Help Lead the Behavioral Insights Team’s Work in the US

We are searching for a Principal Advisor to drive and deliver an expanding program of work in the US. This role provides senior leadership to our rapidly growing US team through strong program management and people management. Other core skills for the role include behavioral science expertise and excellent stakeholder management. If you are looking for a role where you can lead a high-performing team in a complex and challenging environment while maintaining a focus on social impact, this position is for you.

About Us

The Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) is a leading social impact consulting organization bringing evidence-based policy making to governments and nonprofits 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. 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. We take pride in our values of social impact, empiricism and humility, fresh thinking, collaboration, and public service.

Who we are looking for

We are searching for an experienced candidate to help us develop and lead the delivery of a portfolio of US domestic programs. The ideal candidate will have experience leading large programs of work. Government, non-profit and consulting experience will be valued, but any candidate with significant program management and behavioral science experience is encouraged to apply.

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 be both a critical thinker and an empathetic, collaborative teammate and leader.

At BIT, we work toward the development of programs and policies that serve people more efficiently and effectively, and we are particularly focused on serving populations who have not benefited fully from existing approaches. We therefore value candidates who bring knowledge and experience around issues facing these populations.

As we are based in Brookly, NY, successful candidates will need the right to live and work in the US.

About the role

In this role, you will work directly under the Managing Director, BIT North America. With a high degree of autonomy, you will lead a portfolio of programs, including BIT’s work through the What Works Cities initiative (our largest program) as an expert in program management, behavioral science, and policy. You will have responsibility for shaping projects and steering teams (both within BIT and within clients’ teams) as they complete literature reviews, quantitative analysis, field work, and randomized controlled trials. You will be required to manage relationships with senior clients, stakeholders and officials across the government and non-profit organizations. You will play a critical role in supporting and managing BIT’s growth in the US, with important roles in helping manage our practice and developing members of the team.

More specifically, you will be expected to lead applied behavioral science programs, projects, and business development efforts in many ways, such as:

• Leading programs, e.g. leading the development of work plans for large and complex programs; ensuring the coordination and effective management of multiple projects within a large / complex program of work; developing and assigning clear roles to BIT staff involved in the delivery of projects within those programs; overseeing the development and delivery of program and project-level deliverables; overseeing the design, implementation and coordination of field experiments;.

• Developing new programs and / or supporting the renewal of existing programs, e.g. identifying ways to expand existing programs of work, leading the renewal of existing programs of work (e.g. developing and ideas for future phases of work), and, as required, developing proposals for new US domestic programs and projects with the potential for significant social impact.

• Leading and managing people, e.g. assuming line management responsibilities over mid-level and senior staff; contributing to the effective management of BIT North America.

• Research and analysis, e.g. providing leadership and oversight of research; ensuring that BIT’s research quality assurance processes are followed.

• Written and oral communication, e.g. editing final reports to ensure they address client needs; presenting findings to senior decision makers; leading client workshops.

• Client and stakeholder management, e.g. understanding client and stakeholder priorities, developing relationships, managing issues, and leading senior client meetings.

Principal Advisors at BIT can come from a range of backgrounds, and there is no single profile required for success. However, the following skills and experiences will be helpful for the role:

Leadership and Management Experience

• Strong leadership and teamwork skills, with the ability to exercise good judgement in a rapidly changing and ambiguous environment;

• Demonstrated excellence in people management and coaching skills;

• Ability to take a strategic view of the business and support management decision-making related to hiring, business development, internal processes and other practice management priorities;

• 8+ years’ experience developing or delivering policy in government, academia, or for a consulting firm.

Stakeholder Management, Program Management and Business Development Skills

• Excellent program and project management skills;

• Excellent written and verbal communication for a wide range of audiences;

• Ability to tactfully and thoughtfully understand the needs of senior clients and partners, to develop engagement strategies, and manage relationships through challenges;

• Experience developing new business opportunities that generate social impact, are properly resourced, and reflect organizational priorities and capabilities.

Behavioral Science Expertise

• A deep and credible understanding of behavioral science and direct experience of how it can be applied to help solve complex real-life policy problems;

• Ability to quickly assimilate complex issues across multiple policy areas and distil insights into practical solutions;

• Experience in the design and implementation of rigorous evaluations, including but not limited to randomized controlled trials (note that this specialized expertise is not a requirement for the role);

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

About the opportunity

Office Location: Brooklyn, NY

Type: Full time, 40 hours per week

Compensation: $100k - $130k per year, plus benefits. We use a defined rubric to determine placement in the salary band to reflect differences in educational attainment, skills, and experience. Benefits include:

• 401k retirement plan, with up to 5% salary matched

• 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 funds

• Gym membership (as of Oct 1)

• Mobile phone allowance

Work Authorization: Candidates must already be authorized to work in the U.S.

About the office

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.