Senior Officer – Environmental and Social Research (Financial Sector)

ShareAction; London; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading agency in responsible investment as a Senior Officer in Environmental and Social Research. In this hybrid role based in London, you will analyze financial institutions' impacts on crucial environmental and social issues. Collaborate with NGOs, engage with regulators, and contribute to key reports, furthering ShareAction's mission to drive positive change in the financial sector.

Benefits

8% non-contributory pension plan

Healthcare plan with Bupa

Enhanced family leave pay

Flexible working arrangements

Regular in-person meetings and retreats

Qualifications

• Experience in qualitative and quantitative research.
• Understanding of the financial sector's impact on social/environmental issues.
• Subject matter knowledge in climate change, biodiversity or human/labour rights.

Responsibilities

• Conduct benchmarks on insurance companies and analyze data.
• Engage with financial institutions for recommendations.
• Collaborate with NGOs and summarize findings.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Teamwork

Attention to detail

Organizational skills

Education

Relevant degree in research or related field

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office 365

CRM systems (Salesforce)

Job description

Senior Officer – Environmental and Social Research (Financial Sector)

ShareAction London, United Kingdom Research & Standards Hybrid

Share via link https://cezanneondemand.intervieweb.it/shareaction/jobs/senior-officer-environmental-and-social-research-54219/en/

Share on social media

Company Description

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 its 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.

Position

What you’ll do (key responsibilities)

ShareAction’s Financial Sector Research team works towards holding financial institutions accountable for their impact on globally important challenges such as tackling climate change, upholding human rights and reversing biodiversity loss.

Asset managers, insurance companies and banks hold a huge amount influence over the world’s largest companies through their investment, lending and underwriting activities. While many of these financial institutions publicly claim to be taking environmental and social issues seriously, often these claims do not hold up to scrutiny.

In this role, you will have many opportunities to challenge the financial sector and financial by contributing to:

• Our financial sector benchmarks. In the first 12 months, you would primarily be working on our 2026 benchmark of some of the world’s largest insurance companies (following our 2024 report ). Our research also covers asset managers and banks
• Coordination with civil society allies and developing new collaborations with leading global NGOs
• Engagement with financial institutions, regulators, and industry bodies to provide detailed recommendations for improvement
• Communication of our research findings externally, for example on webinars

Working alongside the rest of the Financial Sector Research team, you would contribute to ShareAction’s key reports ranking financial institutions. This involves collecting information from institutions and databases, analysing quantitative and qualitative data, producing engaging graphics to communicate results and translating this analysis into actionable steps for financial institutions to take. You would collaborate with teams across ShareAction and may join meetings with financial institutions, other NGOs, or regulators, to discuss this research. We will ensure that you receive sufficient support and oversight to ensure you feel comfortable and knowledgeable in delivering this bold and challenging work.

This a very exciting time to be joining the team. In 2025 we begin the next instalment of our comprehensive benchmark of the insurance sector. In this rapidly evolving field, we are looking for a person with excellent research and communication skills, and passion to make a difference, to join our team.

Requirements

What you’ll bring to the team

We welcome anyone who shares our passion for environmental and social justice through transformation of the financial sector. Please feel free to apply even if you’re not sure you tick every box.

• Excellent analytical skills, attention to detail, and a proven ability to conduct qualitative and quantitative research
• A broad understanding of how the financial sector works, and how financial institutions can have an impact on environmental and social issues
• A keen interest in driving the finance sector to better serve people and planet
• Excellent organisational skills, proven ability to manage competing demands while still meeting deadlines
• Strong communication skills in written and spoken English
• Competency with Microsoft Excel, including writing formulae and building charts
• Strong teamwork skills, the ability to work collaboratively
• A passion for ShareAction’s vision and mission
• Subject matter knowledge in climate change, biodiversity or human/labour rights
• Experience in or with the finance sector; an understanding of responsible investment and its implications for different types of financial institutions
• Experience giving presentations
• Any experience programming, particularly an interest in learning Python for data processing
• Experience with managing relationships with external stakeholders
• Experience with Microsoft Office 365, particularly SharePoint
• Experience with CRM systems, ideally Salesforce

ShareAction currently operates a hybrid working policy, with staff permitted to work either in our office or remotely. The Financial Sector Research team normally meets in the office once a week, with some flexibility possible.

