Careers

Paul de Jong, Economist

"I was looking into economic consulting and CEPA stood out because of the breadth of sectors in which it operates and CEPA’s commitment to ethical work. This attracted me because it allowed me to get a big-picture view of the options before specializing, and because I intend to use my career to help people besides myself."

Jill Fryars, Senior Consultant

"I discovered CEPA through the careers fair at my university. I wanted to work for a company with an economic perspective, whose focus went beyond just improving a bottom line. I was also seeking a role that would provide me with opportunities to learn new things all the time whilst retaining a good work-life balance. After looking through the projects on the website and speaking to some of the team, I knew I wanted to apply."

Stephen Garavan, Consultant

"What first attracted me to CEPA was the fact that new joiners were not required to immediately specialise in a particular field or discipline. This approach gives the flexibility for new joiners to find their own areas of particular interest within the company."

Petra Koulia, Senior Consultant

"I worked in finance straight after my undergraduate degree, and two years into that I realised I wanted to do more in economics – so I did a masters, and then came across CEPA at a careers fair. The work sounded interesting and more meaningful, so I applied. After working for a very large firm, I also wanted to try a smaller place, and CEPA fit the bill for that as well."

Theo Guthrie, Consultant

"Some would call it destiny, others perhaps not. Having done both my undergraduate and master’s in economics, I knew that I wanted a job in the field. Following a year working in economic consulting elsewhere, it became apparent to me that a focus on public sector projects was more to my taste, and that is where CEPA fit in! I applied, got the interview, and then destiny took its course…"

Charlotte Hallam, Economist

"At university, I thought I wanted to work in investment research in the financial sector. However, after a few internships, I realised I wanted to use my economics background to have a more direct impact on society, so I decided to rethink my career plans. I looked into economic consulting and found that CEPA’s ethos of applying economics to benefit our clients and also society as a whole really resonated with me."

Nicky Barker, Economist

"From day one at CEPA you are assigned to a project or proposal, whether you join as an economist or higher up the company. The hands-on “real” work starts straight away, and you immediately feel like part of a team, much as I had hoped. The first year at CEPA has been engaging and rewarding, the workload is a good level of challenge, and throughout a year as an economist, you start to have a large amount of responsibility within a team.…"

Paul de Jong, Economist

"The role is largely in line with my expectations. The main surprises have been that the diversity of projects is greater, and the amount of responsibility you are given on projects is larger, than I expected. Both very pleasant surprises!"

Emily Sprake, Consultant

"I have found my time at CEPA very engaging and motivating, which I had hoped it would be going into the role. I knew that CEPA worked across a number of sectors for a range of clients, but the variation in the types and topics of projects that are undertaken surprised me."

Theo Guthrie, Consultant

"As my past experience came from a larger company, I was surprised by the exposure you get to the running of the company, e.g. actively participating in procurement. In terms of what I expected, the technical requirements and intellectual content of projects is definitely as I had hoped."

Jill Fryars, Senior Consultant

"I didn’t have a favourite sector when I joined CEPA, but having studied Environmental Economics, I was keen to get involved in projects related to decarbonisation. I was also curious about Global Health. Now, two years later, I’ve worked across all sectors and undertaken a range of project work. I still don’t have a favourite sector. Rather, I enjoy getting involved in projects related to infrastructure finance as well as those that have a social focus."

Stephen Garavan, Consultant

"One of the things that first attracted me to CEPA was that new joiners did not need to immediately specialise within a particular sector so going into the role, I didn’t have a particular favourite sector in mind. Of late, I have been enjoying working within the energy practice where I’ve enjoyed working on some more quantitative projects."

Charlotte Hallam, Economist

"When I joined CEPA, I was keen to get a taste of all of CEPA’s areas of work, so I didn’t have a favourite sector per se. A year on, that’s still the case. My favourite projects have been those with a social focus, whether that be estimating the prevalence of water poverty or identifying how new transport infrastructure can have a transformational impact on an area."

Nicky Barker, Economist

"My second project at CEPA was in the area of Global Health. It was a grant evaluation (we look at how well the money was spent, what the benefits were, and if there are lessons for the client for next time) for a project improving access to point-of-care HIV testing equipment in sub-Saharan Africa. I was made to feel like a valued member of a small team, and was on the project from inception to close. The main thing I liked about the project was the variety of skills I was able to apply and how I improved by learning from team members."

Stephen Garavan, Consultant

"Working in 2019 on an evaluation of investments in epidemic preparedness and response. The project was fascinating to work on and ended up being even more interesting given the current Covid-19 outbreak that followed."

