2 year fixed term appointment
39 hours per week (parttime applications considered)
Salary: c.£45,000, plus benefits Based in Central London
The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is looking to recruit a startup manager to help shape and manage the development of a suite of commercial products that apply world class behavioural science to achieve largescale social impact. As well as working across a range of ideas in the pipeline you will develop and lead the next big idea. This will require you to think through both product development, design, marketing and commercial options. This may include partnerships, licensing, managing inhouse or set up of standalone companies. Where ventures are spun out as standalone companies, there is also the possibility that equity will be made available for those that take products/services to market. This role has huge potential to build high growth ventures and deliver positive social change. In order to qualify you will need to be able to demonstrate a successful track record of spotting commercial opportunities, and building high quality teams or partnerships to develop them into successful business propositions and/or take products to market.
About the Behavioural Insights Team
BIT started life inside 10 Downing Street as the world’s first government institution dedicated to the application of behavioural sciences. BIT is now a social purpose company, jointly owned by the Cabinet Office, Nesta and the BIT staff. BIT’s objectives remain the same as they always have been:
● making public services more costeffective and easier for citizens to use;
● improving outcomes by introducing a more realistic model of human behaviour to policy; and wherever possible,
● enabling people to make ‘better choices for themselves’ As well as applying behavioural science to public policy, the team is also at the forefront of a revolution in evidence based policy.
The team has conducted randomised controlled trials (the gold standard of evidence) across the policy spectrum, in fields ranging from health, to energy, to charitable giving and employment. The objective of BI Ventures is to maximise the reach and social impact of BIT’s core programme of policy work. Products could take a wide range of forms, ranging from money management apps that encourage ‘impulse’ saving, to tactile physical products that teach people how to check themselves for cancer. Our expectation is that in each case BIT will develop the core concept and design of these products, but they will be brought to market in partnership with organisations that have experience, expertise and reach. This could be through the licensing of IP, the formation of partnerships or the creation of new ventures.
More information can be found at http://www.behaviouralinsights.co.uk/aboutus/
Role and responsibilities
We have world class behavioural science expertise, lots of ideas about how to build this into products, and seed capital to support them. What we need is someone who brings the energy, the entrepreneurship and the practical experience necessary to make this happen. To do this, we are looking for someone with experience of turning ideas into successful products who can develop our pipeline of proposals, select the one that has most potential, and develop and commercialise it. Working closely with colleagues in BIT and Nesta, this will involve:
1. Identifying the opportunity
● Prioritising long listed ideas, conducting market research, assessing demand from potential customers, applying commercial judgement
● Designing and shaping a product to maximise the impact of behavioural science.
2. Building the product
● Identifying the most appropriate delivery method and building delivery capability accordingly, either by hiring in skills, commissioning external development work, or securing partners.
● Delivering a high quality prototype product
3. Running a pilot
● Securing pilot customers, trialling the product with them, gathering feedback and robust evidence on impact, iterating the product accordingly.
4. Scaling the product
● Building the ‘go to market’ team, potentially spinning out a separate entity or raising external capital. The person To be successful in this role you will need to:
● Have experience of facilitating the development of a product or products, from concept through to delivery;
● Have a proven track record of spotting the right ideas, judging commercial opportunities and writing or evaluating business plans;
● Have experience of building a delivery team, briefing developers / partners;
● Have an understanding of sales and marketing campaigns;
● Have experience of managing budgets and potentially raising investments;
● Be energetic, highly entrepreneurial, and able to independently source opportunities.
● Ability to combine intellectual curiosity with pragmatic focus on delivery;
● Have strong networks in an area relevant to the role.
● A background in digital technology although desirable, is not essential.
How to apply
Apply using the application form here https://biv.typeform.com/to/Jv4HDU This application closes at 9am on Tuesday the 22nd of September. 1st interviews to be held during the 5th & 9th of October. For more information on this role, please contact bit.jobs@behaviouralinsights.co.uk