Assistant Manager - Governance & Stability (Expression of Interest)

Location: London, UK

Adam Smith International (ASI) is building a talent pool seeking for our growing portfolio of programmes and bids. We are particularly interested in hearing from professionals with experience or interest in:

• Education – including education reform, governance and education systems strengthening
• Governance – including public sector reform, public financial management, transparency and accountability, local governance, institutional strengthening, and civil society development.
• Conflict, Security & Stability – including security sector reform and stabilisation (with particular focus on former serving UK security sector, military, police or those with background in strategic communications/foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), cyber security, and related fields).

Background

Adam Smith International is a global advisory company that works locally to transform lives by making economies stronger, societies more stable, and governments more effective. We work on behalf of governments, foundations and companies that share our ambition to take on the big challenges facing the world. Our core team of managers and technical experts, in offices around the world, ensures the quality of delivery and high ethical standards that we and our clients require. We bring together a global network of specialist experts, who contribute their experience and know-how, where and when it is needed. ASI is owned and operated by its employees, and we are all dedicated to making a meaningful difference in complex, challenging situations. We are committed to corporate integrity and a triple bottom line of social, environmental and financial performance.

The Governance & Stability Team manages projects focused on improving national and local governance, centre of government and public finance management, security and justice, stabilisation and conflict and education. We work in Africa, the MENA region, Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America. Our current portfolio of work in governance ranges from PFM reform in East Africa, to education reform in Pakistan, centre of government support in Iraq, to security sector reform in MENA and Africa, to countering violent extremism and stabilisation in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, to countering disinformation and illicit financial flows in Eastern Europe.

About the Role

The Professional Development Scheme is a 12-month programme for early-career professionals and is an opportunity to gain practical experience across project management and business development responsibilities, working across our different service lines while developing the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to succeed in the sector. The scheme is designed to both challenge and support you. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with, support and learn from experienced Managers across different teams, while also exploring the areas of the business that best align with your skills and interests.

As an Assistant Manager, we will support and prepare you on the following:

• Development of impact-driven technical and financial proposals for leading development partners.
• Understanding local delivery contexts and political economies.
• Managing complex delivery tasks and project risks.

Over the course of the scheme, you will also have the opportunity to travel to overseas locations supporting our global portfolio of impactful programmes. After successfully completing 12 months with the company, and depending on your performance, you will have the opportunity to progress into a manager position. In addition to a competitive compensation package and excellent benefits, we offer you a friendly and supportive team environment and the opportunity to work on a highly successful portfolio of programmes.

As a certified B Corp, we care about the wellbeing and growth of our people and are committed to supporting your personal development and actively facilitating opportunities to build skills and knowledge in your areas of interest.

Key responsibilities:

• Project Management & Delivery: Develop technical understanding and delivery skills in one of the Team’s core practice areas. Support the management of the successful delivery of projects to terms of reference, time, quality, cost and donor and Government satisfaction. This will include assistance in the project finances, operations, risk mitigation, technical analysis and management of consultancy teams. Maintain awareness of and conversance with political economy and key topics in priority countries. Build strong working relationships with the project team.
• Business Development: Perform market mapping and partner identification research and present this to bid manager. Gain an understanding of the company’s capabilities and experience. Seek to further technical knowledge in at least one practice area and help identify opportunities. Analyse ToRs and extrapolate key points and conduct required background research. Provide concise check-ins/updates to bid managers, including to flag any risks. Manage the full recruitment cycle for experts. Develop an understanding of commercial considerations for business development and project implementation.
• Thought Leadership and Corporate Initiatives: Contribute to the growth and development of Adam Smith International through: Marketing: Contributing content and articles to external channels. Knowledge management: Ensure all knowledge is shared via agreed team systems and processes. Personal development: Take ownership to grow own capability, experience and expertise.

About you

Our work requires people with a ‘can do’ attitude tempered with insight and pragmatism. The successful candidates will not just be evaluated on their technical knowledge and skills, but also their alignment with our values and culture. You should have demonstrated ability to think creatively about complex problems; build productive relationships with people from a wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds and work effectively in politically sensitive and challenging environments. You should be energetic, positive, a team player and committed to achieving lasting positive change. It is this combination that ensures we deliver real societal impact and measurable results with high integrity.

Key qualifications:

• An undergraduate degree in economics, political science, international development, business management, or other relevant field from an internationally recognised university;
• A minimum of six months of work experience in a consultancy or development-focused organisation, ideally working directly in one of the Governance & Stability Team’s core practice areas;
• Demonstrated experience of using initiative, client-orientation, risk taking, and working in complex and time-pressured contexts;
• Enthusiasm, flexibility and a strong attention to detail;
• Excellent communication, inter-personal, and team-working skills;
• Strong grasp of Microsoft Word, Excel & PowerPoint;
• Outstanding written and spoken English. An additional language (e.g. French, Spanish, Arabic) would be a major asset;
• You must have a pre-existing right to work in the UK.

What We Offer You

Our people are at the heart of our strategy and our decisions. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, a dynamic and friendly team environment, the opportunity to support a highly successful portfolio of programmes, and support to develop your skills and progress in your career. The diversity of our workforce makes ASI a great place to work, more creative and resourceful, and underpins strong partnerships. We keep a sharp focus on diversity and inclusion, including through our Equality Action Plan and our Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and through leadership from our Executive Team and oversight by our Board. We recognise the importance of your life outside of work. We are proud to support flexible working arrangements and commit to make a success of flexible working arrangements wherever possible. We’ve built a culture to reflect our values, full of likeminded professionals who are smart, passionate and great at what they do. ASI is committed to continually improving the diversity of our workforce through the attraction, retention and development of a diverse range of talented people. We want people to be comfortable bringing their whole self to work and recognise that inclusion brings further opportunities for innovation and creativity.

Deadline for applications is Tuesday, 25th August 2026.