Responsible Investment Standards Programme Lead in London

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 our 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.

This role sits at the centre of ShareAction’s five year strategy. As Programme Lead for Responsible Investment Standards (RIS), you’ll steward one of our most strategically important programmes – defining, defending and advancing the standards that underpin responsible investment, and driving leadership among pension funds; ensuring the programme contributes directly to the organisation’s three strategic shifts: durable rules, asset-owner accountability, and public legitimacy.

Asset owners such as pension funds sit at the top of the investment chain, controlling the retirement savings of millions of people. How they invest that capital – and how they hold their fund managers to account on risks like climate change – shapes whether the system serves people and planet. Your work will help push pension funds towards genuine leadership, and towards stronger laws and confident regulation across the UK and EU.

It’s a varied role spanning policy advocacy, direct engagement with asset owners, coalition-building and research. Early priorities include activating asset owners as system stewards, and delivering our flagship benchmark of global asset managers. You’ll also work closely with colleagues developing new work to strengthen the voice of pension savers, ensuring the millions of working people whose retirement incomes are at stake stay at the heart of everything we do.

You’ll join a cohort of senior Programme Leads – spanning Energy Transition, Health and Pension Saver Power – helping to embed ShareAction’s new programmatic way of working. You’ll report to the Director of Investment Standards & Policy, working closely with the wider Leadership Team, including the CEO, COO and Director of Campaigns & Communications.

On the strategy side, you’ll set the direction for campaigns that influence investors, companies and policymakers, with clear change goals and a strong theory of change behind them. You’ll hold strategic oversight of the whole RIS portfolio, build a shared framework for planning and measuring impact, and report regularly to the Leadership Team on how things are progressing. You’ll also lead the programme’s evolution in line with our strategy, and make sure RIS acts as the organisational hub for responsible investment standards – working closely with our thematic programmes and the Pension Saver team to keep everything joined up.

Funding is a big part of the role too. You’ll take the lead on securing funds for the programme, working closely with the Director of Investment Standards & Policy and our Fundraising team, and you’ll build and manage funder relationships directly, supporting Directors and the CEO on the bigger, cross-programme funder conversations. You’ll also represent ShareAction externally – at events, in the media, and in the rooms where the debate gets shaped.

Day to day, you’ll oversee delivery of the whole programme portfolio, holding responsibility for its objectives and outputs. At the heart of this is our Investor Engagement and Research team, which you’ll lead directly – overseeing everything from benchmarking the asset management industry, to publishing research and guidance for asset owners, to building the relationships that drive up standards, to providing secretariat support for our CRIN and RINU networks. You’ll keep an eye on risk across the portfolio, and work closely with peers across ShareAction’s Extended Leadership Team to keep it all well-coordinated.

You’ll take overall responsibility for the programme’s financial performance, working with programme staff to manage budgets that flex in line with fundraising income. On the people side, you’ll directly manage 5 members of staff and oversee the work of 12 more, building a team culture that’s healthy, inclusive and genuinely supportive. You’ll also matrix manage colleagues across the wider portfolio, and share learning and best practice to build consistency across programmes – including helping shape how ShareAction approaches research governance more broadly.

We’ll also look to you to stay on top of best practice across communications, campaigns, policy, research and investor engagement, and to keep pace with political, commercial and sector developments – including horizon-scanning on emerging themes like AI, bondholder stewardship and pension governance, so RIS is always ahead of the debate, and coordinating engagement with investors across the organisation.

You’ll work closely with other Programme Leads, the Leadership Team, and stakeholders including asset owners, asset managers and funders – using your skills to influence real change in how the financial system serves people and the planet.

Requirements

What you’ll bring to the team:

• A proven track record of leading complex programmes or portfolios that influence the choices of decision-makers.
• Broad subject matter expertise across relevant campaign or thematic areas, and the ability to hold strategic oversight across multiple topics.
• Knowledge of the pensions industry: how it works and what incentivises pension funds to take action.
• Experience leading bid development and managing funder relationships, with a track record of securing significant funding.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including developing senior-level external relationships.
• Experience leading and developing teams, including through matrix management structures, and creating cohesive, healthy and supportive team cultures.
• The ability to develop and communicate strategy clearly, connecting programme-level work to organisational priorities.
• Excellent project and programme management skills, including designing consistent frameworks in fast-moving, contested contexts.
• Strong financial management skills, including managing complex, flexible budgets.
• The ability to translate strategy into actionable plans in contexts where there might be no tried and tested playbook, with enthusiasm for innovation and confidence in leading others through change.
• Some understanding of responsible investment standards, stewardship, and the political and regulatory landscape shaping investor behaviour in the UK and EU.

It would also be great if you have:

• Experience as a lead spokesperson in an advocacy context, through public speaking or media engagement.
• Experience leading and/or running high-profile campaigns that mobilise diverse stakeholders, including investors, civil society and policymakers.
• Experience using external communications and media as a tool for change.
• Familiarity with risk management frameworks in a programme or portfolio context.
• Experience conducting and overseeing large research projects.

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 have a formal hybrid working policy in place. As this role involves regular engagement with London-based stakeholders, you can expect regular time in our Aldgate office (typically at least once or twice a week), alongside the flexibility to work in a way that suits you.

What we will do for you:

• 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.
• Opportunity to help make a difference; we tackle some of the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges.
• Unionised work environment; our staff have the opportunity to join the union, and are supported by our recognised union, Unite.
• 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 plan; with Bupa.
• Employee assistance programme; advice and support, lifestyle discounts and short-term counselling.
• Death in Service cover of 3x salary.
• 25 days’ annual leave (increasing with length of service) plus office closure at the end of the year.
• 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.

Benefits:

• Health insurance.
• Flexible working hours.
• Paid annual leave.
• Paid sick leave.
• Paid parental leave.
• Pension scheme.
• Flexible work location.

Additional compensation:

• 8% pension contribution.

Other information:

• Contract type: Permanent.
• Who it reports to: Director of Investment Standards & Policy.
• Salary: £68,843.95 + 8% pension contribution.
• Deadline for applications: Monday 24th August at 9:00 a.m.
• Interview dates: First round interviews will be held online during the week commencing 31st August. Second round interviews will be held in person at our London office during the week commencing 14th September.

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.

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