Performance Analyst

Applications for this position close on 4th November 2026 - 23.45pm UK Time

Incubator for AI, i.AI

Help shape how people interact with some of the most ambitious AI products in government

The Incubator for AI (i.AI) is a team of ~80 builders and operators using frontier AI to improve public services across healthcare, education, planning and parliament. We combine startup pace and autonomy with the opportunity to tackle national-scale challenges.

We operate under three core principles:  

Talent: We bring together the UK’s best AI talent across a range of functions. You will work alongside exceptional researchers and top government leaders, staying at the cutting edge of technology.  

Innovation: We set precedents for what is possible in government. We combine the pace of a start-up with the influence of being at the digital centre of government. You will test new ideas, expand what is possible, and leverage unique government data to create novel solutions.  

Impact: We are dedicated to using AI as a tool for public good - this can mean improving outcomes in schools, boosting housebuilding or providing more personalised support for those in need. With the backing of the Prime Minister, you will turn technical breakthroughs into real-world applications that affect millions of citizens. 

About the role

i.AI's Impact and Evaluation team build their work into each stage of product development, from scoping, to incubation, and onwards to scaling. We help the incubator decide which AI tools to build, and then help product teams understand the difference those tools make to the quality and efficiency of public services.

The team is now recruiting a Performance Analyst to work on a varied range of analytical questions across the incubator. Some will be concrete, such as estimating the benefits of a proposed tool. Others will be more open-ended, such as how wider adoption of AI might change demand on public services. Many won't come with a ready-made method.

This role suits someone a few years into their analytical career who enjoys analytical problem-solving and is keen to expand their skill set across a wide range of problems. You'll work alongside experienced evaluators, engineers and policy colleagues, and we'll support you to build skills in areas such as impact evaluation, modelling and appraisal.

What you will work on

• Estimating the potential benefits of candidate AI tools, such as time saved or improvements in service quality, to inform decisions about which products the incubator pursues
• Tackling more open-ended analytical questions, such as modelling how wider use of AI agents might change the volume and nature of requests to public services ("agentic flooding")
• Supporting product teams to quantify the impact of their products, working with the evaluation team on model evaluations and impact evaluations, including experimental and quasi-experimental designs
• Monitor evaluation and performance metrics across the incubator's portfolio
• Work with product teams to develop theories of change and identify which metrics they should track
• Support spending review submissions by identifying, gathering and quality assuring figures from across the incubator

Who we think will thrive in this role

You may be a strong fit if you bring some of the following:

• Experience of quantitative analysis, gained through work or study
• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills, including the ability to structure ambiguous problems and make reasoned estimates where data is limited
• Working knowledge of statistical methods and research design
• Proficient in an analytical programming language, such as Python or R
• Ability to explain analysis, and its uncertainties and limitations, clearly to non-specialist audiences
• Enthusiasm for learning new methods and taking on unfamiliar problems
• Familiarity with impact evaluation methods, such as randomised controlled trials, difference-in-differences or regression discontinuity
• Experience of appraisal, cost-benefit analysis or modelling, for example using the HM Treasury Green Book or Magenta Book
• Interest in AI and its application to public services
• Ability to use version control tools (e.g. git)

Which role should I apply for?

We are also recruiting AI Evaluation Engineers. That role focuses on how well AI models perform: building and running evaluation pipelines in Python to test accuracy, bias and safety. This Performance Analyst role looks at the bigger picture: whether a tool is worth building, what difference it makes to public services, and how AI may change demand on government. If you're most excited by writing code to test models, apply for the Evaluation Engineer role. If you'd rather estimate benefits, help design impact evaluations and tackle open-ended analytical questions, apply for this one.

What we offer

Career-defining projects with outsized impact

• Backing from the Prime Minister and No10 to scope and build transformative AI projects. 
• Unique opportunities to apply technology that could transform the public sector and impact citizens’ lives.
• Talented, supportive and mission-driven colleagues.

Resources & access

• Access to frontier models and ample compute.
• Extensive operational, product, strategy, design and delivery support so you can focus on shipping.
• Work with experts across national security, policy, AI research and adjacent sciences.

Growth & empowerment

• A team culture and development support that prioritises personal growth.
• Opportunities to own important products early and develop them in small empowered teams.
• 5 days off learning and development, annual stipends for learning and development and funding for conferences and external collaborations.

Life & family*

• Opportunity to work from London, Manchester or Bristol offices.
• Hybrid working, flexibility for occasional remote work abroad and stipends for work-from-home equipment.
• Generous annual leave - 25 days plus one additional day for each year of service
• Generous paid parental leave (up to 39 weeks full pay + option for additional unpaid time).
• On top of your salary, we contribute 28.97% of your base salary to your pension.
• Discounts and benefits for cycling to work, dental insurance, donations and retail/gyms.

*These benefits apply to direct employees. Benefits may differ for people joining through other employment arrangements such as secondments.

Salary

Base salary for candidates joining from outside the civil service be the minimum of the pay band.

National: £45,740 - £50,835

London: £48,540 - £53,970

Selection Process

Appointment is conditional on successfully completing UK Government SC clearance. Prior clearance is not required-we will sponsor and support you. You should normally have been resident in the UK for 2 of the past 5 years. Employment is conditional on obtaining and maintaining the required clearance(s). More detail on clearance eligibility can be found on the UK Government website: National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK

In accordance with the Civil Service Commission rules, the following list contains all elements of the selection process.

Candidates should expect to go through some or all of the following stages once an application has been submitted:

• Preliminary call - a short initial conversation with members of the team you’d be joining
• Technical Behavioural interview - ahead of the interview, you’ll be sent a technical exercise which should take around 1.5 hours to complete. You’ll spend the first 10 minutes of the interview presenting your approach, followed by behavioural questions focused on your previous experience and how you approach different workplace situations
• Senior leadership conversation - a final discussion with members of the senior leadership team

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the  Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window)  and the  Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). As part of the application process, we monitor statistics on D&I. You can see how we process this data here:  Recruitment privacy notice - GOV.UK.

Salary

£45,740—£53,970 GBP