We are at a pivotal moment: the climate and biodiversity crises are deepening, and inequalities are even more marked in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The global investment system has an oversized impact on many of these global challenges. We want to make sure that impact is positive. At ShareAction we work with investors, policymakers and individuals to unleash the positive potential of the investment system. We aim to build a world where our financial system serves our planet and its people.

Team

Income inequality and in-work poverty are critical challenges for society today. Over the last 40 years, the gap between the average incomes of the top 10% and the bottom 50% within countries has almost doubled. During the Covid-19 pandemic and in the current cost of living crisis, it is the poorest and most vulnerable communities that are disproportionately affected.

ShareAction’s Good Work programme seeks to harness the power of the investment system to challenge harmful labour practices and push companies to provide more decent work. For more than a decade our Good Work investor coalition has been engaging with FTSE 100 companies on living wages. More recently we have broadened our work to engage on insecure work and gender and ethnicity pay gaps. Our future plans include expanding our work globally, so that living wages are paid throughout international supply chains.

Low pay and inequality pose risks to business, to our economy and society, and have profound impacts on individuals’ lives. But business can be part of the solution. Paying living wages and providing decent work can lift workers and their families out of poverty and help to build more resilient economies and societies.

We are seeking to appoint a new Head of Good Work to oversee our collaborative investor engagement with companies on living wages, insecure work and equity at work, and to develop plans to expand this internationally and secure funder support for this. They will lead a small but ambitious team, helping them to balance workloads, deliver priorities and ensure their own development. They will work collaboratively with colleagues across ShareAction to embed decent work and human rights in all our work and to act as ShareAction’s lead expert on the subjects.

What you’ll do:

• You will act as ShareAction’s subject matter expert on decent work and human rights, keeping your knowledge up to date with developments across academia, civil society, and government.
• You will take overall responsibility for quality and delivery of ShareAction’s Good Work programme.
• You will lead and develop strategic relationships with existing and new investor members of the Good Work coalition and with partner civil society organisations.
• You will develop strategy to expand the Good Work programme internationally, with a likely focus on global living wages, and work with our Fundraising Team to secure funds for this.
• You will work collaboratively with teams across ShareAction to create links with other campaigns, particularly health, and embed decent work and human rights across all our work.
• You will be our spokesperson on decent work and human rights and the role of the investment system.
• You will have overall responsibility for managing the programme’s budget, programme-level risk management and programme-level monitoring, evaluation and learning
• You will work with our Fundraising Team to manage relationships with funders and oversee reporting to them.
• You will work with peers at “Head of” level to play a leadership role across ShareAction.
• You will recruit, lead and develop members of the Good Work team, managing balance and team health and ensuring effective hybrid working arrangements

What you’ll bring to the team:

• You’ll be energised by the opportunity to harness the power of the investment system to address issues around decent work and business and human rights—you’ll also be willing to challenge established norms and powerful institutions where necessary to achieve this
• You will have deep professional knowledge and understanding of labour and human rights issues and of the role and responsibility of business in this
• You’ll have a strong track-record of managing successful programmes or campaigns including from strategy development through to tactical execution and oversight.
• You will have proven your ability to build and lead a team, supporting and developing individuals with diverse styles and strengths, to get the best out of the team
• You will be able to drive delivery in a sometimes uncertain and fast-moving external environment, you’ll balance ambition with pragmatism and focus
• You will enjoy spotting connections between the work of your team and others—and be able to demonstrate you are an effective team player
• You will be able to demonstrate strong communications and stakeholder management skill, be comfortable communicating and influencing at a senior level, and able to flex communication style accordingly
• You will be familiar and comfortable with basic budget management and risk management at a project or programme level
• You will have personal resilience to overcome setbacks and manage challenging campaign goals, including in times of ambiguity

It would also be great – but not essential - if you have:

• An understanding of the role of the investment system in driving positive change in corporate behaviour
• Any experience of working on international issues, for instance supply chain issues and human rights due diligence
• Any experience acting as a spokesperson at external events and in the media
• Any experience of monitoring, evaluation and learning in the context of campaigning
• Any experience of grant fundraising, business development or related field

What we will do for you

• We will provide you with training on all our systems and any other developmental training you might need
• You will be joining a peer group of Heads of that sits across the organization, they meet monthly to share tips and challenges. They also work together to support the wider leadership team with organisational thinking. You will also have an immediate peer group of Heads in your own directorate.
• You will have opportunities to attend events as a ShareAction representative.
• There are other options to collaborate across the organisation such as joining our D&I working groups or social committee
• ShareAction teams enjoy hybrid working, splitting their time between home and our office in London Bridge
• There is currently no mandatory requirement for time spent in the office, but the Good Work team aims to meet together in the office roughly once per week—you will have the opportunity to shape this as the team leader

Location: Hybrid - London/Home

Contract type: Permanent, Full time but with some flexibility possible

Salary: £49,500- £54,000 per annum, pro rata. Plus 8 per cent pension (non-contributory) and benefits including a healthcare scheme

Closing date: Monday 22 August, 9am

Interviews: there will likely be two rounds of interviews from the week of the 29 August

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 percent 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 have a London office and we 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 can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

ShareAction’s London office is based in vibrant Bermondsey and a short walk from London Bridge underground and national rail. Remote working will remain the norm for many ShareAction staff as we continue to face the Covid-19 pandemic, 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 and live in the UK. Due to employment law and tax reasons you must reside in the UK to be employed by ShareAction. We are unable to sponsor visas for this role.