International Development Advisor and Associate Advisor positions at the Behavioral Insights Team, North America

Start dates: from January 2017

Full time: 40 hours per week

Location: Brooklyn, NY

The Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) is looking for exceptional candidates to join us in our North America office as we expand and grow. We have opportunities at various levels and would love to hear from you if you like what you read.

Who are the Behavioral Insights Team?

BIT was established in 2010 with a remit to apply insights from the behavioral sciences to public policy in the UK. In February 2014, BIT became a social purpose company and expanded to meet the high levels of demand for our work both in the UK and overseas.

In summer 2015, we opened a North American office in New York and are now recruiting at various levels.

The Behavioral Insights Team has a relaxed and non-hierarchical office culture. All our staff believe passionately in our company values: always prioritizing social impact; empiricism and humility; fresh thinking, collaboration; and public service.

We expect professional excellence in a work environment that is fast paced, exciting and friendly. In North America we offer all of our employees excellent benefits - a matched 401k contribution up to 5% of salary plus an excellent healthcare package.

Roles and Responsibilities

We are looking for talented individuals who have experience working in international development and/ or humanitarian contexts. In addition to experience in this field, we are seeking candidates with a real passion and drive to improve outcomes for individuals and organizations. You will do this through carrying out robust evaluations to find out ‘what works’ in public policy and by looking at how the application of behavioral insights can be used to improve public services. All of our work has social purpose at its heart and you will need to demonstrate a real enthusiasm for and commitment to our values.

We are looking to new team members at two levels:

Associate Advisors

Associate Advisors will get exposure to a range of experience working on many different projects across one or more policy areas and/or partners. This will be a challenging and demanding role and you will be responsible for delivering high quality work to tight deadlines. Many of our Associate Advisors join us from college or post-graduate education, and have some experience either working in government or doing research in this area.

Although we will provide you with a challenge, you will be supported to quickly develop the skills that will allow you work independently and will routinely attend meetings with a more senior member of the team and senior client stakeholders to develop key business skills.

Salary: $57,000, plus 401k and healthcare plan

Advisors

As an Advisor you will be central to a wide range of projects providing expert input and project management and will need to have some prior relevant work experience. You will likely lead aspects of projects working to a Senior/ Principal Advisor and also undertake discrete pieces of work alone.

You will get regular exposure to a range of senior stakeholders and be expected to actively contribute to company development. You will need to demonstrate some expertise in at least one area relevant to our work: in policy, in research, or in behavioral science.

Salary: $75,000, plus 401k and healthcare plan

Want to express an interest in working for us?

If you liked what you read and are interested we would love to hear from you.

Essential

To succeed you will need to clearly demonstrate ability in at least two of the following essential skills:

• Experience of development or delivery of programs and services to be delivered in humanitarian settings and / or in developing countries (for example, having worked in government or in public sector consulting);

• Good understanding of the behavioral science literature and how it can be applied to help solve complex policy problems;

• Ability to design and conduct rigorous evaluations, including Randomized Controlled Trials, difference in differences, regression discontinuity and propensity score matching.

In addition you must demonstrate:

• Good project management skills;

• Excellent written and verbal communication (for example ability to present complex ideas in simple terms);

• Strategic thinking and taking a wider perspective - challenging existing assumptions and thinking of creative solutions to problems;

• Strong team worker - as a part of a growing team you will need to be reliable and willing to take responsibility for the small details of projects, meetings and daily routines.