Join us and help make government smarter to solve the world’s hardest challenges
We’re a team of ambitious, mission-driven people. We care deeply about making the world better and we share a belief that government plays an essential role in tackling our greatest challenges, from the climate and refugee crises to cybersecurity and the future of jobs.
In 2022, for the third year, we were listed by Escape The City as one of the top 100 best companies to escape to based on employee reviews, our mission and the benefits and flexible working we offer.
Who we're looking for now
Please note that all applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Positions are London-based, unless stated.
We’re always happy to meet smart people who care about government. If you love the idea of working with us, drop us a line at careers@apolitical.co.
What you can expect at Apolitical
Our mission demands the purposeful, collaborative work of a talented and diverse team. To make this possible, these are the leadership principles we work by:
- Navigate by the mission: Apolitical leaders always start with why. We connect the why of any action to the why of our mission (to make government work better for people and the planet) and our primary value (public service first).
- Make no small plans: Apolitical leaders set goals that match the ambition and urgency of our mission, make difficult trade-offs, and focus. We know we will create more impact by achieving half of a daring endeavour than all of a timid one.
- Think deeply and critically: Apolitical leaders toggle constantly between the big picture and the detail. We assess both from first principles and do the work to communicate our thinking clearly. We listen deeply and value impartial data in our decision-making. We are inspired by the certainty that we don’t know what we don’t know.
- Act like pioneers: Apolitical leaders embrace the fact we are on a challenging and uncertain journey. We are motivated by curiosity and impatience with the status quo. We prioritise rapid adaptation and iteration, remembering that most decisions are reversible but that lost time is irretrievable. We are creative, resourceful, and practical problem-solvers.
- Operate as owners: Apolitical leaders act and make decisions in the best interests of the company, our team, and other teams. We take ownership of our work and hold ourselves accountable. We take initiative and proactively and willingly go outside of our areas of responsibility. When we surface problems, we propose solutions. We steward resources as if they were our own. And we take the long view, never sacrificing long-term value for short results.
- Earn trust: Apolitical leaders know that high trust enables us to take significant risks and rigorously debate ideas without colleagues feeling personally attacked. We default to trusting the intentions, abilities, and judgement of colleagues. We actively build trust by being candid but also kind and constructive. We default to transparency. We challenge ideas when we disagree, trusting that once a decision is made we may still disagree but we will all commit to it fully. We work just as obsessively to build trust outside of the company.
- Learn voraciously and curiously: Apolitical leaders have an unquenchable thirst to develop our skills, broaden and deepen our knowledge, and understand the complex systems, institutions, and technologies we work with. We seek learning near and far. We start with inviting constant feedback from our colleagues, and gratefully receiving it. We prize learning from doing. We think mistakes and failed experiments are inevitable but that failing to learn from them is neither inevitable nor acceptable.
- Raise standards: Apolitical leaders have high ambitions and high standards to match. We stretch the company so we can deliver better for the people we serve. This starts with setting the bar highest for ourselves. We continually challenge our team to raise their standards, knowing that raising standards raises the quality and imagination of solutions.
- Elevate the team: Apolitical leaders know our mission and the team wins when we hire and develop exceptional people. We elevate our team’s performance standards with every new hire and promotion. We invest in exceptional talent, and proactively and willingly find ways to stretch them, including in different teams. We remember that leaders develop leaders, and we never underestimate the long-term value we create with the time we spend mentoring and coaching others.
- Invest in joy and happiness: Apolitical leaders sign up for a journey that is hard, uncertain, and sometimes requires working long hours and navigating stressful periods. We know this makes joy and happiness even more essential. We honour the outsized responsibility we have over the happiness of our colleagues. We invest in improving this. We take our mission and goals seriously, but not ourselves. We treasure the tonics of humour and laughter.
The Apolitical Charter
Apolitical promises you:
- Impact: Advance one of the most important missions out there - helping governments be a powerful force for good all over the world.
- An Exceptional Team: Be surrounded by talented, caring colleagues and inspiring managers who help you up your game.
- Clarity: We will build a culture of giving and receiving honest feedback across the company. You will know how you are doing, as will we.
- Growth: Get autonomy and responsibility, which we support through a culture of aspirational, ongoing learning.
- Flexibility: We trust you to manage your own time and energy, and give you the freedom to optimise around it.
- Regard for wellbeing: We are thoughtful about, and supportive of, your wellness.
- Compensation: We pay you market standard compensation for your role. You will also own a stake in the company’s success, with stock options after your first year.
You promise your colleagues & company
- Exceptional Performance: You strive to embody Apolitical’s Leadership Principles - first and foremost to navigate by our mission.
- Well-intentioned candour: You default to giving and receiving thoughtful, rounded feedback to all the people you work with, knowing that this is how we grow.
- Ownership of your learning and career: You will reflect on yourself and where you’re going, so we can help you chart a course.
- Resilience: You will cultivate flexibility, patience and perspective for the times when things move fast - and you’ll remember that great endeavours take persistence.
Perks and benefits
(In addition to working with smart, kind people on one of the most important challenges of our time…)
🚀 Stock options: Our employee options plan gives you a stake in our vision.
🦋 Flexibility: Everyone works differently. Whether it’s early mornings, late nights or a day at home, we support what gives you energy and makes you effective.
🌴 Holidays: Unlimited holidays, trusting people to take what they need when they need it (and encouraging time off where people aren’t taking enough). As a restorative reboot, we give everyone on the team the last Friday of every month off.
💼 Office: We’re a hybrid working company, but when we’re at the office, we’re based 3 minutes from Elephant & Castle station, easily accessible from all areas of London. Our office is wheelchair accessible and we also have flexibility around remote work.
👶 Parental leave: Four months of maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
📚 Development: Learning and development budgets for books, conferences and courses. We also offer learning time off and have an extensive library to which every team member contributes their favourite book.
🎲 Socials: Monthly virtual and in-person socials. We aim to make activities, food and beverage at socials as inclusive as possible.
🌳 Financial wellbeing: Pension contribution on a banded scheme, salary sacrifice, and access to Maji, a financial planning tool to help you achieve your goals.
🧠 Knowledge-sharing: On Fridays, we have talks on Zoom from team members to public service members sharing their work.
🌻 Mental Wellbeing: Membership to Spill, supporting employee mental health through Slack.
🚴🏽♀️ Cycle-to-Work: We are registered on the UK’s Cycle-to-Work scheme, so you can buy a bike and cycling accessories tax-free.
💸 Discounts: Exclusive discounts and rewards at over 30,000 brands through CharlieHR.
Work with the Apolitical Academy
Apolitical Academy is an independent, non-profit venture established by the Apolitical Foundation & the Daniel Sachs Foundation. Our mission is to make the public service work for people everywhere by supporting the next generation of transformational public leaders.
Interest in the Academy should be directed to academy@apolitical.co.
Non-discrimination and equal opportunity policy
Apolitical is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, colour, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.