About the Behavioral Insights Team

The Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) is a leading social impact consulting organization bringing evidence-based policy making to social sector clients across the world. We believe that if you understand how people make decisions in the real world, you can design and deliver better policies and services.

This means that we draw on the lessons from the behavioral sciences to design creative and scalable solutions in fields ranging from health to criminal justice to humanitarian response. We are also committed to using and generating evidence, so we test our interventions using techniques like randomized controlled trials (RCTs) before they are scaled. For some of our recent projects, please see https://www.bi.team/our-work/blog/.

BIT was created inside the UK government in 2010 as the first government organization dedicated to applying behavioral science to policy and programs. Indeed, we created the term “behavioral insights.” We became a separate social purpose corporation in 2014; in 2015, we opened our North America office and work in a fast-paced and collaborative environment in Brooklyn, NY.

Our portfolio of work continues to grow, and as a result we’re now looking for a Senior Advisor to join us. Senior Advisors typically hold Master’s degrees or PhDs, along with at least five years of professional experience, although we are open to candidates with a range of backgrounds.

Who we are looking for

We are searching for an experienced candidate to develop and lead a portfolio of projects with US-based and international clients. Senior Advisors at BIT come from a range of backgrounds, and there is no single profile required for success. However, the following backgrounds and qualifications are often helpful for the role:

• Familiarity with core concepts of behavioral science, randomized controlled trials, and other evaluation methodologies

• Experience balancing multiple priorities and projects in a work environment, particularly in a client-facing role

• Experience working in or with government agencies, multilateral organizations, or philanthropies

• Experience working in or with traditionally underrepresented communities.

• Strong communication skills

• Ability to work collaboratively with teammates and clients with a broad range of backgrounds, political affiliations, and skillsets

• Intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness, and dedication to achieving social impact

The ideal candidate will have experience working in consulting and behavioral science, but candidates with expertise in other potentially relevant fields are still encouraged to apply.

Most importantly, we seek candidates who embody the BIT values: prioritizing social impact; empiricism and humility; fresh thinking, collaboration; and public service. In real terms, that means we turn down projects that we don’t think will make a positive impact on the world; we hold project meetings where staff of all seniority levels are asked to contribute their perspective; and we are constantly checking our ideas and assumptions against the growing social science evidence base - and changing course when it turns out we were wrong. A successful candidate for this role will share these values, contributing as both a critical thinker and an empathetic, collaborative teammate.

In addition, as we are based in Brooklyn, NY, successful candidates will need the right to live and work in the United States. Finally, we are looking to hire as soon as possible, so candidates with immediate availability will be prioritized.

About the role

BIT’s Senior Advisors work under the guidance of Principal Advisors and the Managing Director of BIT North America, but assume significant responsibility for and leadership of their work. The successful candidate will have responsibility for shaping projects and steering teams as they complete literature reviews, quantitative analysis, field work, and randomized controlled trials. They will be required to manage relationships with clients and other partners, and they can play a pivotal role in leading BIT’s work to increase social impact in the US and overseas.

More specifically, they are expected to lead and contribute to applied behavioral science projects in many ways, such as:

• Leading and managing projects, e.g. establishing and managing client relationships; leading BIT project teams; overseeing the development and delivery of project documents; applying concepts from behavioral science to the design of communications, processes, and programs; overseeing the design and implementation of field experiments; leading work plan development and coordination

• Supporting organizational growth and the growth of the BI field e.g. developing proposals and prospective client relationships for new projects, representing BIT at professional events, and developing public-facing tools and resources

• Leading and managing people, e.g. assuming line management responsibilities over junior and mid-level staff; contributing to organizational management;

• Research and analysis, e.g. leading and organizing field research and desk research; overseeing statistical analysis and the synthesis of findings

• Written and oral communication, e.g. writing final reports; presenting findings to senior decision-makers; leading client workshops

• Client management, e.g. drafting client emails, meeting agendas, and similar products; leading client meetings and calls

Some of your typical daily tasks may include...

• Research and evidence

  • Scan the evidence base for relevant behavioral science findings; assess quality of research supporting those findings; suggest behavioral intervention approaches based on that research and analysis.

  • Develop the experimental design for randomized controlled trials, take those designs through internal QA processes, and make adjustments as needed

  • Note: We provide on-the-job training on specific data and analysis tasks and techniques, so extensive experience in data analysis is not a requirement. However, successful candidates will typically be familiar with the underlying concepts of statistical analysis (e.g. randomization, significance testing, representativeness) and will be comfortable reviewing the results of data analysis and considering how those findings apply to a particular problem or setting.

• Work planning and project management

  • Lead project planning and scoping

  • Ensure project is running according to plan and that necessary adjustments are made

  • Oversee and provide direction to project teams on specific tasks, contributing to those tasks as necessary

  • Provide quality control for any external deliverables

  • Engage with various institutional support mechanisms (research experts, legal, finance) as necessary

• Client management

  • Proactively engage with clients to ensure alignment and buy-in, maintaining a high level of responsiveness and professionalism

  • Adjust project planning and general approach according to client conversations

  • Schedule and facilitate client meetings and phone calls

• Organizational growth

  • Open conversations on promising project opportunities and follow up as necessary

  • Communicate with senior management on the likelihood and preferred timing of concrete opportunities

  • Write proposals and policy notes to respond to concrete opportunities

  • Collaborate with colleagues on growth opportunities

• Written and oral communication

  • Write clearly and concisely with appropriate style for the audience

  • Communicate behavioral science concepts in layman’s terms

  • Present to external partners on BIT projects and behavioral science concepts

• Management and operational support

  • Contribute to specific operational and management areas as needed

  • Meet with line managees and proactively assist them in their professional development

  • Participate in management team meetings

Location & Compensation

Office Location: Brooklyn, NY

Type: Full time, 40 hours per week

Compensation: Starting salary of $91,000-106,000 per year plus benefits.*

Benefits include:

• 401k retirement plan, with 5% salary company match

• Platinum health insurance coverage

• 15 days annual leave, with the ability to purchase up to 10 more days per year

• Annual bonus based on group performance

• Professional development fund

• Weekly yoga classes

• Weekly team lunches

• Mobile phone allowance

• Relocation package

• Generous parental leave

*We use a defined rubric to determine placement in the salary band to reflect differences in educational attainment, skills, and experience.

BIT is partially owned by our employees. We strive to provide a supportive work environment where you can develop your skills and knowledge in this fast-evolving field. We offer flexible working arrangements and other policies to support the health and wellbeing of everyone on the team.

The Behavioral Insights Team is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and is determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favorable 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.