Placement Economist Review

I worked within the strategy team of the Economic Development and Partnerships Directorate. This directorate was in charge of coordinating the UK’s development investment offer to partner countries. As an economist, I worked primarily on the FCDOs economic growth diagnostics that could be used by embassies and HQ as an evidence base for this investment. I also worked on multilateral policy regarding infrastructure investment. Both areas of work required frequent international calls and occasional travel domestically and abroad.

I have learnt a significant number of skills from this experience. Most significantly I have really developed my ability to communicate and influence professionally. This has allowed me to develop productive relationships in work, allowing to improve the effectiveness of project delivery. My ability to communicate and influence was also improved through presentations. I led and gave a number of presentations to senior internal and external staff on a range of topics. This further helped me build confidence in this skill area.

I was given a huge amount of responsibility, however this was never forced upon me and was always in response to my willingness to get involved. I led on areas that were particularly advanced, not just within my team but across the directorate. For example, I led on investigating if my directorate/department could do more work in Brazil, a country we had little to no experience with previously. This investigation resulted in a formal diplomatic trip to Brazil to investigate how we could deepen the UK/Brazil relationship.

I had consistent support from members of my team who were engaged and caring throughout. This helped boost my confidence and helped me branch out into other areas of work.

The general culture was positive, although there were elements of change fatigue setting due to the election cycles resulting in excessive change. The general atmosphere in the office was mostly positive and given the office’s location in Westminster, it was a huge privilege to work where I did.

My placement was a life changing event that has truly enhanced me as a person and employee. I truly cannot recommend it enough for anyone who is interested in civil service, international issues and/or economics. I felt like I was truly contributing to the team and the UK civil service in a meaningful way. Also the office and its location is truly unique and resulted in many interesting moments and opportunities.

Yes

Main advice for people applying to this company is to set your sights on it early. There is no way to guarantee a placement due to the randomised allocation system of the Government Economic Service. However if you signal that you are particularly interested in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to them early, then they may be able to accommodate that.