Executive/Associate, Corporate Strategy

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

About the team

The Corporate Strategy team works at the centre of BII, reporting to the CEO and working directly with the CEO and Board.  Its principal responsibility is to develop and support the execution of our five-year strategy. Within that, it has three main responsibilities:

• Strategic direction: developing BII’s five-year forward strategy; developing major organisational growth initiatives; and engaging the Board on matters of strategic importance to the firm, including through running an annual Strategy Day.
• Corporate planning and performance: including quarterly reporting to the Board; developing and reviewing our progress against the firm’s key performance indicators; developing the annual corporate plan; and evaluating the performance of the business or parts of it.
• Business improvement: partnering with the CEO and members of Executive Committee to shape new business strategies; restructure existing plans or resources; and drive strategic internal projects.

The Corporate Strategy team also provides direct support to the Chief Executive Officer and BII’s Board, acting as a CEO’s Office.

The Corporate Strategy team will sometimes lead its own work (particularly when working directly for the Board/CEO) but often works with or in support of other BII teams. It works across all the teams in BII including corporate functions (e.g. Company Secretary, Comms, HR, Legal, etc.), investment functions (ITS, FSG, I&C), or impact and transaction support functions (DI, E&S, Legal etc.).

Executives and Associates in the Corporate Strategy team are expected to work across all of the functions of the team set out above. On a project basis, they generally report to the relevant Manager within Corporate Strategy (or elsewhere in the firm) leading the project. On some projects they may work directly with the Head of Corporate Strategy.

About the role

You will be expected deliver a wide range of strategy projects across all three areas of the Corporate Strategy remit. This will include, for example:

• Analysing business performance and developing business plans for organisational growth;
• Carrying out analysis into new or emerging areas of business, both quantitative and qualitative;
• Producing and presenting deliverables setting out findings and recommendations;
• Facilitating workshops, structured conversations, interviews and surveys;
• Engaging stakeholders to communicate change or build consensus;
• Project management, and occasionally planning and running events;
• Supporting the team itself, for example through contribution to team meetings, away days and development of Corporate Strategy’s own plans.
• Some international travel may be required from time to time.

 
About you

You will 

• Have excellent quantitative skills, including the ability to carry out basic financial modelling, identify and interpret data, and present findings in a visually compelling way;
• Have relevant experience in a relevant financial services or professional services context, such as strategy or management consulting, investment banking or asset management, or policy;
• Have excellent written and presentational skills, including the ability to produce deliverables to a high quality and to present them in a compelling fashion;
• Be able to ‘see the big picture’ without getting lost in technical detail or irrelevant information; while also being able to reflect nuance, complexity and specificity in proposed solutions;
• Bring a structured approach to problem-solving and an ability to translate that into an actionable project plan;
• Be able to manage deadlines, especially in the context of juggling two or more projects at a time;
• Have social and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders and build consensus;
• Be strongly motivated by BII’s development mission.

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

All applications will be carefully reviewed by our hiring team. Shortlisted candidates will undergo a vetting process, which may include reference checks, background checks and other relevant assessments.