Engagement Manager (focus on Business Ethics)

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to work within Sustainalytics’ dynamic Stewardship Team and contribute to building a more sustainable global economy. The role will be focused on promoting best practices and showing leadership in sustainability, with an emphasis on the banking and financial sectors and related sustainability topics (mainly business ethics). The preferred candidate will also have some experience from other areas of interest for example; supply chain management, labour rights, quality and safety. Responsibilities will include building relationships and holding dialogue with international companies to create impactful change. The role blends research and analysis with company, client, and other stakeholder engagement, whilst providing written, oral and visual updates on progress to clients.

The ideal candidate will be a skilled communicator with a good knowledge of sustainability issues faced by the banking and financial sector and preferably with some knowledge of investment stewardship. You will join a seasoned team of stewardship practitioners and work within a vibrant and collaborative environment that supports ongoing learning and development.

Sustainalytics’ Stewardship team consists of around 40 individuals across numerous ESG disciplines who support clients in meeting their responsible investment objectives and facilitate active ownership strategies through engagement dialogue, proxy voting and investor communications. Our services are delivered through a number of engagement programmes covering material risks, global standards/norms and impact.

Job Responsibilities

• On behalf of our institutional investor clients, identify material sustainability issues and engage with investee companies on alignment with international conventions.
• Develop strategies to engage with company representatives (including senior executives and board members) and relevant stakeholders.
• Undertake engagement with companies, and relevant stakeholders, through email, conference calls, telephone calls, and face-to-face meetings, on sustainability-related incidents, performance gaps, appropriate best-practice, and how to improve performance.
• Facilitate dialogue between institutional investors and investee companies.
• Work closely with colleagues to answer client enquiries and ensure a high degree of client satisfaction.
• Research and deliver ‘thought pieces’ to create content for externally focused reporting.

Qualifications:

Experience and soft skills

• Degree in a related discipline
• Minimum five years of relevant work experience.
• Experience dealing with institutional investor clients and other stakeholders.
• Excellent research, analytical and writing capabilities.
• Deep knowledge of environmental and social performance standards and international norms and standards.
• Self-motivated and target-driven, with the ability to work alone and drive engagement to agreed change objectives, whilst being able to assist colleagues.
• Highly professional presentation skills (both in spoken and written formats).
• Highly professional interpersonal skills, including the ability to handle sensitive conversations with confidence and tact.
• Ability to handle a variety of responsibilities and to deliver efficiently by prioritizing tasks.
• Teamwork and collaboration.
• An ability to review multiple, and often contradictory, sources of information and to identify gaps and areas of further enquiry.
• Alignment with Sustainalytics’ mission, vision, and values.

Technical skills

• Computer literacy across the main MS programmes.

Morningstar’s hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to work remotely and collaborate in-person each week. We’ve found that we’re at our best when we’re purposely together on a regular basis, at least three days each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you’ll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.

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