Head of Good Work

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 the 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

Low pay and inequality pose risks to business, our economy and society and have profound impacts on individuals’ lives. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Paying living wages and providing decent work can lift workers and their families out of poverty and help to build more resilient economies and societies. ShareAction’s Good Work programme runs ambitious and high-profile campaigns to mobilise investors to build a just and fairer world of work.

We are seeking to appoint a new Head of Good Work to lead our collaborative investor engagement with companies on living wages, insecure work and equity at work and to develop plans to expand this internationally and secure funder support for this.

Our Head of Good Work leads a team of three colleagues to develop and deliver courageous campaign strategies. The role would see you interacting with stewardship and investment professionals, asset managers and asset owners, companies themselves, and civil society stakeholders, such as trade unions. Alongside this, you would oversee programme and budget management, funder relationships and reporting, and monitoring, evaluation and learning. There is an opportunity to develop the programme into new areas in the future.

Supporting and developing your team, as well as playing a wider role across ShareAction’s extended leadership team, are important aspects of the role.

If this sounds like something that would build on your current skill set and engage you, we’d love to hear from you!

What you’ll bring to the team

We want to hear from you if you’re excited by the opportunity to harness the power of the investment system to help increase access to decent work and if you’re willing to challenge established norms and powerful institutions where necessary to achieve this.

We think this role would suit someone who has a good working knowledge of labour rights or broader social justice issues, an understanding of effective campaigning and corporate accountability, experience in people management, and comfort with programme and budget management, and who enjoys building and leveraging stakeholder relationships. Experience working with the financial sector would be a bonus.

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 are currently formalising our hybrid working policy; however, the Good Work team meets in the office on a weekly basis, and this role involves meetings with London-based stakeholders, so there is an expectation that you will be able to attend the office or meetings on average two days per week.

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:

• A 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.
• A 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.
• A healthcare cash plan with Westfield that gives you money back on your healthcare costs.
• An employee assistance programme: advice and support, lifestyle discounts and short-term counselling.
• 25 days’ annual leave 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.

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!

For further information and to apply, please visit our website via the Apply button.

Closing date: 9 am on Monday 18 November 2024.
First-round interviews: Monday 25, Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 November 2024 (online).
Second-round interviews: Tuesday 4 December 2024 (in-person at Aldgate East). 

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 be aware that when shortlisting we are really keen to get a sense of your unique voice and individual experience, especially if you are using generative AI tools as part of your drafting process.