0922 Investment Officer - Sustainable Investing and Stewardship - San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (0922) (158675)

What We’re Looking For

The Investment Officer of Sustainable Investing and Stewardship “IO” assists in the management of SFERS’ Sustainable Investing and Stewardship programs under direction of the Director of Sustainable Investing and Stewardship. The IO is responsible for the following and will keep senior investment staff informed on the relevant issues:

• Assists in analyzing sustainability and corporate governance risks and opportunities that may affect the SFERS portfolio.
• Prepares reports on emerging sustainable investing and corporate governance-related regulation, public policy, and other trends in the market related to sustainable and responsible investing.
• Performs regular sustainable investing due diligence on existing and prospective investment managers.
• Provides sustainable investing-related analysis and written reports to support investment recommendations and performance reports.
• Assists in securing relevant quantitative data and information on sustainable investing subject matter.
• Assists in conducting investment stewardship activities such as engaged with underlying companies in the SFERS portfolio and executing proxy votes according to corporate governance principles and proxy voting guidelines.
• Assists in periodic assessment and reporting of cross organizational sustainable investing, corporate governance, and investment stewardship activities, including annual Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) reporting.
• Takes direction from senior investment staff and completes assigned tasks accurately and on time.
• Responsible for representing SFERS with distinction and class to external investment managers and other stakeholders.

1. Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in finance, economics, business administration, accounting, statistics, environmental sciences, sustainability, or similar field; AND
2. Three (3) years of investing and/or sustainability and/or investment stewardship experience with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, or consulting/services firm.

Substitution

• Possession of a graduate degree in Business Administration, Finance, Statistics, Investment Management, Economics or similar field or possession of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation may be substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.

• Two (2) years of investment management experience at a position equivalent to an Investment Officer or higher with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, consulting firm or other investment institution with at least $1 billion in assets, or seven years of such responsibility at a firm of any size, may substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.

How to Stand Out

Desirable Qualifications:

• Knowledge and prior experience with sustainable investing and stewardship concepts, specifically conducting fundamental research and/or evaluating sustainable investing performance of external investment managers in public equity, fixed income, and/or private market strategies.
• Experience in understanding sophisticated relevant investment strategies and concepts, such as sustainable or impact investing approach across a range of asset classes.
• Expertise in relevant data systems such as MSCI ESG Manager, Sustainalytics Global Access, Glass Lewis ViewPoint, and others.
• Prior experience in investment stewardship and corporate governance including proxy voting and engaging companies on sustainability matters.
• Subject matter expertise in climate change as it relates to investment management.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with a demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Experience with Evestment, Caissa, Style Analytics, StyleAdvisor, and Bloomberg Terminal.
• Strong writing and presentation skills with a genuine interest in the subject matter.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal).
• Excellent attention to detail and committed to delivering the highest quality work.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and under the pressure of tight deadlines.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and handle multiple, time-sensitive tasks.
• Highly self-motivated and hardworking with an ability to work and think independently as well as in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
• High level of professionalism and with an ability to build networks and positive working relationships with key internal and external contacts.
• Sound judgment, inte...