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 newly created role will be responsible for contributing to Spring, PRI’s new stewardship initiative for nature. Spring’s aim is to generate positive outcomes for nature through enabling alignment of public policies with the objectives of the Kunming Montral Global Biodiversity Framework. The initiative will gather PRI signatories to collectively engage key companies on their responsible political engagement practices.  

Through the initiative, small groups of PRI signatories will use engagement and other stewardship tools to positively influence companies across a range of sectors to address forest loss, land degradation and other environmental issues. Once these engagements get underway, this role includes responsibility for the coordination and PRI support for ~15-20 company engagements. 

The role reports to PRI’s Head of Stewardship – Nature and will involve extensive collaboration with stewardship colleagues and the PRI’s Climate and Environment team, who are responsible for issue expertise on these topics. 

Core Responsibilities: 

Development of initiative 

• Work closely with the Head of Stewardship - Nature, other colleagues in the stewardship team, and counterparts from the Environment team to execute the final preparatory stages of the new stewardship initiative on nature.  

• Support in the selection process of focus companies, including liaising with consultants. 

• Support in the development of a benchmark and assessment framework, to be used to monitor progress with focus companies. 

• Support in the communication strategy for the launch of the initiative. 

• Support in the mobilisation of PRI signatories to join the investor working group, including the maintenance of administrative systems. 

Engagement support 

• Once investor-company dialogues begin, support the coordination of the investor working group. 

• Coordinate engagement groups relating to 15-20 companies. 

• Convene and facilitate regular engagement group meetings/calls to track the progress of engagements, discuss issues and share information. 

• Conduct and/or disseminate relevant company/ sector/ policy research, guidance, and other analysis for investors to use in company engagements both within and beyond the initiative. 

Internal Processes 

• Manage and/or contribute to other initiative-wide projects (as needed), such as sector work/research, signatory accountability, webinars, progress report, etc. 

• Work to identify and implement improvements to PRI coordination of collaborative engagement processes, including shareholder resolutions and the role of proxy voting. 

• Work closely with other PRI engagement staff to ensure that various initiatives 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. 

Networking 

• Build and maintain deep relationships with investors to maintain and expand expertise of engagement practices, best practices and needs. 

• Build and maintain deep relationships with stakeholders in the business and nature space to inform investors’ expectations and create channels of communication between the investor group and relevant stakeholders. 

• Speak publicly at events, both digital and in person on stewardship and the PRI’s work more generally. 

Person Specification 

• Demonstrated subject matter expertise on nature, deforestation and corporate political engagement, and strong knowledge of investor stewardship. 

• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills. Ability to identify trends, risks and solutions 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 nature, deforestation and political engagement. 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 and a commitment 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 an 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 PRI signatories using their language and a tailored communication style. Ability to frame engagement asks to companies 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. 

• As this is a global role, some international travel may be required. 

• Language skills, in particular Spanish, Portuguese, and Indonesian Bahasa, are desirable. 

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. 

Important Information 

This is a grant-funded role with funding secured until December 2025. PRI intends to continue this role beyond that date, but its final decision may be contingent on grant continuation and/or PRI's overall financial position.