Assistant Manager - Public Financial Management Team

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Location: London, New Delhi or Nairobi

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. Company‑wide, both our pipeline of business opportunities and portfolio of programmes are growing. We want to recruit high calibre candidates to support the continued growth and delivery of our global portfolio against the quality and high ethical standards that we and our clients require. This is an exciting time to join Adam Smith International and become part of a team of bright, dynamic and committed people, determined to transform lives for the better.

The Public Finance Management Team: The Public Finance Management (PFM) team at Adam Smith International works with governments and development partners to strengthen how public resources are raised, managed, and used. Our work focuses on improving fiscal governance, domestic revenue mobilisation, budget planning and execution, fiscal federalism, public sector accountability, and institutional reform in fragile, low‑income, and reforming contexts. A core part of the team’s work is delivered through the Public Finance Resource Centre (PFRC), a UK‑funded facility providing technical assistance on public finance and revenue reform to governments across priority countries. The team manages a diverse and growing global portfolio, including long‑term engagements with revenue authorities such as the Kenya Revenue Authority and complex reform programmes in Somalia, Bangladesh, and other politically sensitive environments. For example, our Somalia portfolio includes work on fiscal federalism, customs modernisation, revenue mobilisation, and civil service reform, while in South Asia the team supports central bank and financial sector reforms, including organisational restructuring, governance reform, and institutional strengthening at Bangladesh Bank. We work closely with FCDO, the EU, multilateral institutions, and national counterparts, combining technical depth with strong programme management and political economy awareness. The team is highly collaborative, delivery‑focused, and increasingly localised, with strong in‑country partnerships and teams.

About the Role: The Professional Development Scheme is a 12‑month programme that offers you the opportunity to perform different project management and business development responsibilities across our different service lines and gives you the knowledge and skills to kick‑start a career in international development. The scheme is designed to challenge and support you and give you the knowledge and skills to kick‑start your career in international development. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with, support and learn from more experienced Managers across different teams and discover which areas of the business best align with your skillset and interest. 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‑focussed organisation, ideally working directly in one of the PFM team’s core practice areas.
• Demonstrated experience of using initiative, client‑orientation, risk taking, and working in complex and time‑pressed 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.
• You must have a pre‑existing right to work in the UK/Kenya/India.

The deadline for applications is 8th March 2026.