Senior Research Officer – Financial Sector

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

ShareAction’s Financial Sector Research team works towards holding financial institutions accountable for their impact on climate change, human rights, biodiversity, and other important issues.

A key part of this work is holding the asset management industry accountable for how they vote on environmental and social issues at the annual meetings of the companies in which they invest.

The asset management sector holds a huge amount of influence over the world’s largest companies. The largest four asset managers in the world alone manage over $20 trillion in assets, greater than the entire GDP of the USA. While many of these large asset managers publicly claim to be taking environmental and social issues seriously, often, these claims do not hold up to scrutiny.

In this role, you will have many opportunities to challenge the asset management sector and Financial Sector more broadly by contributing to:

• Our Financial Sector benchmarks, covering asset managers, banks, and insurance companies
• Our annual report on the voting behaviour of the world’s largest asset managers
• Coordination with civil society allies to maximise our combined impact
• Engagement with relevant institutions and providing them with detailed recommendations for improvement
• Communication of our research findings in blogs or webinars

Position

Working alongside seven 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. We will ensure that you receive sufficient support and oversight to ensure you feel comfortable and knowledgeable in delivering this bold and challenging research.

This is a very exciting time to be joining the team. We are currently undertaking the third instalment of our comprehensive benchmark of the asset manager sector, as well as our asset manager voting report. In this rapidly evolving field, we are looking for a person with excellent research and communication skills and the passion to make a difference to join our team.

Key responsibilities

• Analysing quantitative and qualitative data and writing reports on asset managers’ voting behaviour
• Using Excel and Python to develop systems to analyse and organise large datasets
• Presenting findings of our work to external and internal stakeholders through blogs, presentations, webinars, and roundtables, including the coordination of these events
• Instigating, developing and managing relationships with financial institutions, inviting them to participate in our research, as well as answering technical questions
• Instigating, developing and managing relationships with civil society stakeholders, including the Sunrise vote accountability network
• Organising and planning work with a high level of autonomy, leading small groups in their contribution to our analyses of asset managers’ voting behaviour and providing guidance to staff on workstreams where relevant
• Monitoring and evaluating the impact of relevant projects, as well as contributing to funding bids and reporting on KPIs to funders where appropriate
• Supporting the wider Financial Sector Research team to deliver other pieces of research that may be more complex and non-routine as part of the asset manager and insurance sector benchmarks
• Keeping up to date on relevant news and information on the Financial Sector and the thematic areas covered by our work

Requirements

We welcome anyone who shares our passion for environmental and social justice through the transformation of the Financial Sector. Please feel free to apply even if you’re not sure you tick every box.

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 and a proven ability to manage competing demands while still meeting deadlines
• Strong communication skills in written and spoken English
• Competency with Microsoft Excel, including writing formulae and building charts
• Strong teamwork skills and the ability to work collaboratively
• 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
• Experience giving presentations
• Any experience in programming, particularly an interest in learning Python for data processing
• Experience with managing relationships with external stakeholders
• Experience with Microsoft Office 365, particularly SharePoint
• Experience with CRM systems, ideally Salesforce

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 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 consider flexible working arrangements, recognising that a better work/life balance can improve employee motivation, performance and productivity and reduce stress. Therefore, we want to support our employees to achieve a better balance between work and their other priorities, such as caring responsibilities, leisure activities, further learning and other interests. We are committed to agreeing any flexible working arrangements, provided that the needs and objectives of both the organisation and the employee can be met. 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.

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 and 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.

For further information and to apply, please visit our website via the Apply button.

Closing date: 9am on Monday 10 June 2024

Interview dates: First round w/c 17 June 2024; second round w/c 24 June 2024

Please note that to be considered for this post, you must be legally eligible to work in the UK. Due to current restrictions, we are unable to hire anyone that isn’t already living in the UK. Due to our size, we are unable to sponsor visas.

Please be aware that when shortlisting, we are looking for a sense of a candidate's unique voice and individual experience, especially if you are using generative AI tools as part of your drafting process.