programme of analysis and research underpins both departments policy agendas. This includes close work with HMT officials to ensure the institute addresses core macroeconomic, fiscal, labour market and productivity questions arising from AI and DSITs work on AI policy. AIEI should also provide input for other Government departments work, including Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Department for Education (DfE) and Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

The Directors initial focus will be on set up and launch, designing the detailed operating model, financial planning within the agreed budget, recruiting senior leaders and early staff, establishing governance with HMT and DSIT, and agreeing an initial research agenda.

The Director will work closely with Professor Simon Johnson, Chair of the AIEI.

Job description

Key Responsibilities :

As Director of the AI Economics Institute (AIEI) your key responsibilities will include:

1. Establishing the Institute

Lead the next phase of the detailed design and establishment of the AI Economics Institute following its launch by the Chancellor and Secretary of State on 8 June. This includes its target operating model, governance and ways of working, ensuring it can operate effectively as a joint DSITHMT unit.
Work with DSIT, HMT and central finance teams to complete further formal governance steps, including the Institutes detailed business case, financial plans and pay frameworks, and arrangements for corporate services such as technology (including frontier AI capability) and talent sourcing.
Ensure rapid and effective follow-up from the launch of the Institute, including agreement of a more detailed organisational identity, building on the published Prospectus, and external positioning.

2. Strategic leadership and direction

Set a clear strategic vision for AIEI, focused on rigorous, policy‑relevant research into the economic impacts of AI, spanning productivity, labour markets, and growth.
Work in partnership with the AIEI Chair and the senior team, including the Chief Economist, to shape the Institutes research agenda and ensure analytical quality and credibility.
Ensure AIEI maintains a disciplined focus on its comparative advantage so that it complements, rather than duplicates, existing capability across government, academia and international partners, including AISI and other AI programmes.

3. Joint working with DSIT and HMT and cross‑government impact

Embed joint ownership of AIEI across HMT and DSIT, ensuring the Institutes work speaks directly to both departments priorities.
Build strong relationships across Whitehall, No. 10 and delivery departments, ensuring AIEIs agenda is informed by live policy issues and that its findings inform decisions.
Translate complex research findings into clear insights for Ministers and senior officials.

4. Building a high‑performing organisation

Recruit and lead the Institutes senior leadership team, including Deputy Directors and the Chief Economist (once appointed), and oversee early no regrets recruitment.
Create a culture that combines analytical rigour with pace, relevance and openness, suitable for a policy‑facing research institute.
Determine the structures for corporate and operational services in AIEI.
Work closely with the AIEIs Chair, Professor Simon Johnson.

5. External credibility and engagement

Represent AIEI with credibility to a wide range of groups, including academia, civil society, the private sector, AI labs, international institutions and think tanks.
Support the Chair in building the Institutes profile, helping attract high‑calibre talent and partnerships.
Position the UK as a serious global contributor to debates on the economics of AI.

Scope and scale

Management of a directorate combining civil servants and externally recruited researchers.
Leadership of multiple senior roles (including SCS1 Deputy Directors and a Chief Economist).
Budget primarily R&D classified, with significant scrutiny from DSIT, HMT and central finance teams.
High visibility with Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, HMT and DSIT senior leadership teams, the Cabinet Office and No. 10.

Leadership expectations

This role requires a leader who can combine strategic clarity, delivery grip and intellectual seriousness. The Director will need to be equally comfortable shaping long‑term economic thinking about AI and making pragmatic early decisions to get an organisation up and running quickly.

The post holder will be expected to model the highest Civil Service leadership standards, including integrity, inclusivity, collaboration across government, and a strong focus on public value. They will also be expected to build a team with the majority of roles outside of London.

Person specification

It is important through your CV and Statement of Suitability that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the following:

Essential criteria:

Senior Leadership & Organisational Agility: Proven experience operating at executive level with a strong track record of inclusive leadership and the agility to rapidly set up, scale, or redesign organisations and programmes within complex, ambiguous environments.
AI & Economic Policy Expertise: A deep understanding of AI and economic policy issues, combined with the professional credibility required to engage and collaborate effectively with senior economists, analysts, and researchers.
Economic & Financial Expertise: Experience working directly with central government finance departments (like HM Treasury) or managing complex financial and economic policies at a senior level.
High-Stakes Analysis Under Pressure: A proven track record of leading critical economic analysis within contested, uncertain contexts, with the ability to deliver high-quality insights under significant time pressure.
Strategic Programme Delivery: Demonstrated experience shaping and leading coherent, sustained work programmes of strategic importance that successfully sit at the intersection of raw analysis and actionable policy.
Strategic Judgement & Stakeholder Influence: Strong judgement when navigating non-linear change and long-term risk, backed by exceptional stakeholder management skills to influence across departmental boundaries and with senior external figures.

Desirable criteria

Direct experience working on the economics of technology, productivity, labour markets or structural economic change.
Experience leading or sponsoring research‑intensive organisations or programmes.
Experience representing government in international or high‑profile external settings.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £105,000, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £30,418 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides .

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process, outlined below. This should be completed no later than 23:55 on Monday 3rd August 2026.

A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements, (no longer than equivalent of 2 A4 pages). Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.

A Statement of Suitability (no longer than 1000 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.

Failure to complete both sections of the online application form (CV and Statement of Suitability) will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

DSIT will be holding an informal information session via MSTeams on Thursday 16th July 2026 between 11:30 and- 12:30 for potential applicants to find out more about the role of Director, AI Economics Institute (AIEI). Whether you are contemplating an application, or simply want more insight into the role and its potential impact, this session will provide you with a much better understanding of the environment, expectations and ambitions of DSITs digital and AI agendas.

Please email [email protected] to register your interest in attending. DSIT will then send you an MSTeams invite.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Name : SCS Recruitment Team
Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team

Email : [email protected]

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance [email protected]. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/contact-us/

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Details

Reference number

Salary

Job grade

Contract type

Length of employment

Business area

Type of role

Working pattern

Number of jobs available

Contents

Location

About the job

Job summary

Job description

Person specification

Benefits

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Selection process details

Security

Nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

Diversity and Inclusion

Apply and further information

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Recruitment team

Further information

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