Secondment opportunity at the Impact Investing Institute

Salary: You will need sponsoring from your current organisation to participate in this secondment opportunity.

Location: Hybrid · London, UK (roughly 60% office and 40% WFH).

About the Impact Investing Institute

The Impact Investing Institute is an independent, non-profit organisation working to transform capital markets so they support a fairer, greener, more resilient future. We see impact investing as an effective way to achieve that transformation and so we work to accelerate the field, both in the UK and globally.

Through our Challenge Lab, we come up with innovative solutions that help private finance better address societal challenges like preventative health, left-behind neighbourhoods, and a fair transition to net zero. Via our Field Building work, we implement impact investing insights and know-how across financial services through applied research, guides, training, networks and communities of practice. We also engage and seek to influence policy makers and regulators to create an enabling environment where impact investing can thrive, both in the UK and globally.

We have a wide, global network across financial services, social investment, businesses, government and regulators. Our work is rooted in collaborative partnership and co-creation: we take existing expertise as our starting point and facilitate interactions and partnerships which catalyse fresh thinking and solutions.

Inviting you to join our secondment programme

The Impact Investing Institute invites organisations to participate in our secondment programme, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to a leading organisation dedicated to transforming capital markets for social and environmental impact. This collaboration provides significant benefits for both the secondees and their sponsoring organisations.

Benefits of the programme

• Participating organisations will benefit from the following development opportunities for secondees:

• Secondees will gain exposure to the cutting-edge field of impact investing, enhancing their skills in sustainable finance, policy advocacy, and be exposed to the leading players delivering fresh thinking in a rapidly accelerating market.
• The programme offers a unique professional growth opportunity, fostering leadership, strategic thinking, and cross-sector collaboration.
• Secondees will build networks with senior industry leaders, policymakers, and investment professionals across the investment eco-system (asset owners, asset managers and key intermediaries) including members of the Institute’s Board and Advisory Council.
• Secondees will gain insights into emerging trends and policy developments in impact investing: insights they can bring back to their business.
• Participating organisations will be thanked for their contribution, with their support clearly detailed on our website, in reports and on online channels.
• Participating secondees also have the option of combining their secondment at the Institute with undertaking the CFA UK Impact Investing Certificate: participating secondees will be able to access this qualification for free.

Secondees will enjoy:

• Professional growth through engaging in high-impact projects at the intersection of finance, public policy and critical social and environmental issues.
• Develop expertise in a range of areas: accelerating frontier investment approaches like place-based impact investing, just transition finance, and blended finance; scaling investment in underserved SMEs via the community development finance institution (CDFI) market; working to address barriers in key segments of impact investing (e.g. wealth management, listed impact, private equity / venture capital, and among asset owners); and crafting new narratives on impact investing and advancing change on policy priorities, such as fiduciary duties.
• Develop skills including research, financial structuring, relationship management, project management, public speaking, strategic communications, and event management. Get exposure to and work through the practicalities of adopting a place-based or just transition approach in financial products and portfolios.
• Secondees will become dextrous in cross-sector working, gaining exposure to a wide range of stakeholders across the private, public, and third sectors, broadening perspective and enhancing versatility. They will work in a dynamic, mission-driven environment that fosters innovation and collaboration, and can take those lessons learned back to their employer.
• Secondees will enjoy making an impactful contribution, directly contributing to initiatives that aim to make capital markets fairer and more inclusive, working as part of a movement that drives positive change in society and the environment.
• Participating secondees will also get free access to the CFA Institute’s impact investing certificate qualification, that they can undertake whilst participating in the Institute’s work.

Secondment structure

• Duration: Secondees commit to the Impact Investing Institute for 6 months for at least 2.5 days a week, with full-time placements available. There is flexibility to shift from this paradigm, however, and we can accommodate organisational needs e.g. if a shorter full-time project would work better.
• Support and integration: The Institute provides comprehensive onboarding, mentorship, and continuous support to ensure a productive and fulfilling experience. Secondees are given a line-manager relevant to the programme they are working on and are fully integrated into the team and culture of the Institute.
• Experience: The Institute is an experienced host of secondees having worked successfully with 10 secondees over the past three years from the Civil Service Fast Stream, Schroders and the Greater London Authority.

What do secondees work on?

Secondees at the Impact Investing Institute will engage in diverse projects across our comprehensive work programme, tailored to their seniority, skillset and development interests. They will contribute to key initiatives in research, policy development, stakeholder engagement, and market analysis, directly supporting efforts to advance impact investing. They will be tasked to work on the array of high-profile and pioneering market development initiatives in which the Institute specialises: integrating cutting edge impact approaches (place-based and just transition) in fund design and portfolios, supporting growth in key investor segments – listed impact, PE/VC, wealth management, and assets owners. This dynamic environment provides secondees with the opportunity to apply their expertise in meaningful ways, fostering innovation and driving systemic change in capital markets. A full list of the programmes that secondees can participate in can be found on our website: www.impactinvest.org.uk.

Three leading secondment projects for 2024

• A pioneering and market-wide initiative on changing the investment narrative to centre people and planet funded by the Sorenson Impact Foundation. This project will identify the factors slowing decision-makers within capital markets, as well as policymakers and media professionals, from embracing impact investing to its full potential. We want to find out when these factors are rooted in the practices around impact investing itself and when there are larger factors at play. Our goal is to provide impact investing advocates with the information, language, and tools they need to encourage decision makers to recognise the opportunities of mobilising capital at scale for the benefit of people and the planet. This project will offer a secondee an extraordinary opportunity to be in discussion with key global partners across the financial ecosystem to deliver an industry-defining effort that will deliver a step change for the impact investing field at large. It will particularly suit those with strong research and communication capabilities.
• Developing the foundations for a just transition index, in partnership with a leading provider of financial indices. This project will explore the landscape for, investor interest in, and technical feasibility of an investor index investable companies and assets according to their alignment with just transition considerations. The need for a just transition – combining climate action with socio-economic inclusion – is increasingly recognised by investors. The availability of a bespoke index would facilitate the adoption of investment practices benefitting both people and planet. The project will build on current thinking on the just transition, including the Institute’s Just Transition Criteria. We will partner with a leading data provider that will co-host the secondee, providing expertise, access to relevant data, and supervision for technical work on index development. The Institute will lead on just transition and investment considerations. The project will offer a secondee the opportunity to gain insights into developing financial tools and indices, the integration of environmental and social indicators and their quantification and measurement, as well as engagement with potential users, including the 27 asset managers and owners with £5 tn AUM who participate in our Just Transition Finance Challenge.
• Establishing a community of practice of asset owners looking to deepen their impact investing practice. Building on the work of the Institute’s endowments with impact programme and work with family offices, the Institute is convening a set of dedicated impact investors to create an active, curated, well-informed community of practice to support foundations, ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) and family offices on their impact investing journey. This project will offer secondees the opportunity to deepen their own investment approach on mission outcomes, allocate more capital, and co-invest with others on issues they care about. This project will offer the secondee the opportunity to develop a strong network of engaged impact investing asset owners, as well as deepen their knowledge about mission-centred investment approaches and co-investment strategies.

If you are interested in the secondment opportunity but are interested to work on an alternative area of the Institute’s work programme than those listed then please do still be in touch, and we will see if it can be accommodated.

How to apply

If you are an individual who wants to participate in our programme, please apply directly. We take secondees on a rolling basis using the BeApplied platform here. Please submit your CV and short covering letter through the platform. Please make clear in your letter the primary project you’d be interested in contributing to from those listed. Following receipt of your application we will set up an interview with a member of our senior team to see if there’s a good fit.