The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is looking for an enthusiastic and passionate team member to join us as an Advisor in our London office. You would be working on an innovative new programme of work for the Government Equalities Office (GEO) to improve gender equality in the workplace and beyond.

We’re looking for a candidate with a policy, research or consulting background and a passion for making positive social impact. As a member of our 5-person programme team, you would lead on strands of research that are part of the first large-scale behavioural insights programme on gender equality in the UK. You will help generate a positive social impact, inform government policy, and contribute towards building an evidence base on what works to improve gender equality.

The then Prime Minister created BIT in 2010 to apply behavioural science to public policy in the UK. In 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 policy area. 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; and we measure everything we do as robustly as we can.

BIT selects staff on the basis of our organisation’s values: always prioritising social impact; empiricism and humility; fresh thinking, collaboration; and public service.

The Gender and Behavioural Insights programme aims to support GEO in its strategic objectives by building a robust evidence base and applying behavioural insights to gender equality. The programme involves work across several policy areas, each involving a number of randomised controlled trials and research projects.

Some of the behaviours we are trying to influence include: encouraging employers to comply with Gender Pay Gap (GPG) reporting; helping employers test interventions to reduce bias in pay and progression; encouraging couples to take Shared Parental Leave; encouraging employers to offer - and employees to make use of - flexible work options; and increasing the reporting, and decreasing the incidence, of LGBT hate crimes and harassment.

You will be responsible for leading one or more of these strands of research. You will primarily be responsible for leading work in the ‘work life balance’ strand, which includes policy related to Shared Parental Leave, flexible working and return to work for those who have left the workforce due to caring responsibilities, but is likely to expand beyond these areas.

You will be expected to carry out research, provide policy advice, manage projects, liaise with key stakeholders in GEO, and lead trials. In this work, you will be supported by the Programme Manager as well as BIT’s in-house team of methods and analysis experts. You will be based at BIT’s Westminster office for three days a week, and co-located nearby with GEO for two days a week.

• A good understanding of the behavioural science literature and how it can be applied to help solve complex policy problems;
• Good project management and stakeholder management skills;
• Ability to support the design and implementation of rigorous evaluations, including but not limited to randomised controlled trials;
• 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; and
• Strong teamwork skills - as a part of a small team you will need to be reliable and willing to take responsibility for the small details of projects, meetings and daily routines.

• Masters in a relevant subject area (including, but not limited to behavioural economics, psychology, evaluation methods);
• Experience of working in areas related to equality, employment or gender; and
• Experience in government or around government policy making in the UK.

• 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.
• To find out more about the organisation and the type of people who work in the team visit: http://www.behaviouralinsights.co.uk
• 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.