Economic development officer

Economic development officers work to bring jobs, investment and skills into a council’s area. Day to day that means supporting local businesses, running town centre and regeneration projects, writing funding bids and reporting to government on how the money was spent. Posts are on council grades and are often fixed-term because they depend on external funding. Employers care more about project and bid-writing experience than about a particular degree.

Typical projects

The work depends on the council’s priorities and on what funding is available at the time. Common strands include:

• business support: grants, advice sessions, business networks, help for start-ups and contact with the larger employers in the area
• town centres and high streets: shopfront schemes, empty unit projects, markets and events
• inward investment: answering enquiries from firms looking for sites, working with landowners and agents
• employment and skills: programmes that link unemployed residents with training and local vacancies, often with the Jobcentre and colleges
• evidence: local economic data, strategies and the case for new investment

In some areas the council runs most of this itself. In others a combined authority or a mayoral body leads on strategy and the council delivers locally, and functions once done by local enterprise partnerships have moved to councils and combined authorities. Our guide to how councils are organised shows how the tiers fit together.

Funding bids and grant management

A large share of economic development money comes from government funds with their own rules, such as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and from competitive bidding rounds. Writing a bid means fitting a local project to the fund’s criteria, building a budget and a delivery plan, gathering partner letters and setting out outputs you will be measured on.

Winning is only the first half. Funded projects need procurement that follows the rules, claims with evidence, regular monitoring returns, and checks that spending is eligible. Errors can mean money is clawed back, so grant management and record-keeping take up a lot of time. Anyone who likes the outward-facing side of the work should be ready for the spreadsheets too.

Skills employers ask for

Person specifications for these posts usually ask for project management experience with budgets and deadlines, report and bid writing, confidence with businesses and partners, and some data skills. Knowledge of public procurement and subsidy control helps. A driving licence is often requested for site visits.

People come into the work from many directions: private sector business advice, chambers of commerce, universities, planning and regeneration teams, and graduate schemes. The National Graduate Development Programme places some trainees in economy and regeneration teams. Membership of a professional institute for economic development practitioners can help but is not usually required.

Fixed-term contracts

Because posts are tied to a fund, many are advertised as fixed-term, ending when the programme does. Understand what that means before you sign. As a fixed-term employee you must not be treated less favourably than a comparable permanent colleague, and after four years on successive fixed-term contracts you become permanent unless the council can justify keeping you fixed-term. Our guides to fixed-term contracts in the public sector and fixed-term employees’ rights go into the detail.

Many councils redeploy staff into new projects when funding is renewed, and some convert posts to permanent when a programme becomes part of core work. Ask at interview how the team handled the end of previous programmes.

Pay and pension

Economic development posts are graded locally on the NJC pay spine, which rose by 3.3% from 1 April 2026. Officer posts often sit around the middle of the spine and senior or lead officer posts higher. As an illustration, a post graded at SCP 23 to 28 would pay £35,570 to £40,444 a year full-time. See the NJC pay spine guide for every point, and check the advert for the grade.

You join the Local Government Pension Scheme. At £35,570 the 2026/27 member rate is 6.5%, which applies to pay from £29,001 to £47,300. The Green Book minimum leave is 23 days, rising to 26 days after five years, plus 8 public holidays and 2 extra days.

Where it can lead

Economic development overlaps with planning, regeneration, housing and property, so moves between those teams are common. Some officers go on to lead regeneration programmes, join combined authorities or move into the Civil Service departments that run the funds. If your interest is mainly in land use and development, look at our guide to becoming a planning officer.