Experienced Summer Intern - Development Impact – Evaluations (MBA, MSc or equivalent)

About BII

British International Investment is the UK’s development finance institution, owned by the UK Government. With a mission to solve the biggest global development challenges, we aim to create a virtuous circle of investment and impact. Your contribution will be essential. 

It won’t be easy: we do the hardest work in the most complex markets. Be prepared to test your skills, get creative and say your piece as you take on high-profile work as part of a diverse team of exceptionally smart, passionate people. 

In return, you can take your career to all-new places in a culture that rewards curiosity and collaboration, and balances high performance with wellbeing.

BII at a glance

75 years supporting sustainable business growth in developing and emerging markets

£8.1 billion in net assets

1,400+ businesses invested in

950,000 workers in the businesses we support

£9 billion in new investments planned in the next 5 years

600+ people in our diverse global team

3 key development objectives: Productive | Sustainable | Inclusive

Team and role overview

The Development Impact - Evaluations Team sits within the Impact Group. Our objective is to improve BII decision-making and accountability through evaluations that help us to understand and evidence the impact of our investments, and ultimately help BII achieve greater impact. We work closely with colleagues across the business (including in the Development Impact Management and Investment teams) and external consultants to deliver evaluations with actionable findings that answer strategic questions about BII’s impact and influence decision-making. We apply cutting-edge methods to ensure our studies strengthen the evidence base for what works in development finance.

A range of evaluations are underway at BII, covering whole investment sectors, cross-cutting strategic themes, and single investments, driven by our five-year strategy. All our published studies are available on the How we learn page of our website.

Purpose

The purpose of this role is to help advance BII’s evaluation strategy, improve how we conduct evaluations and communicate results, and contribute to the development and implementation of new studies under the supervision of an Evaluations Executive.

Responsibilities

Specific tasks will be based on the needs of the evaluations team, but may involve:

1. Piloting how we revamp portfolio reviews – analysing BII’s investment portfolios (including data on commitments, disbursements, gender and climate finance), developing sample analysis and reporting outputs, and identifying ways to improve internal collaboration;
2. Performing a comparative analysis of I/DFIs and impact investors’ approaches to evaluations, to distil current practices in evaluation methods and results dissemination;
3. Reviewing BII impact frameworks and external evidence in key sectors to synthesise relevant findings and identify areas of enquiry for new studies;
4. Conducting interviews with internal and external stakeholders (e.g. DFI peers) for specific project(s) or for scoping evaluation activities;
5. Advising on engaging and creative ways to disseminate findings internally and externally (e.g. multimedia);
6. Synthesising findings into clear and engaging presentations or reports.

The candidate

Background, skills, aptitude

The successful candidate will be a self-starter with a keen interest in evaluation and in evidence-based decision-making. They will be a skilled researcher and critical thinker, with applied knowledge or interest in impact evaluation methodologies (see the Magenta Book).

• Interest, experience, and/or academic credentials in conducting primary and secondary research (e.g. qualitative and quantitative methods, systematic reviews) and ideally evaluations in a public policy or development context.
• Studying towards an advanced degree (MSc, MA, MPA or equivalent) in a relevant discipline, preferably in economics/econometrics, development finance, development studies, or social research/policy evaluation.
• Work experience in a relevant field, preferably within academia, consultancy, DFI / impact investing fund, or similar organisation. Ideally, with some experience in Africa and/or South Asia.
• Strongly motivated by BII’s development mission, demonstrated through previous activities.

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. 

Application Process 

• Please provide a cover letter with your application, and tell us why you would like to join the Summer Internship at BII, and why you have chosen to apply for this business area / team
• Please apply for one internship only
• Position opened: 28 October 2024
• Position closes: 01 December 2024
• Salary: £64,390 (pro-rated over 8 or 10 weeks)

Please note BII will pay for flights to London for those studying internationally