Welcome to Acre’s Sustainable Finance Insights Series, where we’ll be highlighting key sustainability topics for the financial sector. This month, we’ll be focusing on social impact.
The global financial services sector has woken up to the fact that the “S” in ESG can – and should – go far beyond Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) hiring policies. In the US, for example, the social impact agenda is advancing at pace, without some of the negative backlash experienced in relation to environmental issues. In developing markets, where many communities will feel some of the worst effects of climate change, ensuring a just transition is critical.
By grasping the social opportunity, financial institutions may benefit both in value creation and risk management. Greater value may be unlocked by lending to growing markets (such as minority-led businesses) or investing in social impact investment funds, which often outperform traditional funds. Expanding regulatory reporting requirements on social impact across an organisation’s entire value chain creates financial and reputational risks that need to be well managed.
Director of Impact roles are also becoming more prevalent across Acre’s wider corporate client base, beyond financial services.
Alongside the repurposing of existing resource in areas such as risk and reporting to focus on social impact, Acre is seeing an increase in the demand for specific expertise in this space. Examples of these roles, and the types of responsibilities they cover, are outlined below.
Talent Pool Analysis
Job Titles:
Human Rights SpecialistSocial Impact ManagerDirector, Community Investing & DevelopmentManaging Director, DEI & Social ImpactSenior Manager, Transformation, Culture and ChangeHead of Sustainability & Social ImpactSocial Impact LeadDirector, Impact Measurement & ManagementHead, Environmental and Social ImpactHead of Social ImpactHead of Social Impact InvestingManager, Development Impact InvestmentsDirector, Impact Investments and ESGInvestment Director, Social Impact
Sample Responsibilities
Build and evaluate purpose-driven programs to tackle societal challengesLink business activities with opportunities for social impact and valueMaximise impact through business activities and community investmentDevelop KPIs and conduct impact assessments and evaluations of social impact and DEI initiativesWork to identify, assess, and mitigate risk for human rights issues for potential corporate loans/vendor relationships and recommend how to close the gap in corresponding policiesDevelop, execute and monitor the company’s social impact and community engagement projectsAdvise executives, cross-functional leadership and external partners on social impactEngage with stakeholders to collect and analyse data on the effectiveness and efficiency of social impact and EDI initiativesMonitor emerging business and human rights issues and the implications for the industry and key customer sectorsDesign and lead the gender equality strategy and cross-functional governance structuresAdvise pension funds, family offices, foundations and fund managers on social impact, helping them to build systems which capture, compare, and assess social performanceDevelop social impact performance benchmarks in financial inclusion aggregating data from investmentsDevelop racial equality guidance for investors with experts, investors and external partnersSource social impact venture investment and blended finance opportunitiesScreen and structure partnerships with social venture capital funds, seeking positive correlation between social impact and financial returnLead the portfolio for social impact, developing the strategic focus for investment teams to execute across the investment life cycleDevelop strategies, tools, guidance materials and due diligence processes for use in funding cycles for social impact projectsMeasure, manage and articulate social impact made by the fund’s investmentsFinancial management, impact measurement and monitoring of the social impact portfolio, including the development of financial models, risk analysis and reporting
We hope you have found this a useful snapshot of the market.
Drawing on Acre’s extensive network of sustainability professionals across all sectors and geographies, we are advising our clients on how to incorporate the right expertise into their businesses and assess the best talent in the market.
If you would like to receive our monthly email with a more detailed, sector-level breakdown focused on banking, investment management or private market funds, please get in touch with Ian Povey-Hall at ian.povey-hall@acre.com.
About Acre
At Acre, we work with the most aspirational businesses with potential to make real change; from those who are just starting out to those who are well on the journey to crafting a legacy.
Our 18 years’ experience in sustainability recruitment, combined with our extensive global network, enables us to provide talent solutions that are designed to deliver this change.
Through our unique behavioural assessment technology, we understand the types of people, skills and behaviours required to create impact. We can develop these qualities within your existing teams too.
We find talented people and develop their skills to ensure they make a true impact in ambitious, progressive organisations.
Acre. Making companies ready for tomorrow.
