Head of UK Policy

ShareAction London, United Kingdom UK Policy Range 59.827,00-64.678,00 GBP per year

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 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.

We are seeking to appoint the Head of UK Policy, to lead our advocacy work, setting ShareAction's agenda to drive a more responsible financial sector within the UK.The Head of UK Policy leads a team to develop and deliver courageous and effective advocacy strategies.

The role would see you interacting and managing strategic relationships with senior policymakers and financial regulators across the UK, as well as with civil society and industry stakeholders. Alongside this, you would oversee programme and budget management, stakeholder engagement, funder relationships and reporting, and monitoring, evaluation and learning for the UK Policy team. You would also serve as a spokesperson with respect to UK policy work in the media. 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 role sounds like something that would build on your current skill set and enthuse 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 lead a team in ensuring our policy work is influential at the highest levels of UK policymaking; influencing investment rules and regulations to create a more sustainable, equitable and healthy world.

We think this role would suit someone who has a background in UK advocacy, with a strong experience in people management, comfort with programme and budget management, and who enjoys building and leveraging stakeholder relationships. The successful candidate will be an excellent networker who is comfortable interacting with external stakeholders at all levels, from Government Ministers and parliamentarians to financial executives and NGO leaders.

Sustainability expertise is desirable; and experience working with the financial sector would be a bonus.

In this role, you will lead the design and delivery of ShareAction's UK policy strategy, overseeing day-to-day advocacy responsibilities such as producing consultation responses, policy briefings, and engaging directly with key policymakers and regulators. You will build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across government, industry, and civil society, while also ensuring coordination with our EU policy team to maximise our impact across borders. Internally, you'll collaborate with colleagues across the organisation to align our advocacy work, support the development and performance of the UK policy team, and contribute to an integrated, strategic approach to responsible finance. You'll also represent ShareAction at senior-level meetings and events, take a leading role in fundraising for UK policy work, manage relationships with funders, oversee the team's budget, and ensure potential risks are proactively identified and mitigated.

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:

• 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.
• Opportunity to help make a difference; we tackle some of the world's biggest social and environmental challenges. We offer opportunities for you to develop your skills and experience in a friendly, flexible and supportive working environment.
• 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.
• Healthcare plan; with Bupa
• Employee assistance programme; advice and support, lifestyle discounts and short-term counselling
• Death in Service cover of 3x salary
• 25 days' annual leave (increasing with length of service) 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.

Paid annual leave

Paid sick leave

Paid parental leave

Parental leave

Career progression opportunities

Employee assistance programme (EAP)

Mental health support

Contract type: Permanent

Who it reports to: Director of Policy

(We normally offer a starting salary at the start of the range)

Deadline for applications: Monday 7th July at 9:00 a.m.

Interview dates: First interviews online Thursday 10th July; Second interviews may be in person at our London office

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!

Our hiring process is anonymised, we won't ask for a cover letter and we don't look at CVs until the interview stage. We do this so that we reduce the opportunity for unconscious biases to affect our decision making and so we prioritise skills and expertise over how well you can write a CV.

We also actively encourage incoming staff to consider flexible working arrangements; recognising that a better work-life balance can improve employee motivation, performance and reduce stress. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility you need. We can't promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

While we embrace hybrid working at ShareAction, we also think there is a lot of value in spending time together in person. We run all-staff away days, a yearly retreat and more regular team and directorate meet-ups so that we can develop our ideas and plans together. As part of the induction process, we'll invite you to our office in Aldgate so you can meet and get to know your line manager, team and others from across the organisation.

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 note that using Artificial Intelligence to answer the application questions is not recommended, and it could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools will not accurately reflect your skills, knowledge or experience. It is crucial that you personalise your application by articulating these in your unique voice. If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, we ask you to declare this clearly in your submission.