Division: CIO Office

Location: United Kingdom, London

Employment Type: Intern

Salary: £59, 415

Closing Date: 09 December 2022

Summer Intern – Office of the Chief Investment Officer (OCIO)

Our mission and objectives

• British International Investment is the UK’s development finance institution, owned by the UK Government. We invest with the aim of solving the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation.
• We have over 70 years of experience successfully supporting the sustainable, long-term growth of businesses in Africa and Asia, and have recently expanded to invest in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean.
• We invest to achieve impact and a financial return which is then reinvested for more impact. Over the past five years, we have committed almost £7 billion of new investments, with our net assets growing in value to approximately £7.5 billion. We are now invested in 1,200 businesses which directly employ over 900,000 workers and support many more. Over the next five years, we plan to grow further, and aim to commit around £9 billion of new investments over the period.
• Our new five-year strategy responds to the opportunities and challenges facing developing and emerging economies. To ensure our capital is used in the best way possible to meet these opportunities and challenges, it sets out three clear strategic objectives – to invest in productive, sustainable and inclusive development. These objectives mean an increased focus on climate finance, including investing in green infrastructure; on financing digital transformation; and on driving inclusive outcomes, including through gender and diversity finance.
• As part of our new strategy, we have changed our name to British International Investment (from 4 April 2022), to more accurately reflect our central role in the UK Government’s international financing offer.
• In the last few years, we have expanded our presence in Africa and Asia by opening new offices in Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan and Ghana; with additional locations opening soon.
• We take an entrepreneurial approach to investment. We think innovatively about ways to deploy our capital, attract, and mobilise other investors, and drive transformational impact.
• Deliver impact. We are a growing team of over 500 and place immense value on diversity within our organisation.
• Read more about us and the new strategy at bii.co.uk

Team and role overview

The internship will work across two teams within the Office of the Chief Investment Officer: (i) Special Situations and (ii) Asset Allocation and Capital Solutions (AACS).

• The Special Situations Team ensures that distressed investments across all BII’s products (Debt, Equity, Funds & Capital Partnerships) and sectors are managed in accordance with BII’s policies, objectives, and values taking a pro-active approach to re-building value and resolving problems of under-performance and/or non-compliance at investment level across the BII portfolio.
• For 50% of the internship, the role will provide support across products and sectors within Special Situations, based on the candidates’ interests / development aspirations and the team’s needs at the start of the internship.
• The selected candidate will work closely with on distressed investments managed by the Special Situations team, thereby forging relationships with BII’s team members and external counterparts involved in the management of these assets and gaining exposure to sources of distress and approaches to investments restructuring, workouts, and exits.

• The AACS team is a newly created function that works across two new priority areas for BII:

1. Asset Allocation: Providing strategic direction on shaping BII’s future portfolio to deliver BII’s impact and financial objectives across geographies, sectors and products. The team provides an anchor point to prioritise and guide decision-making on these opportunities, in collaboration with key partners across the firm
2. Capital Solutions: Providing the tools to deliver BII’s development goals, either through existing pools of capital (Growth, Catalyst, BII Plus) or with new pools of capital, for which key parameters around impact, risk, return and governance must be designed.

Each of these capabilities rely on providing meaningful business intelligence and portfolio analysis to support leadership and decision making, in service of the Asset Allocation and Capital Solutions ambitions and the broader BII business. 

• For the remaining 50% of the internship, the role will have a primary focus on the build out of the Capital Solutions function, participating to the design and launch of new pools of capital solutions enabling to unlock participation from other investors, working with deal teams across BII as a champion for Capital Solutions’ innovative portfolio, and working through the details of certain transactions to ensure that DFIs best practices and principles on blended finance are being upheld. The candidate will also support the broader AACS team on a few specific projects.

The candidate

The successful candidate should be studying towards a MBA or equivalent programme and demonstrate:

• Interest in development finance in emerging markets (professional experience working in relevant markets would be desirable);
• Suitable experience from an investment institution. Experience in sustainable, responsible or impact investing is a plus;
• Experience in transactions analysis and portfolio monitoring, reviewing company reports, monitoring compliance, spotting and flagging underperformance issues (early warning signs) and preparing and presenting investment recommendations for the investment committee;
• Experience independently analysing debt and/or equity investments and contributing to the (re)structuring or exit of a transactions;
• Excellent project management skills, including independently driving workstreams. End-to-end transactions execution skills is a plus.
• Be able to work on multiple projects across products and sectors while working to deadlines and managing time effectively;
• Strong communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal
• Business fluency in English both verbal and written; the ability to speak another language used in BII markets would be advantageous but is not a prerequisite (e.g. French)
• Creative, innovative and entrepreneurial spirit. Comfort with pioneering a path where none exists. Equally, able to prioritise and focus energy on key outcomes;
• Ability to work collaboratively across sector and product teams, and to engage with stakeholders at all levels;
• The ideal candidate is excited by the complexity and ambiguity of the markets and products BII operate with and within and should be smart, fun, collaborative, creative, entrepreneurial, solution-oriented, open-minded and effective, flexible in nature as we build a new function and team;
• Must be highly driven by BII’s development mandate, and enthusiastic for the chance to establish BII as a pioneer in the field of market-building, higher risk investing, and ideally demonstrate some commitment to development or social goals through previous professional or personal activity.

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;

BII 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.  

Application Process 

• Please provide a cover letter with your application, and tell us why you would like to join the Summer Internship at BII, and why you have chosen to apply for this business area / team
• Please apply for one internship only
• Position opened: October 24^th, 2022
• Position closes: December 9^th, 2022
• Salary: £59, 415 (pro-rated over 8 or 10 weeks)

Please note BII will pay for flights to London for those studying internationally