Location: London

Duration: 4 months

Start date: Start of March to end of June.

Remuneration: London living wage

Closing date: 5th February 2020

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 integrating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. The PRI acts in the long-term interests of its signatories, of the financial markets and economies in which they operate and ultimately of the environment and society as a whole. 

The PRI is truly independent. It encourages investors to use responsible investment to enhance returns and better manage risks, but does not operate for its own profit; it engages with global policy makers but is not associated with any government; it is supported by, but not part of, the United Nations.

Job description

This is an opportunity to work within the PRI’s Stewardship team. PRI’s stewardship team is responsible for coordinating collaborative investor engagement activities on environmental, social and governance issues with companies, defining and providing guidance on active ownership best practice, and addressing system barriers that inhibit effective active ownership.

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. This role is an exciting opportunity for a current student or recent graduate to learn about responsible investment and stewardship, as well as to contribute towards the mission of the PRI.

Specifically, this role will assist with investor activities around proxy voting and filing ESG shareholder resolutions at companies’ Annual General Meetings (AGMs). It will also involve providing broader support to other projects within the PRI’s stewardship team.

Responsibilities:

-          Post new shareholder resolutions to the PRI’s Collaboration Platform

-          Actively seek out results from shareholder resolutions data

-          Prepare statistics and data on trends during proxy season

-          Oversee and maintain a system that enables PRI signatories to disclose their proxy voting intentions

-          Collect and collate information for the pre-declaration voting system and engage signatories to use the system

-          Provide administrative support to other projects within the PRI stewardship team (e.g helping with the coordination of collaborative engagements on ESG issues)

-          Prepare weekly external communications to inform signatories of upcoming company AGMs and votes.

Requirements:

-       Currently studying or recently graduated (postgraduate degree level) in a relevant discipline

-       Strong and demonstrable interest in responsible investment, sustainability and finance

-       Motivated by the work of the PRI

-       Fluency in both spoken and written English is essential

-       Excellent verbal and written communications skills

-       Strong attention to detail

-       Proactive, organised and flexible

-       A confident & professional manner in dealing with senior business professionals

-       Ability to learn quickly

-       Diplomacy, tact, and ability to work well in teams

All candidates must have eligibility to work in the UK without visa sponsorship.  While every effort is made to contain the needs of the role within the usual working day, there will be an occasional need to work outside of hours owing to the international nature of the PRI.