Heiner was a research officer at ODI, working on social policy, predominantly in low- and lower-middle income countries. His focus was the (quantitative) measurement of the poverty-reducing effects of existing or proposed cash transfers interventions. He holds a MSc in Public Policy specialising in Social Protection.

He has over five years of experience working on social protection with the German Development cooperation (GIZ HQ and Bangladesh, BMZ Berlin), the World Bank in Washington, D.C., as well as Development Pathways in London, where he worked for clients such as the Department for International Development, UNICEF, World Food Programme and the International Labour Organization.

Next to social policy and social protection, his interests are – among others – in poverty and inequality measurement (including taxes), analysing the effects of disability and Sustainable Development Goals monitoring.