About the PRI

The PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. It works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions.

The PRI’s three distinct capabilities relate to the core elements of the PRI’s approach to achieving a sustainable financial system.

• Translate RI (Responsible Investment) thought leadership into insights and practical support that is tailored to what signatories need to progress their RI practice

• Convene our vast network to create opportunities for collaborative action

• Harness our global scale to influence policymakers and regulators to effect system change

Job Description

This  role will be responsible for contributing to Climate Action 100+, one of PRI’s flagship projects and the largest collaborative investor initiative to date. It seeks to ensure the world's largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take appropriate action on climate change in order to mitigate financial risk and to maximise the long-term value of assets.

This position sits within the PRI’s Stewardship Initiatives team, which is responsible for facilitating collaborative investor engagement activities on key environmental, social and governance issues.

Stewardship is one of the most powerful mechanisms by which investors and their agents can contribute to the achievement of the PRI’s mission: the creation of a sustainable financial system which benefits the environment and society as a whole. The role is an exciting opportunity to contribute to work that will encourage and enable PRI signatories to fully realise the potential of stewardship to drive real-world outcomes on topics that are part of the broader climate change agenda.

The role reports to PRI’s Head of Stewardship, Climate, and will involve extensive collaboration with the PRI colleagues working on Climate Action 100+, on sustainability issues – in particular the Climate, Ecosystems and Policy team – who are responsible for issue expertise on climate-related and US policy topics, and with the regional relationship managers. It also involves collaboration with the other four investor networks that co-coordinate Climate Action 100+, Ceres, AIGCC, IGCC and IIGCC.

Core Responsibilities

Contribute to / coordinate one of or more of Climate Action 100+’s strategic projects, including (but not limited to):

• The initiative’s efforts to develop and deliver on the Net Zero Company Benchmark in collaboration with the initiative’s data providers.

• The development and implementation of Sector and Thematic Engagements, as well as Net Zero Standards, if applicable.

• PRI’s sectoral and thematic priorities focused on sustainable aviation fuels, methane, cement, state-owned enterprises and others.

Support Climate Action 100+ efforts to measure and track progress

• Support the initiative’s definition of processes to measure its impact, relaying with relevant internal and external stakeholders, and keeping informed about trends and industry practices.

• Support the PRI team’s efforts to implement effective internal systems to track engagements.

Coordinate / support  company engagement groups

• Support the PRI team in managing and tracking the participation of investors: define participation criteria, keep track of and respond to investor requests to join the engagement group, manage and onboard new joiners, upkeep of signatory participation and contact details.

• Support the PRI team in planning and tracking company engagement: Schedule meetings, taking and sharing meeting notes, conduct company research; Coordinate investor engagement planning; track developments and results.

• Engage with and provide capacity building to participating investors: support the organisation of educational sessions, share relevant reports and other resources.

Internal processes

• Work closely with other PRI engagement staff to ensure that various initiatives (both inside and outside of PRI) are aligned and coordinated.

• Proactively share knowledge with other PRI stewardship staff on lessons learned from past and ongoing engagement efforts.

• Be responsive to feedback from PRI colleagues, signatories and other stakeholders, proactively following up to ensure any issues are resolved. Engage with colleagues to gain a broader understanding of issues and seek to respond to or resolve them.

• Independently deliver well-structured, logical presentations, recommendations and outputs that deliver maximum impact with minimum editing.

Person Specification

• Demonstrated subject matter expertise on climate change and stewardship, and strong knowledge of stewardship as relevant to the initiatives that are led and supported by the PRI.

• Recognised by colleagues, signatories and stakeholders for depth and breadth of specialist knowledge on stewardship, climate change and/or stewardship. Adds value by sharing specialist knowledge and insights in a professional and objective manner. 

• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills. Ability to identify trends (and risks) and solve problems in a structured and rigorous way with a view of implementing improvements.

• Proactive approach to keeping up to date with the latest science and research on climate change and stewardship.

• Ability to apply knowledge and analysis to identify issues, communicate fact-based insights and develop and evaluate tailored engagement strategies.

• Ability to translate specialist information and providing technical expertise in a clear and understandable format.

• A collaborative and consultative approach to working with others & committed to fostering an inclusive environment. An ability to find consensus among differing perspectives and identifying mutually beneficial solutions.

• Good written communication and verbal presentation skills. Strong public speaking skills with ability to give presentations and lead meetings with senior stakeholders.

• Excellent networking, influencing and interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong and constructive relationships in different circumstances (remote/in-person or internal/external) with a clear understanding of what drives people and how to achieve optimal outcomes.

• Ability to engage Climate Action 100+ participants using their language, tailoring communication style for this audience. Ensuring that engagement asks to companies are framed in actionable and constructive terms.

• Ability to clarify matters by absorbing and understanding relevant information and feeding them back in concise terms. Using effective listening and questioning to enhance understanding of complex issues.

• Very good programme management skills, with experience in delivering complex projects successfully, including directing others that may not be your direct reports.

• A strong sense of execution and delivery, working to agreed deadlines, involving relevant colleagues and allowing enough time for review and quality assurance.

• Ability to capture knowledge at the end of each project/ process/activity, to use and share.

• Effectively captures and structures complex, ill-defined or vague problems and is comfortable handling uncertainty (in own work and that of team members). Offers appropriate guidance or recommendations, including considering examples outside of the PRI.

We particularly welcome candidates from under-represented groups, including Black, Asian, and other People of Colour, those with visible or non-visible disabilities, LGBTQ+ candidates and those who are neurodivergent.

The PRI is committed to offering flexibility to our employees, both formal (e.g. part-time work) and informal (e.g. a shift in hours to accommodate caring responsibilities). Please talk to us about how we could make this role flexible for you.

N.B. We reserve the right to close a vacancy before the closing date in the event of an overwhelming response or a change in business priorities.