King's College London

About us:

The Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) is the first-ever dedicated academic centre of expertise for the analysis of emerging and future issues in measuring the modern economy in the UK and one of just a few around the world. The Centre is hosted at King’s Business School, King’s College London, and is delivered in close collaboration with its many partner institutions.

About the role:

As part of ESCoE’s programme of research we have received funding from The Productivity Institute (TPI), an ESRC-funded research institute, to bring the UK into the MicroData Infrastructure that has developed from the Competitiveness Research Network (CompNet) micro-based competitiveness dataset for European countries.

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the ESCoE team working on this. They will play a major role in the execution of the research and work closely with the project’s Investigators Rebecca Riley, Professor Javier Miranda, Halle Institute for Economic Research, the Department of Business and Trade, the Office for National Statistics and TPI. They will support similar activities with the OECD supporting international firm level microdata analysis.

This research project is heavily policy focused and relates to HM Treasury areas of research interest and the Industrial Strategy. The role could be offered as a secondment (part-time/full-time). We would welcome interest  from researchers at the Office for National Statistics, Bank of England, Department of Business and Trade and other government departments.

The successful candidate will conduct data analysis, development of code, modelling, and take a proactive role in developing project methodology. They will work with the project team to produce co-authored journal publications and related outputs.

Successful candidates will hold a PhD (or be under one year to completion from post start date) in economics or another quantitative social science discipline. Their research interests should be in the broad area of applied economics and data analysis, with experience in productivity, growth, firm dynamics, business dynamism, production function estimation and data science all being advantageous. Candidates should have advanced data-analytical and econometric training, experience of handling large datasets and of execution and write-up of independent research projects. Experience of Stata, R or Python is essential. Existing ONS secure lab certification is an advantage.

Candidates should have the ability to work independently. They should have strong organisational skills, in order to work with data providers, project stakeholders and other team members. We also require excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to convey technical material in non-technical terms for policy and other non-academic stakeholders.

To discuss the role please contact info@escoe.ac.uk

Applications should consist of: a curriculum vitae (CV) or resume; a covering letter; and a job market paper or other evidence of research.

This is a full time role, and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31 August 2026.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

About you:

About you: (the candidate)

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1.      PhD in mathematics, economics or statistics with a focus on measuring the modern economy

2.      Advanced data-analytical skills and experience of handling large datasets

3.      Experience of Stata or R or other econometrics software

4.      Advanced research skills with proven capability to conduct literature reviews and actively engage in ongoing research concerning economic measurement and productivity.

5.      Excellent written and verbal communication skills evidenced by the authorship of academic publications, blogs and technical reports. Proficiency in presenting research findings in diverse forums, including workshops and seminars.

Desirable criteria

1.      Expertise within the production of statistics with a focus on firm-level microdata and CompNet.

2.      Experience of delivering and managing projects with a diverse range of stakeholders.

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held on the week of 28th July 2025.