Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Adviser

About BII

British International Investment (BII) is the UK’s leading development finance institution, wholly owned by the UK Government. Our primary mission is to address global development challenges through strategic investments that promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

BII focuses on catalysing economic development, creating jobs, and building resilient economies in some of the world's most complex and underserved markets. We invest in businesses and projects that prioritise inclusive development, environmental sustainability, and innovation.

Our approach is characterised by rigorous investment standards, high governance principles, and a commitment to delivering measurable development impact. Our team consists of highly skilled and passionate professionals dedicated to making a tangible difference globally.

We foster a collaborative and intellectually stimulating work environment that values curiosity, innovation, and professional growth. Our culture balances high performance with a strong emphasis on wellbeing, ensuring our employees can achieve their full potential while contributing to our mission.

BII at a glance:

Over 75 years supporting sustainable business growth in developing and emerging markets

More than £9.9 billion in net assets

1,600+ businesses invested in

950,000+ workers in the businesses we support

650+ people in our diverse global team

3 key development objectives: Productive | Sustainable | Inclusive

Team and role overview

Building a diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation where our people feel they belong is a high priority for our Shareholder (the FCDO), our Board, our CEO and our Executive Committee. It is key to maintaining our deep understanding of our markets and to ensuring we have the diversity of thinking and experience needed to address the challenges of investing in some of the world’s most challenging economies.

The DEIB Lead will sit within the HR team and report to the CPO.

The HR team’s purpose is to enable the recruitment, retention and development of individuals of the calibre that will allow BII to achieve its mission to help solve the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation. The HR team is responsible for the employee life cycle of BII employees in London and across 11 other offices in our markets in Africa and Asia.

Over the past five years we have made significant progress in DEIB by:

• Developing a strategy and objectives to deliver our DEIB goals
• Supporting a number of established employee networks, with Managing Director level sponsorship
• Setting targets to improve the balance of gender and ethnicity representation in leadership
• Increasing our focus on DEIB in both talent acquisition and talent development
• Refining our use of data to better inform decision making
• Working to embed a DEIB lens across our HR function

We recognise that this work needs to continue as a strategic priority so this will be a dedicated role which works across the HR function as well as with teams from across the business.

The position will play a key role in continuing to evolve our employee wellbeing offering as well as ensuring our culture is aligned to and supports our mission and strategy.

Purpose

We are seeking a passionate and experienced DEIB Lead to join our HR team to continue our journey to making BII a more inclusive place. You will work closely with colleagues from across the HR function as well as with colleagues from across our different geographies to ensure that DEIB principles are integrated into all aspects of BII.

Responsibilities

• Create, develop and implement DEIB initiatives that align with BII’s goals and values, using a data- and insights-informed approach.
• Lead the annual programme of key DEIB activities, including the Women in Finance Charter annual update and annual pay gap reporting.
• Work in partnership with all other parts of the HR team, in particular HR Business Partnering, Talent Acquisition, Talent Development and Reward. Prepare and present papers to ExCo, OpCo, PremCo and the Board, as appropriate, with appropriate support from other members of the HR team, including the CPO.
• Work with our Talent Development team to co-design and deliver relevant training and workshops on DEIB topics.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of DEIB programmes and initiatives through collection and analysis of relevant data.
• Monitor and manage the DEIB budget.
• Support and manage our employee networks, ensuring they operate within their terms of reference and are fostering a sense of inclusion and belonging.
• Provide guidance and support to managers and employees on DEIB matters.
• Collaborate with HR and other business areas to ensure that DEIB principles are embedded in recruitment, onboarding and employee development processes.
• Work with Internal Communications to develop relevant communications to demonstrate our commitment to DEIB.
• Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices in DEIB.
• Prepare internal and external reports and presentations on DEIB metrics and progress.
• Support the review and update of company policies to ensure they promote DEIB and our wellbeing agenda.
• Provide input into the annual Cultural Health Review to identify progress and areas for focus and, with the CPO and others, lead on management discussions and taking forward agreed actions.

The candidate

Background, skills, aptitude

• You will have demonstrable experience of leading and delivering DEIB strategies in a global organisation, ideally within a Financial, Investing or Professional Services environment.
• Strong understanding of DEIB principles and best practices.
• Ability to understand BII’s business strategies and align DEIB activities to ensure the achievement of business objectives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, interpersonal and influencing skills; able to be articulate, compelling, engaging.
• Organised and reliable in meeting deadlines, with a structured working style.
• Strong project management, analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse data and generate actionable insights.
• Ability to build successful, collaborative relationships quickly with HR colleagues and the wider organisation and work collaboratively with senior stakeholders and diverse teams.
• Empathetic and culturally aware.
• An eye for detail but able to understand the big picture.
• ‘Can-do’ attitude; team-worker willing to ‘muck in’ and do what’s necessary, even when outside immediate remit of the role.
• Continuous improvement mindset with strong sense of service delivery.
• Keen to develop, open to feedback and with a growth mindset.
• A creative problem solver who seeks innovative but practical solutions.
• Open to opportunities for occasional travel to our investment market locations.
• Able to work well in a matrix structure and without needing continuous supervision.
• Knowledge of and experience in workplace wellbeing principles and programmes.
• Able to demonstrate an understanding of the drivers of organisational culture and present relevant actionable insights.
• You should be strongly motivated by BII’s development mission and ideally demonstrate some commitment to development or social goals through previous executive or non-executive activity.

Our cultural values

We look for team members who aspire, as we do, to work at our best and to be:

• Impact-led, commercially rigorous
• Tenacious in the face of challenges
• Collaborative and caring

British International Investment is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or educational background. 

Please provide a cover letter with your application

Salary: Competitive