ACCR - Company and Investor Engagement Strategist (Europe)

The ACCR is seeking a Company and Investor Engagement Strategist for Europe, preferably based in Norway or another Nordic country, or the UK. This full-time or part-time role focuses on engaging European institutional investors to promote fossil fuel phase-out strategies. The position allows for remote work, with some office use negotiable. Candidates should have experience in investment institutions or the oil and gas sector, and strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Employer: Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR)

Work Type/s: Permanent: full time, part time at least 0.8 load considered. Flexibility available (please specify your preference when applying)

Salary: base salary of NOK800-1,100K (Norway) or GBP65-85K (UK) depending on experience [pro rata if part time]

Sector/s: Not For Profit (NFP)

Location: Norway, or for an exceptional candidate another Nordic country or the UK will be considered; working from home; some use of office space may be negotiable

Job posted on: Friday 18th April

Applications close: 9am CEST on Friday 9th May
• Likely interview period: 19 – 30th May

Role: This new position will play a lead role in driving and delivering ACCR’s strategy in relation to European institutional investors’ role in accelerating fossil fuels phase out. Collaborating closely with colleagues in Europe and Australia, the role will draw on ACCR’s financial analysis and climate science capabilities, leverage our media and communications influence, and harness ACCR’s track record of influential shareholder actions and cross-sectoral partnerships to deliver coordinated, highly sophisticated, interdisciplinary interventions. In conjunction with ACCR’s Investor Engagement and Company Strategy teams, the role will engage Europe’s large investors to amplify their stewardship efforts with globally significant companies on climate transition.

Given the location of our team, regular work in the European early morning/Australian afternoon/evening will be required (with flexibility to ensure overall hours are not exceeded).

This position may be based in Norway (preferred), another Nordic country, or in the UK, and will be employed through a third party/employer of record registered in the applicable jurisdiction.

You’ll love this job if:
• You are excited to work in relation to investors and companies globally, including the Nordic region. You likely bring experience and deep understanding of relevant investment institutions and/or the oil and gas sector.
• Your interpersonal skills are excellent. You are authentic and credible, while remaining savvy and tactical in achieving change. You are empathetic and kind, while remaining outcome-focused with colleagues. You are adept at communicating with colleagues working in different time zones.
• You are curious about the opportunity to drive multi-disciplinary strategy, selecting the right tool to achieve the greatest impact, leveraging and coordinating different capabilities. Experience in stewardship or advocacy of some kind and a good understanding of how to navigate political economy considerations in crafting impactful strategy would be an advantage.
• You love being organised and find it easy to pay attention to the details; you think ahead in your planning, and cope well with change, quickly adjusting course to achieve the desired goal. You are not above getting stuck in and doing what’s needed in a small team.
• You are comfortable working in English within a dispersed multi-disciplinary team. You are a strong writer, able to communicate persuasively and concisely.
• You want to use your skills and experience to catalyse global change towards fossil fuels phase out.

Responsibilities

The role will include the following types of tasks:
• Drive the development and delivery of ACCR’s strategy related to European based investors and listed companies, and the ecosystem they inhabit, in close consultation with colleagues
• Identify, develop and sustain collaborative engagements with relevant institutions and individuals
• Working with colleagues, draft briefings and other communication
• Lead high stakes external meetings, delivering presentations and, as needed, at conferences and with media as ACCR spokesperson
• Collaborate extensively with colleagues across disciplines and time zones, communicating regularly to ensure all relevant stakeholders are aware of plans and contributing as needed
• Contribute to internal knowledge sharing, data management, funder reporting

Criteria

We’re looking for someone with these types of skills and experience:
• Experience in relation to institutional investors, asset owners, asset managers and/or listed companies, ideally in northern Europe
• Capable of (and preferably experience in) developing and delivering a strategy to change institutions
• Outstanding interpersonal skills, including to lead cross-team collaborative work across time zones and to manage sensitive external relationships
• Ability to present with gravitas on complex matters to investor and corporate audiences and in the media
• Excellent written and spoken English
• Project management skills, particularly across time zones and internal teams

We also need someone with:
• Willingness to have a public profile for ACCR e.g. at conferences, in media, on social media
• Ability to join meetings outside usual business hours (typically starting from 6am) several days/week, and to travel to Norway several times a year (if not based there) and 1-2 times/year elsewhere (e.g. to Australia)
• Comfort working in a remote virtual context – connected to colleagues elsewhere, possibly with another 1-2 colleagues within the same region depending on location, but working substantially from home, and thus having an ability to operate fairly autonomously

If you don’t meet every point above, please still apply if you can see your skills well used in this role.

Accountable to: Investor Engagement Lead

Key Relationships: Investor Engagement, Company Strategy, Research, Communications and Impact teams

Background: ACCR is a non-profit shareholder advocacy and research organisation founded in 2012. We use shareholder strategy to enable investors to escalate engagements with heavy-emitting companies in their portfolios, and provide research and analysis for institutional capital seeking long term value in a zero-emissions economy. Thanks to a heightened awareness of the importance of our work, and the urgency to act on climate change, we are growing rapidly. More information about our latest work can be found in our FY24 Annual Review. In 2023, ACCR won ESG engagement initiative of the year - Asia at Environmental Finance’s Sustainable Investment Awards.

ACCR has a dynamic team of almost 40 driven and experienced staff, based in Australia and Europe. Our growing team has a wide range of relevant expertise - climate science, communications, engineering, law, equities analysis, finance, investor relations, IT and more.

What we offer:
• We enjoy flexible work hours and supportive home-based working.
• We value peer learning and each of us has a professional development budget.
• Country-specific benefits can be provided on request and will be discussed at interview.

Application Guidelines

We use Applied as our recruitment platform, helping us reduce the risk of unconscious bias in our hiring process.

We will ask you to answer 3 questions designed to test your ability to do the job. Please give it your best effort, your scores on these questions will be the primary consideration in whether you are invited for an interview. To avoid bias, we do not look at CVs until later in the process.

Once started, you can save and return to your application before submitting. For example:
• Give an example of how you've engaged with institutional investors. What have you learned about the drivers for change of these institutions? How do you expect you would leverage that experience in this role at ACCR? [250 word limit]

We value diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplace. ACCR encourages applications from people of all cultures, abilities, sex and genders.

ACCR is committed to improving accessibility to enable the full participation of a diverse workforce. If there are any alterations to this recruitment process that would assist you in applying, please let us know.