Senior Policy Officer

We are planning a campaign to properly embed sustainability into investors’ legal (“fiduciary”) duties. We are looking to appoint a Senior Policy Officer to make this happen. Pension schemes play a huge role in shaping the world around us through where, and how, they invest, but the rules of the system still require them to put profits over people and planet.

Working with different teams across ShareAction, you will help to build a campaign which galvanises investors, legal advisers, other industry practitioners, and the public to support bold reform of the law. You will then lead on taking this campaign to policy makers to advocate for legal and regulatory change that promotes genuinely sustainable and long-term investment.

If you are looking for a career in public policy or campaigning then this role is a fantastic opportunity to hone your advocacy, relationship building and communication skills. You will develop your understanding of, and engagement with, UK policy making processes and the financial system as well as social and environmental issues.

More information about our policy activities is available on our webpage at https://shareaction.org/policy-and-regulation/.

What you’ll do

• You’ll be supporting us to build the case for public policy reform, particularly around the legal duties of pension schemes, to ensure the financial system properly takes account of the needs of our planet and its people.
• You’ll be building relations with practitioners and policymakers to build interest in the campaign. Identifying and responding to key opportunities for influencing policymakers including through consultations, Parliamentary actitivity (e.g. Parliamentary questions and motions), meetings etc.
• You’ll be supporting us to build a strategy to influence key policymakers on legal reform, under guidance from your line manager and others in the team. This may include drafting and disseminating Parliamentary questions, drafting amendments to legislation and using other parliamentary tools, drafting consultation responses and briefings.
• You’ll be our key contact in communicating progress of our work to the broader team, media and funders.
• You’ll be helping to organise events as well as speaking at events aimed at influencing practitioners and policymakers.
• You’ll be keeping up to date on any new legislation and relevant developments and feeding this back to the team where relevant.
• You’ll be attending external events on behalf of ShareAction and sharing any learnings with the ShareAction team.

Requirements

What you’ll bring to the team

• A passion for campaigning and making a difference in the policy space and an ability to evidence clear successes.
• An ability to build and maintain relationships with a wide variety of industry and policy maker stakeholders.
• Understanding of the UK Parliamentary and/or policymaking process.
• Excellent communication skills, in both written and spoken English, including an ability to communicate complex issues in a clear and accessible way.
• Organised and self-directed on work initiatives with a strong attention to detail.
• Proven capacity to undertake varied tasks simultaneously and to tight deadlines.
• Good interpersonal skills with ability to work as part of a team.
• Willingness to work with politicians from a range of political parties.

Other information

What we will do for you

• You’ll have plenty of opportunities to attend events, including in Parliament and the City.
• We will provide ongoing training opportunities throughout the year to support in professional development.
• We will support you with any learning and development you might need with our systems.
• An integrated UK and EU policy team means you will be able to learn about and contribute to policy developments in the EU.
• Information on our flexible working policy is outlined in the “Other information” section below.

Hours: Full time (35 hours a week)

Contract type: Permanent

Salary: £27,500 - £32,000 per annum plus 8 per cent pension (non-contributory) and benefits including a healthcare scheme

Closing date: 9am, Tuesday 19 July - please visit our the vacancy page of our website to submit your application.

Interviews: The first round interviews will take place the week beginning 25th July 2022. There will be two rounds of interviews.