Imagine a role where your creativity is held in higher esteem than your numeracy skills. A position where it’s your curiosity that counts and your potential is key. This is Investment Research at Baillie Gifford.
Read moreWe’re looking for technology innovators, people who are passionate about exploring the latest technology to find new business solutions. Join this two-year rotational programme and you’ll gain hands-on experience with a wide range of cutting-edge technologies at all stages of the process.
Read moreWe’re looking for individuals who can take business challenges and transform them with technical solutions. If you have a passion for technology, then we can give you the skills to experience full stack development and the entire project lifecycle.
Read moreWe’re looking for people who always strive to make things better. Those people who think good, isn’t good enough. That is what you need to thrive in Business Operations. Join our two-year rotational programme for your chance to delve into the innermost workings of a global investment management business.
Read moreThis programme is the chance to do things differently. Instead of choosing a specialism from the outset, you’ll rotate through five different departments, giving you the opportunity to experience a variety of roles while studying for your CA qualification.
Read moreOur programmes open for applications from mid-August.
- The Accountancy Programme closes on the 29th October 2020.
- Application Development and Technical Infrastructure close on the 30th November 2020.
- The Investment Research and Business Operations Programmes close on the 21st December 2020.
We welcome applicants with degrees in any subject for all our graduate programmes. We expect a minimum 2:1 degree, with a Higher/A-level or equivalent in Maths for the Accountancy programme.
There’s no time limit on how long ago you gained your degree and we welcome applicants who have gained postgraduate work experience. For our Investment Research programme, we encourage applications from Masters and PhD students.
Yes, we’re open to candidates reapplying for our graduate programmes. However, if you received feedback from a previous interview process, we encourage you to take this feedback on board to improve your chances of success for any subsequent applications.
Our head office is in Edinburgh and all of our face to face interviews take place here. As all of our graduate programmes are based in our head office, if you accept a place, you’ll need to either relocate to Edinburgh or be able to commute to our Edinburgh office.
Currently, our graduate programmes are only located in our head office in Edinburgh. However, depending on your training programme, you may get the opportunity to travel. For example on the Investment Research Programme, you would typically be expected to travel both within the UK and internationally to attend conferences, visit companies and speak to experts.
Just get in touch. We’ll do everything we can to make our application process accessible for you. So, if you do need our support, please contact us at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help.
Baillie Gifford welcomes applications for our roles from all suitably qualified candidates though we are unable to comment on individuals right to work in the UK. Under the planned new immigration legislation we may be able to offer employment to candidates where the role qualifies for sponsorship however, further specific information on the new immigration system is still to be released in the coming months and we are closely monitoring this.
There’s no need to address your application to a particular person, as your application will be reviewed by a number of people in our early careers recruitment team.
You’ll receive an automated response when you submit your application to confirm that we’ve received it. We aim to get back to you within eight weeks of your application. However, depending on the number of applications we receive, timescales may vary. We begin screening applications from September. Interviews are scheduled and offers are made on an ongoing basis, so we’d encourage you to apply sooner rather than later.
It is important that you know how you’re performing, and regular feedback can be motivating and energising. At Baillie Gifford we have a Performance and Development Framework which encourages year-round conversation including regular check-ins, career conversations, ongoing feedback, objective setting and an end of year performance review.
All our programmes start in September 2021, apart from Accountancy which starts in August 2021.
I was impressed by the wide array of advanced technologies that Baillie Gifford were applying to the applications used within the firm. Some of the languages are used widely within web development today and weren’t introduced to me as part of my degree course, so that really piqued my interest. Reading up around the company, I also discovered that Baillie Gifford are researching the different applications of AI. This is an area that really interests me, so I decided to apply to their graduate scheme.
I’m currently working in the Emerging Technologies Team on a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) project. The team are trialing a number of different processes which they believe could benefit the firm if automated. In some cases, repetitive manual tasks are involved and over 32 spreadsheets must be populated, and so bot technology is used to collect data, then format and upload it. This project has been of particular benefit to the Marketing Intelligence team as the data being collected directly affects many operations in the firm.
The most interesting part of RPA has been developing and deploying solutions alongside an offshore team, as well as learning a new development tool - Blue Prism. It’s also been really useful to see how all the different departments in Baillie Gifford link together and feed into each other. The RPA software allows you to create processes, underpinned by business logic, rules and programming fundamentals, and it’s being used across various teams, including Compliance and the European Funds Operations Department.
There’s a really great support network at Baillie Gifford and you’re always being encouraged to get involved in industry events. If you want to attend a particular event or training course, then you just need to ask. I’m really interested in blockchain technology and recently attended a conference in London on the topic.
I applied to lots of different firms because I wanted to find the right fit, but Baillie Gifford really stood out. The whole interview process is very personal and, since I’ve joined, it’s like being a member of an extended family. I never felt out of place and my colleagues always make themselves available to answer any questions I might have or help me through any difficulties.
Having spent time on rotation with the Infrastructure Service Delivery team, where tasks have included setting up and configuring Cisco IP Phones and adding new policies to firewalls, my next rotation will be in the Security Access Management team, which is more akin to what I studied at university. With all the experience I’m gaining, it’s really easy to see myself developing over the long-term here, and I’m looking forward to contributing to the growth of the firm.
