Head of Biodiversity

We are at a pivotal moment: the climate and biodiversity crises are deepening, and inequalities are even more marked in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The global investment system has an oversized impact on many of these global challenges. We want to make sure that impact is positive. At ShareAction, we work with investors, policymakers and individuals to unleash the positive potential of the investment system. We aim to build a world where our financial system serves our planet and its people.

Team

ShareAction’s vision is of a financial system that supports our planet and its people. The destruction of our natural world is one of the most pressing crises we face, but action within the investment industry to address this lags behind other environmental and social issues. ShareAction’s biodiversity programme seeks to educate investors and mobilise them to adopt policies and practices to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. We run collaborative initiatives to help investors move to action and engage in public policy advocacy.

Position

We are seeking to appoint a new Head of our Biodiversity Team to lead our established and growing biodiversity programme, reviewing progress and revising strategy as appropriate. You will be a skilled team manager and confident internal and external representative for the team’s work. You will work collaboratively with colleagues across ShareAction to embed biodiversity in all our work and to act as ShareAction’s lead expert on the subject.

What you’ll do:

• Act as ShareAction’s subject matter expert on nature and biodiversity loss, keeping your knowledge up to date with developments across academia, civil society, and government. Further develop, as required, ShareAction’s biodiversity strategy, a cross-cutting programme of work using our toolkit of investor accountability, corporate engagement and policy advocacy.
• Have overall responsibility for the quality and delivery of ShareAction’s biodiversity programme.
• Work collaboratively with teams across ShareAction to create links with other campaigns, particularly on climate change and human rights, and embed biodiversity across all our work.
• Be our spokesperson on biodiversity loss and the role of the investment system.
• Have overall responsibility for managing the programme’s budget, programme-level risk management and programme-level monitoring, evaluation and learning.
• Work with our Fundraising Team to manage relationships with funders and oversee reporting to them.
• Work with our Fundraising Team to fundraise for future programme work, identifying funding opportunities and submitting proposals.
• Work with peers at the “Head of” level to play a leadership role across ShareAction.
• Recruit, lead and develop members of the Biodiversity Team, managing balance and team health and ensuring effective hybrid working arrangements.

Requirements

What you’ll bring to the team:

• A deep professional knowledge and understanding of the causes and impacts of biodiversity and nature loss and of the role of business in this.
• A good understanding of initiatives being led by business, scientists, civil society and governments to address biodiversity and a personal network with some of these groups.
• You will be excited by the opportunity to harness the power of the investment system to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
• Proven ability to lead a team, supporting and developing individuals with diverse styles and strengths to get the best out of the team.
• You’ll be a strategic thinker, able to develop and articulate creative and effective plans to deliver ambitious programme objectives.
• You’ll enjoy spotting connections between the work of your team and others – and be able to demonstrate you are an effective team player.
• You’ll be able to demonstrate strong communication and stakeholder management skills and be comfortable communicating and influencing at a senior level and able to flex your communication style accordingly.
• You will be comfortable with basic budget management and risk management at a project or programme level.
• You’ll have personal resilience to overcome setbacks and manage challenging campaign goals, including in times of ambiguity.

It would also be great – but not essential – if you have:

• An understanding of the role of the investment system in driving positive change in corporate behaviour.
• Any experience acting as a spokesperson at external events and in the media.
• Any experience of monitoring, evaluation and learning in the context of campaigning.
• Any experience of grant fundraising, business development or a related field.

What we will do for you

Working with ShareAction will offer you the opportunity to achieve a significant personal impact in one of the most respected and exciting organisations in the responsible investment space. ShareAction seeks to offer all its employees an exceptional working experience with opportunities to develop existing and new skills, applying them in ways that help change the world for the better. You will be challenged but also supported very actively to succeed within a friendly, high-performing and highly motivated team.

• You’ll benefit from a highly supportive work environment, with a focus on equality, employee wellbeing and mental health.
• You’ll have access to internal and external training opportunities, from formal training courses to informal ‘lunch & learn’ sessions with visiting speakers. We’ll also provide you with any training you may need to use our systems.
• You’ll be joining a peer group of ‘Heads of’ that sits across the organisation; they meet monthly to share tips and challenges. They also work together to support the wider leadership team with organisational thinking. You’ll also have an immediate peer group of Heads in your own directorate.

ShareAction teams enjoy hybrid working, splitting their time between home and our office. You’ll have access to a modern, flexible office space in central London and regular social events with colleagues. There is currently no mandatory requirement for time spent in the office, but the Biodiversity Team aims to meet together in the office at least once per month.

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 so if you are not 100 per cent sure that you meet all the requirements but believe you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply and use the application questions to tell us about your experience and what you hope to bring to this role.

We also actively encourage staff to work in ways that best suit their needs and our flexible working policy outlines many of the options available – such as part-time and term-time working, job sharing, home working and working compressed hours. 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.

For further information and to apply, please visit our website via the Apply button.

Closing date: 9.00am on 2 May 2023.

First-stage interview date(s): 9–12 May 2023.

Second-stage interview date(s): 15–19 May 2023.

Please note that to be considered for this post, you must be legally eligible to work in the UK. Due to current restrictions, we are unable to hire anyone that isn’t already living in the UK. Due to our size, we are unable to sponsor visas.