ShareAction and the global system of Finance

It is said that "money makes the world go around" but the global financial system in its current form is in danger of making our world a very inhospitable place for future generations.

Today, the global financial system has a huge impact on many of the existential challenges we face. These include biodiversity loss, climate change and the growing gap between rich and poor in terms of both income and health. Investment, lending, and insuring decisions can enable destructive and exploitative industries, or they can support a transition to a more sustainable way of living and use of precious resources. ShareAction believes responsible investors must consider both social and environmental impacts as seriously as financial risk and return.

ShareAction's vision is of a world where the financial system serves our planet and its people. Our mission is to define the highest standards of responsible investment and to drive change until these standards are adopted worldwide.

We work towards our mission by: Advocating for change in the investment industry using our research and rankings. Campaigning with allies to strengthen investor stewardship and change corporate behaviour. Pushing for public policy reform to transform the financial system. Position

ShareAction's Financial Sector Research team works towards holding financial institutions accountable for their impact on climate change, human rights, biodiversity loss, and other important issues, by: Researching the sector's current performance and producing reports and rankings, covering asset managers , banks , insurance companies . Carrying out an annual workstream on shareholder voting . Engaging individually with relevant institutions and providing them with detailed recommendations for improvement. Monitoring how these recommendations are taken up between each assessment. Working alongside six other researchers, you would contribute to ShareAction's key reports ranking financial institutions. This involves collecting information from institutions and databases, analysing quantitative and qualitative data, producing engaging graphics to communicate results, and translating this analysis into actionable steps for financial institutions to take. You would collaborate with teams across ShareAction and may join meetings with financial institutions, other NGOs, or regulators, to discuss this research.

You would be joining us at an incredibly exciting time. ShareAction has grown, and the issues we work on are being taken increasingly seriously by industry and government. The Financial Sector Research team is publishing the next major survey of the insurance industry in 2024, checking if these "guardians of risk" are truly taking account of urgent global problems. We're also pressing on with our annual shareholder voting work: setting and monitoring Resolutions to Watch , and measuring how asset managers vote across a broader range of environmental and social resolutions at key global companies. You could meaningfully influence this research.

In this rapidly evolving field, we are looking for a person with excellent research and communication skills, and passion to make a difference, to join our team.

Key responsibilities Supporting with the development of ranking frameworks across the themes we assess climate change, biodiversity, and social issues. Conducting data collection and auditing, quantitative and qualitative analysis, report writing. Presenting our research at internal meetings and external audiences, primarily through webinars. Contacting and maintaining relationships with financial institutions to invite them to participate in our research, responding to queries about the research process, and meeting with them to discuss our findings. Participating in the development of personalised feedback sheets for post-survey engagement, and generalised recommendations with examples of leading practice. Organising, participating in and/or taking notes during follow-up meetings with financial institutions. Conducting exploratory research covering topic areas or sets of financial institutions which may be new to the team. Supporting the team by contributing information for fundraising bids and reports. Providing input to responses representing ShareAction's views on responsible investment-related topics to a range of public, private, and civil society consultations. Please note that responsibilities may be adjusted from time to time depending on the needs of the team/project.

Requirements

What you'll bring to the team

We welcome anyone who shares our passion for environmental and social justice through transformation of the financial sector.

Please feel free to apply even if you're not 100 per cent sure that you tick every box. If you believe you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply and use the application questions to tell us about your experience, and what you hope to bring to our organisation.

Essential Excellent analytical skills, attention to detail, and a proven ability to conduct qualitative and quantitative research. A broad understanding of how the financial sector works, and how financial institutions can have an impact on environmental and social issues. A keen interest in driving the finance sector (particularly asset managers and insurers) to better serve people and planet. Excellent organisational skills, proven ability to manage competing demands while still meeting deadlines. Strong communication skills in written and spoken English. A high degree of familiarity with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Strong teamwork skills, the ability to work collaboratively. The desire to join a dynamic, creative team using data and evidence to drive change. A passion for ShareAction's vision and mission. Desirable Subject matter knowledge in climate change, biodiversity, or human/labour rights. Knowledge of/experience with the finance sector; an understanding of responsible investment and its implications for different types of financial institutions. Advanced Excel skills. Any experience programming, particularly an interest in learning Python for data processing. Experience with managing relationships with external stakeholders. Experience with Microsoft Office 365, particularly SharePoint. E xperience with CRM systems, ideally Salesforce. What we will do for you

Working with ShareAction will offer you the opportunity to achieve significant personal impact in one of the most respected and exciting organisations in the responsible investment space.

ShareAction seeks to offer all its employees an exceptional working experience with opportunities to develop existing and new skills, applying them in ways that help change the world for the better. You will be challenged but also supported very actively to succeed within a friendly, high performing and highly motivated team. You will be working in a diverse and growing team with plenty of opportunity to learn and develop skills. You will benefit from a highly supportive work environment, with a focus on equality, employee wellbeing and mental health. You will have access to a flexible office space in central London and regular social events with colleagues. You will have access to internal and external training opportunities, from formal training courses to informal 'lunch & learn' sessions with visiting speakers. We will also provide you with any training you may need to use our systems. For further information and to apply, please visit our website via the 'Apply' button.

Closing date: 9:00am on Tuesday 9 th January 2024.

Interview dates: First round week commencing 15 January. Second round week commencing 22 January 2024.

ShareAction values and respects all differences in people (seen and unseen) and welcome applications from all backgrounds, communities, and industries. We are committed to having a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences and abilities and so if you are not 100 per cent sure that you meet all the requirements but believe you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply and use the application questions to tell us about your experience and what you hope to bring to this role.

We also actively encourage staff to work in ways that best suit their needs and our flexible working policy outlines many of the options available- such as part-time and term-time working, job sharing, home working and working compressed hours. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility you need. We cannot promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

Please note that as part of the induction process, you will be expected to attend the London office in person during your first week in post, to cover items including Health & Safety, IT set-up, Office Orientation and Team member introductions.

ShareAction's London office is based in vibrant Aldgate and a short walk from Aldgate East underground. Remote working will remain the norm for many ShareAction staff, with office space available as described in London for those who wish to use it.

Please note that to be considered for this post you must be legally eligible to work in the UK . click apply for full job details