Policy, Strategy and Innovation (PSI) Trainee

You will join as part of the Investment20/20 programme.

About the Investment Association: “At the IA, we are committed to serving our members, embracing new ideas and striving for excellence. We are inclusive, considerate and act with integrity in all we do.” The IA champions UK investment management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £10 trillion of assets. Our mission is to make investment better. Better for clients, so they achieve their financial goals. Better for companies, so they get the capital they need to grow. And better for the economy, so everyone prospers.

Our purpose is to ensure investment managers are in the best possible position to:

• Build people’s resilience to financial adversity
• Help people achieve their financial aspirations
• Enable people to maintain a decent standard of living as they grow older
• Contribute to economic growth through the efficient allocation of capital.

The money our members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs. The UK is the second largest investment management centre in the world, after the US and manages £5.1 trillion in overseas client AUM.

Overview of the Role:

Job purpose: The Assistant Policy Adviser will be responsible for providing essential support to the preparation and delivery of retail fund market policy initiatives and projects, within the PSI Division, but also other Divisions as appropriate. The role aims to ensure effective support and assistance to the delivery of IA retail policy initiatives, enhancing member support and helping the team to drive the strategic goals of the IA in the retail investment sector. The position requires strong organisational, communication, and relationship-building skills, as well as a collaborative and proactive approach to supporting the IA’s policy goals and member firms.

Key Responsibilities:

• Policy Support and delivery: Support the drafting of policy papers, positions, and responses to consultations and discussion papers. Provide general and research support on relevant policy areas, contributing to the development of industry standards and best practices. Translate regulatory and industry developments into clear IA outputs: circulars, member briefings, presentations, talking points and timely preparation of committee materials. Keep abreast of research and policy development in relevant areas and flag issues that affect the IA/industry. Coordinate and support the Head of Retail Market Delivery and PSI colleagues, ensuring the timely and high-quality completion of deliverables. Build and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, members, policymakers, regulators, and other key stakeholders. Act as a point of contact to answer ad hoc and regular queries from members and coordinate team responses to requests for information or action points from meetings, working groups or committees.
• Project management and digital skills: Support the Head of Retail Market Delivery and the Senior Adviser (Retail Markets) with the planning, execution, and monitoring of retail projects, ensuring they are delivered on time and in line with expectations. Support the delivery of IA retail strategy initiatives tied to ongoing regulatory developments. Contribute to internal delivery routines, helping the team meet organisational deadlines and standards. Create, edit and format high‑quality documents and presentations using Microsoft 365 in line with IA brand guidelines. Use digital tools (e.g., Microsoft 365 Copilot) to accelerate preparation of minutes/briefs/presentations and to improve team workflows; share good practice prompts and templates.
• Skills, knowledge and expertise: Strong policy interpretation and problem-solving skills with a proven capacity to understand regulatory and policy matters and deliver precise, actionable insights. Good working knowledge of UK retail investment regulation and current themes, with a willingness to deepen expertise. Proactive and results oriented. Strong coordination and organisational skills; attention to detail and follow‑through under time pressure. Strong MS Office skills (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Teams); comfortable using collaboration tools (SharePoint/OneDrive) and AI assistants (Copilot).
• Collaboration and teamwork: Collaborative team player, committed to providing high‑quality service to members and supporting colleagues. Willingness to engage in constructive debate and remain open to feedback and new perspectives. Committee/secretariat experience (agendas, papers, minutes) and confident meeting facilitation support. Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills across internal/external audiences.
• Behaviours and values: Member‑first mindset: anticipates needs, responds promptly and professionally. Inclusive, considerate and of high integrity; builds trust and models IA values. Embraces new ideas and digital tools; shares know‑how to improve team efficiency. Collaborative, dependable and solutions‑oriented; takes ownership of outcomes.

Please note applications may close earlier than advertised due to high demand. Please note this job description describes (but does not limit) the main duties and responsibilities of the job. These are subject to variation by the IA as is necessary to respond to changes, both internal and external, which the Association experiences.