Economist Summer Internship

Economist Summer Internship (8 Week Internship)

Any UK Regional Office

London Living Wage

Team Overview

Are you interested in learning how we apply economics to regulate the UK communications sectors?

Our eight week summer internship programme is aimed at economics students interested in gaining first hand insight into the work of an applied economist or data analytics economist.

Ofcom exists to make communications work for everyone. We regulate the TV, radio and video-on-demand sectors (including the BBC), broadband, mobiles, post, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. In terms of the way we work, at Ofcom our culture is shaped by four important corporate values: excellence, agility, collaboration and empowerment.

We have two separate summer internship programmes:

1. Economist:

As an Intern Economist, you will contribute rigorous economic analysis to help inform real decision making on live projects. Prior to joining the scheme interns are given the opportunity to express their preferences on our current available projects. Projects are allocated to interns based on these interests and their skill sets so that they get the most out of the programme. Previous interns have worked across the breadth of industries regulated by Ofcom.

2. Data analytics economist:

As an Intern Data Analytics Economist, you will be involved in analysing data using tools such as econometrics and machine learning, to help inform real decision making on live projects. Past interns have conducted econometric analysis to investigate the potential impact of mobile mergers on quality outcomes, and used frontier data analytics techniques such as network analysis and machine learning to study the nature and impact of online disinformation (fake news).

Interns, in either programme, are invited to attend a series of internal seminars and trainings, which give insight into the economic work conducted across Ofcom. Interns will also be invited to lectures delivered by external speakers from academia and industry which focus on current economic questions.

In the past, successful interns have been fast tracked to Ofcoms economist graduate scheme assessment centre following their time on the internship. We now offer both an economist and data analytics economist stream on our graduate scheme. We look for strong economic skills and a passion for competition and regulation economics as well as an ability to display the Ofcom values.

How the scheme works

Successful applicants will be aligned to either our London or Edinburgh offices for eight weeks during July and August 2021. We ask that candidates identify an office preference when applying. In 2020, we ran a fully virtual internship as a result of Covid-19, and interns were able to work successfully at home for the duration of the scheme. We encourage applicants who may prefer a virtual internship for summer 2021 to still apply.

All interns will be paid a salary equivalent to the level of the London Living Wage.

Qualifications:

At a minimum, applicants should be in the penultimate or final year of undergraduate or postgraduate studies or equivalent.

For each of our streams:

1. Economist stream: At least 50% of the course content should be sat in economics.

2. Data analytics economist stream: Some of the course content should be sat in economics, and you should have a basic understanding of quantitative tools in the fields of econometrics, artificial intelligence or machine learning and relevant analytical software (for example, Stata, Python or R).

Further Information

To apply, please select the apply button and submit your CV and a response to each the following questions:

If applying for our economist internship please answer questions 1 - 4, and if applying for our data analytics economist internship, please answer questions 1- 5.

1. How would you explain what Ofcom does to a friend who has never heard of Ofcom? (100 words max)

2. What interests you about the Economist intern scheme at Ofcom? (150 words max)

3. What are your own values, and how do you think they fit with Ofcoms corporate values? (200 words max)

4. What economic skills do you bring to this internship that make you a suited candidate? (economist intern and data analytics intern to answer) (200 words max)

5. What data analytic skills do you bring to this internship that make you a suited candidate? (data analytics intern only to answer) (200 words max)

On successful review of your online application, you will be invited to take part in an interview via video platform.

Our recruitment team will be on hand throughout the process to answer any questions you may have.

Diversity and Inclusion

Ofcom is a forward-thinking, inclusive employer and recognises the value of diversity to truly €œmake communications work for everyone€. We welcome applications from suitably qualified applicants whatever their background, especially women, disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as they are currently under-represented in our workforce. As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview any disabled applicant who meets the essential selection criteria.

We have an agile working model allowing us to have a location-neutral approach to filling our roles. We also support flexible ways of working, wherever possible. Our colleagues are free to move around all our offices, enabling them to work alongside and collaborate with other teams and groups. These initiatives help Ofcom colleagues to work flexibly in way that supports them.

The closing date for this role is the 8th January 2021.

This is the ideal role for those interested in a role such as Graduate Economist, Junior Economist, or Trainee Economist, or those interested in an Economist Internship, Graduate Training Scheme, Internship, or Intern Opportunity.

This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.