Policy Adviser - Equity and Inclusive Finance

at  Department for Business and Trade

JOB SUMMARY

The Business Finance Policy team’s objective is to support entrepreneurs to access the finance they need to grow their businesses. We deliver this by understanding the UK’s debt and equity finance markets, identifying finance gaps, and developing policies and programmes to address them.
We work closely with the British Business Bank, which delivers and manages the government’s access to finance programmes for smaller businesses.
This role is to support access to finance for underserved groups and the UK’s most innovative companies through policy development to increase UK corporate investment in start-ups, increase the number of emerging venture capital fund managers entering the market, and support women-founded businesses to access finance.
The UK has the third largest venture capital ecosystem in the world. You will actively engage with the private sector and venture capital industry to support the most innovative and highest growth businesses in the UK. You will work on policy development across cutting-edge sectors, including space, cleantech, life-sciences, and deeptech.
Women-led businesses are under-represented across important parts of the economy, which can limit economic growth. We know that £250 billion could be added to the UK economy if women were given the opportunity to start and scale businesses at the same rate as men.
To help unlock the untapped potential of investing in women entrepreneurs, your role includes driving the expansion and development of the Investing in Women Code and its signatories, providing policy and operational support. The Code is a voluntary agreement led by the Department for Business and Trade that is world leading.
You will shape policy development for emerging areas such as disability entrepreneurs, and ethnic minority entrepreneurs, and lead on content creating for the Invest in Women Hub, an excellent online resource for female founders.
You will advise the Minister for Small Business on access to finance policy, and the development of any new programmes and policies.
This is an industry-facing role where you will build strong relationships with private sector stakeholders. You will have the opportunity to represent the Department at industry events, and will work closely with the British Business Bank to support policy sponsorship as the largest domestic investor in UK venture capital funds.

JOB DESCRIPTION

You will drive policy development on access to finance, working with the Assistant Director for Technology Finance and the Assistant Director for Women’s Entrepreneurship. You will:

• Support policy development to increase the number of emerging fund managers entering the UK market by building an evidence base on the barriers facing emerging fund managers.
• Support policy sponsorship of the British Business Bank for the Future Fund: Breakthrough and Enterprise Capital Funds. Including reviewing investment strategies, funding requests and the design of new programmes.
• Support the development and expansion of the Investing in Women Code, in partnership with the Code Partners: The British Business Bank, UK Business Angels Association, BVCA, UK Finance and Responsible Finance. The Code is a voluntary agreement for finance providers to increase access to finance for women-led businesses.
• Lead on communications for the Investing in Women Code, including onboarding of new finance providers, supporting current signatories, management of the inbox, and the organisation of upcoming events to build a sense of community.
• Support content creation for the Invest in Women Hub. The Hub is an online resource for women entrepreneurs. Typical tasks include interviewing inspirational women founders for case studies, organising regional events, sourcing content from partners and other parts of government.
• You will work with industry partners to increase corporate venture capital activity in the UK and for underrepresented founders through events, thought leadership, and policy interventions.
• Represent DBT and the Business Finance Policy team at industry events to increase the visibility of Government within the investment ecosystem for start-ups and underrepresented founders, and to proactively build relationships with industry professionals.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES & SKILLS

• A team player who is comfortable collaborating by default.
• Intellectual curiosity and a desire to develop expertise within their policy area.
• An enthusiasm for meeting people and building relationships.
• Good organisation skills to manage a high volume of communications.
• Demonstrate high levels of emotional intelligence and relationship management.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Policy