What we will do for you

We are a fast-paced organisation that has grown substantially over the past few years. We recognise that our people work hard to advocate for responsible investment and drive meaningful engagement with those who have the power to create a brighter future. Every day they bring their expertise, passion and persistence to build a world where the financial system serves our people and planet. We want to ensure we provide the right environment for our colleagues to thrive and we are committed to improving our employee offer where possible.

Currently we are pleased to offer:

• 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. For some levels of roles, we also offer direct progression.
• Opportunity to help make a difference; we tackle some of the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges. We offer opportunities for you to develop your skills and experience in a friendly, flexible and supportive working environment.
• Unionised work environment; our staff have the opportunity to join the union, and are supported by our recognised union, Unite. We regularly consult and negotiate with our employees on workplace matters ranging from working conditions to pay.
• 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.
• Healthcareplan; 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; ensuring everyone gets time to switch off together.
• 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.

Other information

Please note that we have another similar role available, and interested candidates are encouraged to apply for both.

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: Full-time, but with some flexibility possible

Who it reports to: Senior Research Manager – Financial Sector

(We normally offer a starting salary at the start of the range)

Interview dates: First round online in the week commencing 30th June; Second round online in the week commencing 7th July

Please note the expected start date for the successful candidate will ideally be in 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. We know that some people won’t apply for a role unless they meet all the requirements listed in the job description. If this is the case for you, but you think you would excel in this role, we want to hear from you!

Our hiring process is anonymised, we won’t ask for a cover letter and we don’t look at CVs until the interview stage. We do this so that we reduce the opportunity for unconscious biases to affect our decision making and so we prioritise skills and expertise over how well you can write a CV.

We also actively encourage incoming staff to consider flexible working arrangements; recognising that a better work-life balance can improve employee motivation, performance and reduce stress. 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.

While we embrace hybrid working at ShareAction, we also think there is a lot of value in spending time together in person. We run all-staff away days, a yearly retreat and more regular team and directorate meet-ups so that we can develop our ideas and plans together. As part of the induction process, we’ll invite you to our office in Aldgate so you can meet and get to know your line manager, team and others from across the organisation.

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

Please note that using Artificial Intelligence to answer the application questions is not recommended, and it could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools will not accurately reflect your skills, knowledge or experience. It is crucial that you personalise your application by articulating these in your unique voice. If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, we ask you to declare this clearly in your submission.

Application Form - Senior Officer - Environmental and Social Research

Only complete the following form if you have NOT previously registered as an applicant with ShareAction

Already registered? Login with your account

The operating system you are using causes the expiration of the uploaded files within one minute: we recommend you to upload the attachments as the last step before sending the application. Otherwise you will be asked to upload the files every 60 seconds.

First Name

Surname

E-Mail

Confirm E-Mail

Home Address Country Select a data item from the drop-down list Postcode or City name Select a data item from the drop-down list or enter a new one and click on Add Manually Select a data item from the drop-down list or enter a new one and click on Add Manually Region Select a data item from the drop-down list or enter a new one and click on Add Manually province Select a data item from the drop-down list or enter a new one and click on Add Manually Città Select a data item from the drop-down list or enter a new one and click on Add Manually Division 4 Select a data item from the drop-down list or enter a new one and click on Add Manually Locality Cap Street Flat / House Number This address contains one or more manually entered data and may not be geolocated

Title

Date of birth

Other information

I confirm I have right to work in the UK

Where did you see this position advertised?

Please select from below:

If other please specify:

Diversity Monitoring

ShareAction is committed to creating an inclusive environment of people who together encompass the whole range of human difference and experience. We ask candidates to provide their diversity information so that we can aggregate the data, and see where our recruitment processes are supporting diversity and inclusion, and where we may need to make changes. This data will not form part of your application, and will be kept strictly confidential. For more information on how we use and protect your data, please see our Privacy Policy on our website (https://shareaction.org/privacy-policy).If you do not feel comfortable giving us this information for monitoring and evaluation purposes, please just choose the 'prefer not to disclose' option.

