The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is looking for an exceptional candidate to join as a Principal Advisor leading our work on effective and inclusive markets. The successful applicant will be an excellent leader, as well as a strong team player, creating and sustaining relationships with partners across the UK and in collaboration with international offices. They will lead a high performing team and oversee a range of projects that aim to improve the way markets function and drive better outcomes for all citizens. This role will cover our work on consumer and competition policy, financial behaviour and markets, and energy and sustainability. For example, this includes: working with financial institutions to encourage consumers to save build up a savings buffer and better manage their credit repayments; working with regulators to test behavioural interventions to boost switching rates and improve outcomes for consumers across various markets; working with regulators and consumer bodies on strategies to build trust in online markets and ensure vulnerable consumers can access markets with appropriate protections; testing behavioural interventions to reduce problem gambling; and encouraging consumers to consume more sustainably, for example by reducing household energy consumption or red meat consumption.

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

The Behavioural Insights Team works with governments around the world in almost every area of policy. Whilst the subject and output of our projects varies considerably, 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; we come up with innovative ideas for solving policy problems and we measure everything we do as robustly as we can.

As well as displaying professional excellence, BIT selects staff on the basis of our company values: always prioritising social impact; empiricism and humility; fresh thinking, collaboration; and public service.

The successful candidate will lead BIT’s work on effective and inclusive markets. You will have deep expertise and credibility in at least one of the core areas of consumer and competition policy, financial behaviour or energy & sustainability, and a foundation and willingness to quickly develop expertise in the other areas. BIT has an excellent track record in each of these policy areas, and is looking for a candidate who can build on that foundation. You will do this by winning and delivering cutting-edge projects, and thought leadership pieces to promote a sophisticated behavioural account of the challenges facing the UK economy and the most impactful and feasible policy solutions.

You will report to a Director who is leading a broader portfolio. You will develop and be accountable for the delivery of the strategy in your policy areas, working with the Director to ensure alignment with the larger business goals and to support integrated delivery between policy areas. You will be responsible for developing relationships and securing work that aligns with that strategy and provides a solid financial base for the team. You will be able to demonstrate that you can deliver excellent quality work, generating impactful insights that will inspire our partners and communicating them in a compelling way to a range of audiences. When the Director or your peers are away, you will be capable of stepping in to support across a wider range of policy areas and projects.

You will be responsible for organising your team, resourcing it effectively and motivating the team to do their best work and build a positive and collaborative culture. A core part of the job will be line managing senior team members, and investing in the skills and personal development of all members of the team. You will also be expected to contribute to the senior management of BIT, supporting the overall company strategy and taking on at least one corporate priority, for example managing the staff survey.

You will be an excellent ambassador for BIT in all of your work and interactions. Ideally, you will have knowledge of relevant government departments (for example, BEIS, DCMS, HMT and Defra) and public sector bodies (for example, the Money Advice Service, the Competition and Markets Authority and Citizens Advice) and understand how they work. You will have regular exposure to senior decision makers, for example with Ministers, Heads of Departments and CEOs, and practitioners and be expected to rapidly develop a reputation as a trusted advisor to them - providing both reactive advice on issues of the day, and developing fresh ideas to feed into longer-term policy reform.

• Deep expertise and credibility in at least one of the focus areas of consumer and competition policy, financial behaviour, and energy and sustainability, and a foundation and willingness to quickly develop expertise in the other areas;
• An excellent understanding of the behavioural science literature and how it can be applied to help solve complex policy problems, specifically related to consumer and competition policy, financial behaviour, and energy and sustainability issues;
• Substantial experience working on the development or the delivery of policy in government, academia, a think tank, industry or for a consulting firm or design agency;
• Excellent line management and leadership skills;
• Excellent client and project management skills, including: budget management, resource management and conflict management and resolution;
• Experience of winning new projects, responding to competitive tenders, preparing proposals to secure new work packages and negotiating contractual terms of business
• Excellent written and verbal communication (for example ability to write short, to-the-point policy papers for Government Ministers or senior officials);
• Strategic thinking and creative problem solving skills;
• Ability to support the design and implementation of rigorous evaluations, including but not limited to randomised controlled trials; and
• A track record in building a public profile as an expert in your field, including experience in public speaking, and delivering lectures or workshops to large and influential audiences.

• PhD or Masters degree in economics, as well as qualifications or relevant work experience in behavioural science.

• If you do not already hold the right to work in the UK and/or require sponsorship in order to continue working here, you should think carefully before applying. This is because we will be unable to sponsor you unless there is no other suitably qualified

• The Behavioural Insights Team is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and is determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.

• Some of the personal data you provide to Applied when you apply for a role with The Behavioural Insights Team will be passed on to The Behavioural Insights Team for the purposes of (a) reviewing your application; (b) inviting you for interview; and/or (c) offering you a job and getting you set up as an employee/contractor.

• If your application is not successful, any personal data provided to us by Applied (including any personal data relating to equal opportunities monitoring as set out above) will be retained by The Behavioural Insights Team for no longer than 6 months after the application deadline has passed (other than in exceptional circumstances where we may need to retain your personal data for longer), at which point your personal data will be securely deleted. We only keep your information for that period in order to allow us to comply with relevant legal obligations.