Expression of Interest: Manager, Digital Public Finance

Location: London or Nairobi

Service area(s): Governance & Stability – Public Financial Management (Digital)

About ASI

Adam Smith International is a strategic development company that helps people prosper by making economies stronger, societies safer, and governments more effective. Our clients are governments, international organisations, companies, and foundations. They come to us to develop strategies and to design, deliver and evaluate programmes that, in turn, stimulate growth, stability and good governance. 

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 dedicated to making a meaningful difference in complex, challenging situations and we are committed to corporate integrity and a triple bottom line of social, environmental and financial performance.

About the role

ASI’s Public Financial Management (PFM) team, part of our Governance and Stability Practice, helps governments raise, allocate, spend and account for public money more effectively. A fast-growing part of this work is digital public finance: how governments use technology, data and digital public infrastructure to transform their financial management systems – from budget and treasury systems and government payments to data exchange, interoperability and fiscal transparency platforms. Alongside our traditional bilateral and multilateral clients, we increasingly work with philanthropic foundations and specialist digital delivery partners to design and deliver this work across Africa, Asia and fragile and conflict-affected states.

We are looking for a Manager to help build and deliver our digital public finance portfolio. This role is open to candidates based in the UK or Kenya. This a hybrid role that sits at the intersection of technology, product and government. You will understand what it takes to build digital products and how large systems fit together, and you will be just as comfortable working with finance ministry officials as with engineers. You will help shape new ideas and partnerships, oversee the delivery of digital PFM work day to day, and keep projects on track and on budget. This is an exciting opportunity to shape a new and growing area of work within ASI.

Key tasks and responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

Growing the digital portfolio 

• Help shape and grow ASI’s digital public finance portfolio: identify opportunities, develop concepts and turn ideas into fundable proposals for foundations, multilateral and bilateral funders.

• Lead ideation and early-stage design of new offers – scoping user needs and problems, and testing ideas with governments, funders and partners.

• Build and maintain relationships with digital partners, govtech firms, technology providers and foundations.

• Keep abreast of developments in govtech, digital public infrastructure (DPI), data and AI in public finance, and turn them into ideas, briefs and thought leadership.

• Manage the digital pipeline and contribute to technical and commercial proposals as an effective member of bid teams.
  

Product and technical delivery 

• Act as the bridge between government counterparts, technical experts, developers and funders – translating policy and institutional needs into clear product requirements, and technical options into language decision-makers understand.

• Oversee the product lifecycle on our digital engagements: discovery and user research, prototyping, testing, iteration and roll-out, using agile and user-centred ways of working.

• Review technical designs and system architecture, including integration with existing government systems (e.g. IFMIS, payments, budget and data-exchange systems), and advise on interoperability, data protection, security and long-term sustainability.

• Assess build, buy and reuse options, including open-source tools and DPI building blocks, with a view to what governments can realistically adopt, own and maintain.

• Where useful, do hands-on work yourself – quick prototypes, data analysis or scripting – to test ideas and move work forward.

Project and financial management 

• Manage day-to-day delivery of projects to time, quality and budget: workplans, deliverables, risks and issues, and narrative reporting to clients and partners.

• Manage project finances: budgets, financial tracking and forecasting, invoicing and financial reporting.

• Coordinate experts, subcontractors and implementing partners, including recruitment and contracting, and ensure compliance with ASI and client processes.

• Build strong working relationships with project associates and with ASI’s technical, geographic and finance teams.

About you 

You are a builder who understands government. You have worked on digital products or technology delivery – whether in government, govtech, civic tech, international development or a tech start-up – and you know what it takes to take a product from idea to something people use. You understand how systems fit together, and you have a feel for how governments work: their incentives, constraints, procurement and politics. You are entrepreneurial, comfortable with ambiguity, and enjoy turning ideas into real opportunities, while being organised enough to keep delivery and finances on track.

Adam Smith International seeks the following skills and experience:

Essential

• A degree in computer science, engineering, data science, public policy, economics or another relevant field, or equivalent practical experience;

• Relevant experience at the intersection of technology and public policy or government (level will reflect experience);

• Hands-on experience building or managing digital products, for example as a product manager, technical project manager, developer or founder;

• Coding and technical literacy: working knowledge of at least one programming language (e.g. Python or JavaScript) and a sound understanding of how software is designed, built, tested and deployed, including APIs, databases and cloud services;

• Systems thinking: an understanding of how large information systems, data flows and integrations work, including the challenges of legacy systems;

• A good understanding of how government works – policy-making, budgeting, procurement and institutional and political constraints – ideally from working with or in government;

• Experience of project management and financial management (budgets, tracking, forecasting, reporting);

• Outstanding written and spoken English, with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences and policy context to technical teams;

• An entrepreneurial approach, with experience of developing new ideas, partnerships or business; 

• A pre-existing right to work in the UK or Kenya.

Desirable

• Knowledge of public financial management or digital public finance (e.g. IFMIS, government payments, Treasury Single Accounts, fiscal transparency);

• Experience with digital public infrastructure (digital identity, payments, data exchange), open-source solutions or digital government standards;

• Experience in a tech start-up or scale-up environment;

• Experience working with philanthropic foundations or other non-traditional funders;

• Experience of data analytics or AI applications in the public sector;

• Experience working in low- and middle-income or fragile contexts, and willingness to travel.

This role is intended for a professional who combines technical and product experience with an understanding of government and public policy. The level will be agreed based on experience. It requires someone who can move comfortably between strategy and detail – shaping new ideas with partners and funders one day, and reviewing a system design or a project budget the next – and who can earn the trust of both government officials and technical teams. ASI’s digital public finance portfolio is expanding, and this position offers the chance to help shape and grow it.

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.

Ready to Apply?

 We would love to hear from you. Please submit a CV (no more than 2 pages) and short cover letter. 
Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis.

Shortlisted applicants only will be contacted. Thank you for your consideration.

We are committed to equal opportunities and creating an inclusive environment for all our employees. We welcome applicants regardless of ethnic origin, national origin, gender, race, colour, religious beliefs, disability, sexual orientation or age. We’re happy to talk flexible working.