Jill Fryars, Senior Consultant

"Working on a local currency credit enhancement knowledge product for the African Development Bank. I had an opportunity to work with and learn from an amazing team, discovering the challenges in financing infrastructure in countries that suffer from macroeconomic instability with shallow financial markets, as well as the products that can enable such investments. I was lucky enough to travel to Africa to interview stakeholders for this project!"

Will Edmonds, Economist

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the regulator to develop a model that forecasts a major airport’s commercial revenues and operating costs over the next regulatory period. As a junior, I was given a large level of responsibility (I was the primary developer of the model), which was really rewarding. It was very satisfying to see the development of the model, from its inception to send-off."

Petra Koulia, Senior Consultant

"People are friendly and always helpful, projects are interesting, and you get to learn a lot and be challenged. It’s genuinely great. (I may answer differently on very busy days close to a big deadline, but my overall position stands!)"

Theo Guthrie, Consultant

"You get to answer challenging questions in a variety of interesting areas, with the help of colleagues who have years of industry experience and care about making sure you learn and develop your expertise."

Nicky Barker, Economist

"When I interviewed at CEPA, I went into the office, and was excited about being located in central London, right next to Lincoln's Inn Fields. However, I joined during a pandemic and it took me over six months to get into the office. Joining virtually, I felt extremely welcome. Colleagues are friendly and helpful throughout projects, as well as genuinely interested in your every day life too."

Paul de Jong, Economist

Will Edmonds, Economist

"I have found it challenging to effectively manage my time in work; specifically, it has been difficult to effectively balance my time across multiple pieces of work. There is a big shift from managing your own time when doing your own work in university, to managing your time with various teams when in consultancy."

Jill Fryars, Senior Consultant

"My biggest challenge has been working on projects that just aren’t my cup of tea. It’s the nature of consultancy, and a good way to discover (and value) what you do like. I found the best way to overcome this was to focus on what I could get out of the project - there is always something to learn."

Paul de Jong, Economist

"At any one time you will be assigned to several projects, each with different project managers and timelines. Keeping track of the different responsibilities and deadlines can be challenging, but good time-management and bookkeeping have made this much more possible."

Charlotte Hallam, Economist

"I really enjoyed being part of the team which estimated the prevalence of water poverty at a granular level across England and Wales and seeing how our work will feed into future policies to address water affordability. It was also the first project where I took real ownership over a part of the analysis, being responsible for compiling all the bill distribution data submitted to us by water companies. It was very satisfying to see the team’s work come together at the end of the project, even if there were a couple of late nights working to meet deadlines!"

Theo Guthrie, Consultant

"For me, I think my work in global health has been the most rewarding. I got to provide some meaningful analysis on a project evaluating HIV prevention funding. Getting to appreciate the issues, as well as the progress made, in fighting such a devastating disease has been something I really appreciated."

Petra Koulia, Senior Consultant

"Every project completion – particularly ones that you contribute a lot to! It is even more rewarding where I am involved in presenting the results to our client and they seem engaged with the material and satisfied."

Will Edmonds, Economist

"Relative to other, larger consultancies, I have really enjoyed having the ability to push the frontier of the company – for example, I think it is very rare that, as a junior, I played a substantial role in the delivery of internal Python training that will expand the competencies of the company."

Charlotte Hallam, Economist

"The variety! I love that I can work on several different projects across different sectors all in one week, and that my mix of work can change completely within a couple of months. It means I can gain experience across lots of different areas and disciplines, and there’s always something new and different to keep it interesting."

Stephen Garavan, Consultant

"I really enjoy the opportunity that is afforded at CEPA to work in small teams directly alongside established industry experts. Being part of a small team allows new joiners to take ownership over project outputs which is a great way to quickly develop your technical skillset and experience."

Emily Sprake, Consultant

"The autonomy the role provides, allowing you to organise your own workload and take ownership of sections of the analysis/deliverable."

Emily Sprake, Consultant

"Playing 5-aside football – a group of us entered a team in a weekly local league, which was a lot of fun!"

Paul de Jong, Economist

"My favourite event was the Christmas dinner. It was the first big CEPA social event after I joined, and it was nice to see people in a non-work setting and meeting many people in-person for the first time, instead of on a screen."

Petra Koulia, Senior Consultant

"I’m a big fan of the wine and cheese nights, particularly when they are held at the office, as it feels a bit like a family get-together – everybody helps prepare the food, the kitchen is a little small, but there is still place for everyone, people drop in and out and sometimes bring their partners, and everyone is just relaxed and happy (though that could also be the wine)."