Location: Westminster, London (hybrid)
Contract: Full-time (open to part-time or flexible hours)
Start: ASAP
Compensation: £35,000–£45,000 + performance bonus

About Public First

Public First is a policy, research, opinion and strategy consultancy. We work with global companies, governments, start ups, institutions and foundations around the world to tackle major public policy and strategic challenges.

We are part think tank, part strategic consultancy, part polling company, and part communications agency. In other words, we bring together the different disciplines that make policy happen and work.

Our recent projects have included:

• Helping Google quantify their economic and social impact in over 20 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and North America.

• Examining the future of British media and entertainment with Sky.

• Running the Hybrid Work Commission on the economic and policy impact of the shift towards more flexible working.

• Measuring the economic impact of Uber in over 15 countries, including in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America.

• Exploring public attitudes to AI in the UK and US.

The role

We’re hiring a Junior Business Development Lead to help our Economics Team grow. You’ll sit between client needs and our economics, modelling and research delivery, turning capabilities into compelling proposals, maintaining a healthy pipeline, and shaping the content and relationships that win work.

This is a hands-on role suited to someone commercially curious, highly organised, and comfortable working with economists, researchers and partners to get great ideas over the line.

What you’ll do

• Oversee the pipeline: Build and maintain a live view of leads and opportunities (CRM), run weekly pipeline reviews, and drive next actions.
  
  

• Proposals & bids: Co-ordinate scoping; draft capability narratives, methodologies and timelines; assemble CVs and case studies; support pricing, SoWs and compliance; manage RFP portals and frameworks.
  
  

• Prospecting & outreach: Map priority sectors/clients; craft targeted outreach; book intro calls; support events/roundtables and follow-ups.
  
  

• Sales materials: Keep our capability deck, bios, case studies and one-pagers sharp and current; turn fresh project results into reusable proofs-of-impact.
  
  

• Market intelligence: Track policy, funding and procurement signals; spot timely angles for outreach and thought leadership.
  
  

• Handover to delivery: Ensure smooth transitions from proposal to project kick-off with clear scopes, milestones and stakeholders.
  
  

What you’ll bring

• Entrepreneurial mindset— independent, moves fast and actively looking for new opportunities. Able to translate economic or policy work into client value propositions.
  
  

• Excellent writing—clear, persuasive, concise; comfortable tailoring tone to policy, corporate and technical audiences.
  
  

• Project management rigour—able to juggle deadlines, stakeholders and version control without dropping details.
  
  

• Tools fluency—confident with CRMs, slide decks, Google Workspace/MS Office.

Previous experience in business development is a definite plus, but not essential for the right candidate.

Nice to have: Experience with UK public sector tenders/frameworks; familiarity with impact measurement, economic modelling, polling or policy evaluation; basic data literacy (e.g., reading charts, understanding methods).

Why join

• Work with a high-impact economics team on projects that inform policy and strategy for leading organisations.
  
  

• Hybrid, family-friendly culture based in Westminster.
  
  
  

How to apply

Click Apply and upload:

1. Your CV;
   
   

2. A short cover note (max 300 words) on why you’re a fit and a recent example of persuading a stakeholder.

You will then be asked three questions as part of our initial assessment. 

We’re interviewing on a rolling basis. A short practical exercise (≤3 hours) may be included prior to interviews. Final-round interviews are in person at our Westminster office. We value diversity and encourage applications from all groups.