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 responsible investment (RI) 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

The PRI is seeking a dedicated and well-organised specialist to help support and expand its emerging sovereign engagement work on climate change. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the establishment of a new global initiative in an emerging field of investor practice.

The successful candidate will help some of the world’s largest investors interact directly with policymakers and regulators to support action to achieve the Paris Agreement and better manage portfolio exposure to climate risks through sovereign debt and related investments. This is a multi-faceted role supporting the programme lead in coordinating pilot engagement and expanding the work to new markets.

Core Responsibilities

• Supporting the sovereign engagement program lead in delivering against the initiative’s business plan and budget.

• Helping coordinate and support international investors engaging with Australian and other government entities as part of ongoing pilot activities.

• Assisting in identifying and building relationships with key personnel at PRI signatories working on sovereign engagement

• Preparing written background briefs on climate change issues, sovereign debt and investor exposure.

• Supporting initiative reviews and the production of public reports.

• Conducting research on country-specific climate change responses and contribute to decisions about the future program focus.

• Helping coordinate sovereign engagement activity with other PRI initiatives including Climate Action 100+, the Net Zero Asset Owners Initiative and ASCOR.

• Maintaining and producing engagement trackers, CRM systems, terms of reference, funder documentation, internal reporting and other critical administration materials for the initiative.

• Providing regular reporting to the sovereign engagement program lead, Director of Stewardship and Chief Investor Initiatives and Collaboration Officer as required.

Person Specification

• Detailed knowledge of climate change policy and other issues and their relationship to investor interests and practice.

• Experience working for or with institutional investors on climate change, ESG, and/or stewardship and/or experience working for or with governments on climate change issues.

• A demonstrated track record of developing and delivering against a strategy to achieve or influence a macro-level outcome.

• Experience with developing and reporting against project impact and other metrics.

• Well-developed people management skills and experience of coordinating groups.

• Excellent written communication and verbal presentation skills.

• A collaborative and consultative approach to working with others & committed to fostering an inclusive environment.

• A commitment to developing others and a growth mindset, actively pursuing continuous profession and personal development

• Excellent networking, relationship management and interpersonal skills and experience of building strong and productive relationships

• As this is a global role, some occasional international travel and regular out of hours calls will be required.

• Knowledge and experiences with sovereign debt and fixed income asset classes are desirable.

• Language skills, other than English, 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 for 1 year. There could be an opportunity to continue this role beyond that date, but its final decision may be contingent on grant continuation and/or PRI's overall financial position.