Other (please explain)

Other (please explain)

Faith

Other (please explain)

Sexual Orientation

Other (please explain)

Disability

Age

Caring responsibilities: Do you have caring responsibilities for any of the following:

Experience:

Please provide your employment experience here, leaving out your any identifiable details including name, age, contact and education information, for blind shortlisting purposes.

Senior Officer - Environmental and Social Research

We use these questions to help short list applicants as part of our blind screening process instead of requesting a covering letter. THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO STAND OUT FROM OTHER APPLICANTS, AND IS WHAT WE USE TO ASSESS YOUR COMPETENCY AGAINST THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE ROLE. Please do take the time to answer the questions as fully as you can - we will NOT consider your application if your answers are incomplete. Please be careful not to include information such as your name, university attended, age or gender in the boxes as we will need to manually remove it. NOTE THAT YOUR CV WILL ONLY BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE RECRUITING MANAGER IF YOU HAVE PASSED THE INITIAL SHORTLISTING PROCESS. Please complete the following questions, ensuring not to exceed 250 words per answer.

Please describe how your skills and experience make you suitable for this role?

Tell us about a time when you played an important role in a project as a member of a team. How did you contribute?

Briefly describe a research project you have been part of – what did it involve, and what did you learn?

What in your personal experience motivates you to want to address the impact the financial sector has on the environment and society?

CV

Click here (or drag and drop) to Upload a file
doc, docx, txt, rtf, pdf, odt (Max: 2 MB)

ShareAction Privacy Policy

This policy tells you how Fairshare Educational Foundation trading as ShareAction (registered charity number 1117244) processes and protects your personal data. We aim to be clear when we collect your data, let you know what we will use it for and keep it secure.

When providing us with your details you accept this privacy policy and authorise ShareAction to collect, store and process your personal data in the ways mentioned in this policy and for the purposes you have given it to us. If you would like more information or have any questions, please email us at [e-mail] or call us on 0207 403 7800.

What Personal data is collected?

We may collect personal information about you when:

• You sign up to our mailing list(s),
• You make a one-off donation or sign up to donate regularly,
• You sign up to attend one of our events,
• You become involved in one of our campaigns,
• You fill out a survey or quiz we send you,
• You apply for a paid or volunteering role with us.

The information we collect may include, among other details, your name, address, email address, telephone number, pension provider, Responsible Investment issues of particular interest to you, your involvement in ShareAction campaigns or activities, information as to whether you are a taxpayer, your employer or organisations in our network that you are affiliated to.

We may also collect information about you from publicly available sources from places like Companies House or information published in newspapers.

If you make a donation, we will collect the details necessary to process this payment e.g. bank account details to set up a Direct Debit and ask for consent to use your contact details to send you updates on our campaigns and occasional appeals. We do not store credit or debit card details and when making an online donation your payment details are processed by a third-party secure server payment gateway provided by PayPal.

We will not collect sensitive personal information or information classed as special category unless there is a clear reason as to why we need it. We will only collect this with your consent, and we will give clear notices so that you know why we need this data and how long we will keep it for.

Profiling

We might use profiling or screening methods to ensure that communications are relevant to you and we do this by using data that you provide us with, data from publicly available sources, and data that is processed automatically through the systems we use (for example, whether you have previously opened emails from us). Profiling also allows us to understand more about people that support us which helps us to make appropriate requests for involvement in our campaigns and fundraising appeals. We may use geographic and demographic information to build a profile. Under the General Data Protection Regulation you have the right to obtain an explanation of any profiling decisions we have made and challenge these decisions.

Why is this data collected?

How we use your personal data will depend on the reason you are providing it and we will aim to make the reason clear when we collect the data. We will mainly use your data to:

• Provide you with services or information that you have asked for, such as sending you a newsletter, inviting you to training, or sending you more information about our campaigns.
• Keep you informed about our campaigns and movement and respond to questions you may have.
• Process your donation, including processing any Gift Aid declaration.
• Invite you to events we think might be of interest to you.
• Invite you to participate in our campaigns.
• Keep a record of how you prefer to be contacted.
• Keep a record of your relationship with us.
• Understand how we can improve our services, products and the information we provide.
• Develop a better understanding of our supporters to help us make better decisions in order to deliver our mission.
• Aggregate information for confidential reporting to project partners (see the Third Parties section below for more information on how your data is shared with project partners).

