Margarita Gómez founded and led the People in Government Lab (PeopleGov) at the Blavatnik School of Government, the School's innovation-in-government research centre aiming to improve the motivation, responsiveness, and effectiveness of people working in government.

Previously, she established and led the first Behavioural Unit in Mexico and served as principal advisor to the Minister of Public Safety and Ministry of Defence in Mexico. Margarita has more than 12 years' experience working to build better governments and to design more effective public policies, with an emphasis on the Global South.

Throughout her career, she has blended practice and theory, working in both the public sector and academia. She has led applied research projects on public sector transformation, women’s participation in economic activities and STEM careers, and corruption and public employees’ ethical behaviours. Margarita has also taught university courses and executive workshops on behavioural sciences, design thinking, and organisational change in Colombia, Chile, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Mexico.

Currently, Margarita is a Visiting Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government and a Senior Research Fellow at the Public Management and Technology Innovation Lab of the Autonomous University of Madrid. She is also the Behavioural Advisor of the Asian Development Bank’s Innovation Hub and founder of the Latinamente Behavioural Network.

At Oxford University, she also acts as College Advisor at St Antony’s College and Affiliate at the Latin American Centre.