Company Description

ShareAction is an independent charity and an expert on responsible investment. We work to build a world where the financial system serves our planet and its people. We set ambitious standards for how financial institutions, through their investment decisions, can protect our planet and its people and campaign for this approach to become the norm. We convene shareholders to collectively push companies to tackle climate crisis, protect nature, improve workers’ rights and shape healthier societies. In the UK and EU, we advocate for financial regulation that has society’s best interests at its core.

Position

What you’ll do (key responsibilities)

As part of ShareAction’s Investor Engagement Team, the Senior Engagement & Advocacy Manager (Charities and Universities) is responsible for leading and managing the secretariat of the Responsible Investment Network – Universities (RINU) and Charities Responsible Investment Network (CRIN). These are two vibrant communities, comprised of the finance/investment leads of UK-based higher education institutions and charities whose aim is to support each other in investing their assets responsibly, in line with their organisational values and missions. ShareAction provides the secretariat for both networks.

The role is key to supporting these networks of mission-driven investors to implement responsible investment practices and approaches - and to drive up ambition - by ensuring that network members have the resources and support required to be active, collaborative, responsible investors, and that they are positioned as leaders in their respective sectors. The role involves engaging members in network activities to create a thriving community, as well as overseeing the development and delivery of the annual work plans of events, research, and advocacy. It also involves developing the strategy and managing the budgets for the networks, as well as managing and supporting the work of other secretariat members.

As part of this role, you will regularly be engaging with the thirty-plus member organisations of the two networks, forming great relationships, and using your skills to shape a programme of research, events and discussions which support and enable leading practice. You will ensure the smooth delivery of regular communications and information-sharing and enable member participation in investor coalitions and engagements with companies and policymakers led by other ShareAction teams. You will line manage one direct report and work with other members of the wider team to ensure the research needs of the networks are met. You’ll also be responsible for managing a budget and for ensuring we monitor progress, evaluate impact and continuously improve our approach.

If this role sounds like something that would build on your current skill set and engage you, we’d love to hear from you! Keep in mind that some people will want to work with us more for the themes we focus on, rather than the responsible investment angle, so please ensure you explain how the role aligns with our core themes.

Requirements

What you’ll bring to the team

We want to hear from you if you’re highly skilled in relationship-building and project management, and you have a deep interest in making the investment system work for people and the planet. We think this role would suit someone who has previous experience in community and network building or advocacy, and who enjoys spending a lot of their time talking to and listening to others. Experience of facilitating and chairing meetings and events would be a big plus, as would experience of either the charity or higher education sectors. While we hope we’ll find someone with the majority of these skills and experience we’re keen to hear from you, even if you don’t have them all. We appreciate lots of skills are transferable and we welcome opportunities to explore different ways of achieving our goals.

We are currently formalising our hybrid working policy, however, the team meets in the office on a regular basis and this role involves a lot of meetings with London based stakeholders, so there is an expectation that you will be able to attend the office or meetings on average 6 times a month.

What we will do for you

We are a fast-paced organisation that has grown substantially over the past few years. We recognise that our people work hard to advocate for responsible investment and drive meaningful engagement with those who have the power to create a brighter future. Every day they bring their expertise, passion and persistence to build a world where the financial system serves our people and planet. We want to ensure we provide the right environment for our colleagues to thrive and we are committed to improving our employee offer where possible.

Currently we are pleased to offer:

Commitment to flexible working; over 60% of our employees have some sort of flexible working arrangement in place
Hybrid working; we are committed to supporting our staff to work in a way that suits their lifestyle and meets the requirements of their role
Internal promotion and development opportunities; we offer a range of ways to improve your skills and focus on what you love, including promotion, secondment, or sideways development opportunities. For some levels of roles, we also offer direct progression.
Opportunity to help make a difference; we tackle some of the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges. We offer opportunities for you to develop your skills and experience in a friendly, flexible and supportive working environment.
Unionised work environment; our staff have the opportunity to join the union, and are supported by our recognised union, Unite. We regularly consult and negotiate with our employees on workplace matters ranging from working conditions to pay.
Regular in-person meetings; including all-staff away days, retreats and directorate strategy days to create connected teams.
8% non-contributory pension; invested with NEST and their green funds.
Healthcare cash plan; with Westfield that gives you money back on your healthcare costs.
Employee assistance programme; advice and support, lifestyle discounts and short-term counselling.
25 days’ annual leave (increasing with length of service) plus office closure at the end of the year; ensuring everyone gets time to switch off together.
Enhanced family leave pay; up to 18 weeks’ paid at 90% for either parent.
Enhanced sick pay; starting at 5 weeks’ full pay from day 1.
Season ticket loan and cycle to work scheme.

Other information

Contract type: Permanent

Who it reports to: Co-Head of Investor Engagement

Salary: : £47,400 - £52,293 + 8% pension contribution

(We normally offer a starting salary at the start of the range)

Deadline for applications: Tuesday 14 January 2025 at 9:00 a.m.

Interview dates: First round – 22nd and 23rd January 2025 (online); Second round – 28th January 2025, in person at ShareAction’s office in East London)

ShareAction values and respects all differences in people (seen and unseen) and welcomes 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 we are working hard to provide an environment where all can bring their authentic selves to work. We know that some people won’t apply for a role unless they meet all the requirements listed in the job description. If this is the case for you, but you think you would excel in this role, we want to hear from you!

Our hiring process is anonymised, we won’t ask for a cover letter and we don’t look at CVs until the interview stage. We do this so that we reduce the opportunity for unconscious biases to affect our decision making and so we prioritise skills and expertise over how well you can write a CV.

We also actively encourage incoming staff to consider flexible working arrangements; recognising that a better work-life balance can improve employee motivation, performance and reduce stress. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility you need. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

While we embrace hybrid working at ShareAction, we also think there is a lot of value in spending time together in person. We run all-staff away days, a yearly retreat and more regular team and directorate meet-ups so that we can develop our ideas and plans together. As part of the induction process, we’ll invite you to our office in Aldgate so you can meet and get to know your line manager, team and others from across the organisation.

To be considered for this post you must be legally eligible to work in the UK, unfortunately we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.

Please note that using Artificial Intelligence to answer the application questions is not recommended, and it could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools will not accurately reflect your skills, knowledge or experience. It is crucial that you personalise your application by articulating these in your unique voice. If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, we ask you to declare this clearly in your submission.

Attachments

Senior Engagement & Advocacy Manager Candidate Pack.pdf

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