One of the most challenging aspects of the programme has been getting to know all the internal processes at the firm. It takes time to learn how everything fits together, but there are always people on hand to help. My mentor is always there if I need someone to talk to, either on a personal or professional level. There’s also ongoing support from my Programme Manager, who I meet regularly and the line managers on each specific rotation. You’ll always get what you need if you ask the right questions of the right people.
Perhaps my biggest challenge has been adjusting to living and working in the UK. Especially the cold weather! That was definitely a bit of a shock when I got off the plane. The help I’ve received with the move, though, has really made a difference. I’ve been given some great pointers about finding a place to live and have met graduates from all the other training programmes. We all had lunch together, which was a great way to get to know people before I officially started at the firm. With Edinburgh you get the best of both worlds – peaceful green spaces, as well as the buzz of a capital city. I’m really enjoying exploring my new home.
The application process was straightforward. Some companies have 20 page online forms that take hours to complete. Here I had a lot of scope to put into my own words why I felt I was suited to the role, and at interview to say what I really thought.
With my degree background, I was a little worried that I’d be at a disadvantage – but I’ve not had a problem at all. I learnt so much in the two-year programme about the whole business cycle, with great training opportunities, and I had the chance to find out what interests me.
I liked the rotational nature of the graduate scheme. At the end of it you’ve experienced everything from Settlements to Risk to Systems to Audit. At first everything is new but you soon develop knowledge in so many different areas and build your own network of contacts around the business.
The people are friendly and approachable at all levels and I had lots of opportunities to attend meetings and lunches with senior partners. And it’s OK to ask questions: at times you might be helping colleagues to think about things in a completely new way.
If you’re interested in something, ask to be involved. For example, last year I helped co-found the Baillie Gifford LGBT network. Being gay, I understand that joining your first workplace after university can be a daunting experience. So for me it was important that those who identify as LGBT are encouraged to be themselves here. By creating the network we want to promote conversation around LGBT inclusion and support an open, respectful working environment.
I was looking for a graduate programme that would help me get a sense of the world outside academia. With a background in development research and consultancy, financial services wasn’t my original career focus, but Baillie Gifford was the only company in the industry that truly appealed. I discovered the firm’s emphasis on future-thinking, cognitive diversity, and long-term investment approaches valuing qualitative thinking alongside quantitative methods. I realised this was an attractive opportunity to learn more about the world.
During my time on the Japan team I have primarily focused on small-cap company research. This means I’m looking at the growth potential of smaller companies. Often these are software or tech companies looking to disrupt the established workings of their respective industries. As an example, one the first few companies I researched is aiming to become the Facebook of the cosmetics world with its leading advertising and CRM platform, allowing brands to interact with and manage a large pool of customers directly. Companies such as this are defining a shift from product-based business models to experience-based ones.
On a recent trip to Japan, I meet with 35 different companies. I was given the freedom to choose the companies I wanted to visit and design the objectives and content of my meetings. Speaking to CEOs leading companies from various industries was a great experience to have so early on in my career. There are no short-cuts to gaining practical experience in interviewing management teams and for me, these first-hand opportunities were invaluable. It has given me real context for the work I do day-to-day in Edinburgh.
A key learning point has been that working in investments is not simply about a set of discrete outputs. The work is always in-progress, as the performance of any one stock or investment case is monitored across a long time horizon. I’ve admired the patience of investment managers at Baillie Gifford in continually reflecting upon and revising their previous insights and workings. In my experience I’ve also found the firm on the whole to be a conscientiously self-reflective place. As a business, asking other companies about their management and culture has highlighted the importance of asking the same questions of ourselves.
In my final year at university, part of my coursework was about investing money in different portfolios. I was looking for the top-20 best performing funds for long-term investments. Six of the top-20 funds I identified were managed by Baillie Gifford, so when I discovered that they offered graduate trainee accountancy contracts, I was immediately interested. I didn’t realise that an investment management firm would offer accountancy training. I did some more research and the culture within the firm sounded really appealing, so I decided to go for it.
I applied to a number of other large accountancy firms, but the process seemed far more personal at Baillie Gifford. With Baillie Gifford, it’s different. The process was far more welcoming and I was interviewed by a person that I would go on to work with. With many of the larger firms, trainees move on after qualification, but I was encouraged to discover that the staff turnover at Baillie Gifford is very low. To me, this shows that they really look after their people.
My work on the programme has been very varied. One of my training projects was to look at different aspects of setting up a new entity in Shanghai, including putting together a business licence, preparing cashflow, estimating a five-year budget and creating a business plan for the regulator. This has helped me to really understand what’s involved in setting up a business. Within the Finance department I was responsible for the firm’s IT budget and helping to look after foreign tax jurisdictions including our Hong Kong and the US offices. Since qualifying, I’ve been able to really take the lead on projects, chairing meetings and taking questions, which I think shows a clear progression in my skills.
There are so many options to consider when it comes to my future here at Baillie Gifford. I could stay in the Finance team, move to Client Accounting or one of the Fund Accounting teams for North America or Europe. Baillie Gifford is really growing in Asia and the company has even provided a personal tutor for me to learn Mandarin. It’s been fantastic to be supported in this way and, after a year of lessons, I’m almost fluent!
Internship and Placement opportunities in Business Operations, Application Development and Technical Infrastructure.
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