Banks Engagement Manager
Company Description
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 indeed for future generations.
Though it has lifted many out of poverty, today the global financial system has an oversized impact on many of the existential challenges we face. Biodiversity loss is such an example, as is 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. The latter approach is known as responsible or ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investment.
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
You will be joining us at an exciting time, when there is rising interest in how banks are addressing climate change risks and fostering the transition to a fairer, cleaner and safer world. This is a rapidly evolving field and we are looking for someone with excellent relationship skills and a passion to make a difference to join our team.
You will be responsible for supporting ShareAction’s banking work with high-quality engagement with banks and other stakeholders (such as NGO representatives, policy-makers, and investors), and contributing to the raising of standards in the banking industry on climate change (and other ESG issues going forward).
Key responsibilities:
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You will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships with the following, ensuring quality records are kept of interactions (meetings, calls and email) through our CRM system:
- Junior and senior contacts at European banks (main stakeholder group);
- Experts and partner organisations to advance the aims of ShareAction’s banking programme;
- Other stakeholders including policy-makers, investors and NGO partners.
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You will be responsible for growing ShareAction's contact base at banks expanding on existing network / own network (depending on candidate) through various forms of networking;
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Organising meetings with and presenting the findings of ShareAction’s biannual surveys to the banks surveyed. See for example the 2020 Banking on Climate Change survey we published in April 2020;
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Working closely with our Senior Campaign Manager and others in the team to drive the setting of ESG standards at banks;
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Representing the team at internal meetings such as our monthly company engagement meeting and ensure smooth coordination with other teams and contributing to team activities, including project management, monitoring and evaluation, and publication of research. Supporting team activities such as filing shareholder resolutions and drafting AGM questions;
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Contributing to the development of our survey methodologies, which will be led by the Financial Sector Research team & members of the Banking Standards team. On an occasional basis, contribute to other pieces of research related to the banking programme;
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Helping to organise events aimed at presenting our research reports to banks and other important stakeholders, together with others in the team, as well as represent ShareAction in appropriate external forums to amplify impact
Please note that this list is not exhaustive and the role might change slightly from time to time.
Requirements
We are looking for a passionate, determined individual, with the following experience and skills:
ESSENTIAL
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At least two years of work experience in or with the banking sector, ideally focused on sustainable banking;
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Experience of managing stakeholder relationships across diverse groups, such as banks, investors, partner organisations, companies and funders;
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Strong planning, co-ordination and organisational skills including note taking, meeting planning, coordinating collaborative engagement and record keeping;
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Persuasive communication skills (verbal and written) and desire to seek out speaking and networking opportunities;
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Excellent analytical skills – the ability to quickly get to grips with new and complex subject areas, assimilate information, pull out the relevant points and communicate them to internal and external audiences;
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Good presentation skills and confident speaking at external events;
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Great team player, who is happy to take advice and direction from colleagues working in other work programmes, such as supporter network/grassroots organising;
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Excellent organisational, project and time management skills with the ability to work under pressure, plan and prioritise work effectively and meet deadlines;
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Can do attitude, willing to help support projects for the banking campaign, such as the filing of resolutions, and drafting of investor letters and AGM questions (if needed);
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Knowledge and interest of climate change;
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Experience of working with CRM systems, ideally Salesforce.
DESIRABLE
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Fluent in Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian and/or Spanish. Other languages are also a plus;
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Experience of working with Microsoft Office 365, particularly SharePoint;
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Knowledge and interest in biodiversity and/or other ESG topics that are relevant to banks;
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Basic knowledge of data protection regulations / GDPR.
Other information
Hours: Full-time, but with some flexibility possible
Contract type: Permanent
Salary: £33,000- £38,000 + 8% pension (non-contributory) and benefits including a healthcare scheme
Deadline for applications: We are considering applications on a rolling basis until the role is filled. Candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application within two weeks of submission.
ShareAction values and respects all differences in people (seen and unseen). One of the ways we do this is by actively encouraging 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 can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking..
Due to Covid-19 all interviews will take place online, you will also be expected to work from home for the foreseeable future.
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.
