The Behavioural Insights Team

In 2010, the then Prime Minister created BIT to apply behavioural science to public policy in the UK. In 2014 we became a social purpose company, owned by the Cabinet Office, Nesta (an innovation charity) and our employees.

BIT works with governments around the world in almost every policy area. The subject and output of our projects varies considerably, but there are common threads: we try to understand the contexts in which people make decisions; we notice small details; we find out what has and hasn’t worked before; and we measure the impact of everything we do as robustly as we can.

BIT selects staff on the basis of our organisation’s values: always prioritising social impact; empiricism and humility; fresh thinking, collaboration; and public service.

Roles and Responsibilities

BIT is looking for an exceptional candidate to join as a Senior Advisor, focussing on International Programmes. In this role you will be expected to work closely with the Principal and Director of International Programmes and be expected to lead projects overseas with a high degree of autonomy. You will need to be experienced with working with a range of stakeholders and clients – including international governments – and have a keen understanding of UK foreign policy and interest in international affairs more broadly.

You will interact with senior government officials, Ministers and clients on a regular basis, and be responsible for some business development relating to International Programmes. You will be expected to manage and deliver projects to tight deadlines and budgets, being prepared to work long hours when travelling. The successful applicant will be a highly capable manager and possess superb interpersonal skills, have a knowledge of behavioural science, an understanding of mixed research methods and, on occasion, be able to perform a role as the lead representative for BIT when travelling. Above all, you will reflect the culture and values of the Behavioural Insights Team.

Key skills

Essential

All candidates must also be able to demonstrate:

• Strong experience working on the development or delivery of policy or services in an overseas environment in government, academia, industry, or for a consulting firm;

• Strong understanding of international affairs;

• A keen sense of personal impact, particularly a sensitivity to local customs and a courteous, diplomatic yet (when needed) assertive manner when dealing with partners;

• Experience of leading projects and representing their organisation to senior partners;

• Understanding of the behavioural science literature and how it can be applied to help solve complex real life policy problems;

• Strong project management skills including working remotely;

• A clear focus on collaborative working, including with partners from outside of your organisation, understanding that this is essential to achieving better outcomes;

• Exceptional written and verbal communication (for example ability to write short, to-the-point policy papers for Ministers or senior officials);

• Experience presenting to large audiences and facilitating behavioural insights workshops with policy professionals;

• An understanding of mixed methods of research and evaluation; and

• Experience in responding to competitive tenders and securing new work packages.

Desirable

Finally, it would be desirable if you have:

• Good working knowledge of Stata or R, or other statistical packages;

• A Masters or PhD in a relevant subject area (including, but not limited to behavioural economics, psychology, design thinking, evaluation methods).

• Foreign language skills (Spanish, French, Arabic are of particular interest)