Our legal basis for processing personal data

The legal basis for processing your data depends on the reasons and circumstances we are collecting it.

Our legal basis for processing most personal data is because you have given us your consent to do so. You have the right to withdraw your consent for holding and processing your data and can do so by emailing us at [e-mail] or calling us on 020 7403 7800.

In some circumstances, the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation.

Legitimate Interests

Sometimes the legal basis for processing your data may be because it is in our legitimate interests to perform our operations. Before doing this, we will always carefully consider and balance any potential impact on you and your rights and we will not process any data if there is any risk of harm or potential conflict with your interests. Some examples of where we have a legitimate interest to process data are:

• Managing our ongoing relationships with our professional contacts.
• Researching new professional contacts at companies, investors and other NGOs that may be interested in our campaigns.
• Using networking sites like LinkedIn to reach out to professional contacts who we think may be interested in our work.
• Managing our financial transactions and preventing fraud.

How is my data protected?

We take good care to ensure that the information we store on our database is kept secure in order to prevent unauthorised access and comply with the General Data Protection Regulation. Our devices are encrypted and staff that work with data have received appropriate training.

Third parties

We will not sell, rent or swap your information with other organisations for them to use in their own marketing activities.

Service providers

Like most organisations, we use trusted service providers to help our operations to be more efficient. These include systems and software providers like EventBrite, Microsoft programmes and Salesforce. We may use third party providers that are located outside of Europe. For example, the database we use to store your data and some email platforms we use have servers located in the USA. We have taken steps to ensure that the services we use that are located outside of the EU have appropriate security measures in order to protect your information. All providers we use are well renowned for their data security and have the appropriate technical controls and policies in place to protect your personal details.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your personal information when required to do so by law.

Project Partners

We work with other charities and NGOs on some of our campaigns to share knowledge and resources. We will never share personal information with them without your explicit and informed permission but we may aggregate information in order to share statistical information needed for analysis. We will not include any details that could identify a specific individual.

How can I access, update or ask ShareAction to stop using my personal information?

If your details change, please let us know and we will update them on our system.

You can also change your mind at any time about the ways in which we contact you or withdraw your consent for us to process your data. You can do this by emailing [e-mail] or calling us on 0207 4037 800. Most emails we send you will include a link you can click on to unsubscribe from that particular type of communication.

Removing data

If you tell us that you no longer would like us to contact you, we will keep limited amounts of information (usually just your name and email address) and add this to our suppression lists to ensure you do not receive communications from us in the future – we will not use it for any other purpose. In certain circumstances you also have the right to have your personal data erased from our databases completely and you can ask us to do this at any time.

We regularly monitor your engagement with our communications and will periodically send emails to ask if you still wish to receive updates about ShareActions work. We will continue to hold your personal data while you are actively engaged with us until you ask us not to. If you have not engaged (either opened, replied, taken the requested action, or clicked through) with any of our emails then we will remove your personal details from our database after three years.

Legally, we are required to hold some types of information to fulfil our statutory obligations. Details needed to claim Gift Aid is one example of this.

Subject access reports

To request a subject access report which details all of the information we hold about you, please make this request in writing to ShareAction, 1 63/66 Hatton Garden, Fifth Floor, Suite 23 , London UK, EC1N 8LE . We will not charge you for this request and will provide this information within one month of receipt, if the request is reasonable.

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy with this privacy policy, or the way in which we process your personal data you can make a complaint via our complaints policy.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office via their website.

I declare that I have read and understood the information

I declare that I have read and understood the information (If you do not accept, your request cannot be processed)

Once Applications are submitted:

I confirm that to the best of my knowledge the information I have provided on this form is correct and I accept that providing deliberately false information could result in my dismissal.

You agree for us to hold your application on file for a maximum of 6 calendar months from the deadline of the role.

We may request that you consent to a DBS check as you may be required to work with children or vulnerable adults.

I agree

I agree (If you do not accept, your request cannot be processed)

Future roles

You agree to us contacting you if a similar or suitable role comes up that you might be interested in.