The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is recruiting for an Advisor to join our Economic Growth and Productivity team. The successful applicant will work on a range of projects applying behavioural insights to economic policy problems. Some of the key questions we are interested in include:

• What works in helping employees become more productive?
• Can we shift firm decision-making towards higher levels of investment in innovation and skills?
• Can government prompt firms to export more?
• How do ‘animal spirits’ influence the economy, and what should policymakers do about them?

BIT was created 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 Government policy. Whilst the subject and output of our projects vary considerably, there are common threads: we try to understand the contexts in which people make decisions; we notice small details; we come up with innovative ideas for solving policy problems; and we measure everything we do as robustly as we can.

All our staff believe passionately in our company values: always prioritising social impact; empiricism and humility; fresh thinking; collaboration and public service.

As an Advisor, you will work across a wide range or projects, providing expert advice and project management. You will likely lead aspects of projects, working to a Senior Advisor in the Economic Growth team, and will also undertake and take responsibility for discrete pieces of work such as literature reviews, research notes, and developing policy solutions.
You will get regular exposure to a range of senior stakeholders and be expected to actively contribute to company development. Most of our Advisors have a Masters degree and prior work experience in either a policy or consulting role.

• A strong academic background in economics or related subject area;
• Experience developing or delivering public policy, ideally in an area with a strong economic or business focus;
• A good understanding of the behavioural science literature and how it can be applied to solve public policy problems;
• Curiosity about, and real interest in, current challenges related to productivity and economic growth in developed economies;
• Good, demonstrable project management skills;
• Ability to support the design and implementation of rigorous evaluation, including but not limited to randomised controlled trials;
• Excellent written and verbal communication (for example, the ability to write short policy notes for government ministers or senior civil servants);
• Strategic thinking and creative problem-solving; and
• Strong teamwork skills – as part of a small team you will need to be reliable and willing to take responsibility for elements of projects, meetings and daily routines.

• Masters in economics or related subject area; and
• Experience applying concepts from the behavioural science or psychology literature to economic or business policy.

• 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 settled worker available to fill the role or your current immigration status means that the resident labour market test will not apply in your case.
• 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.