FairPensions, Internship, London, UK

Institution / company

FairPensions

Job title

Research and Camapigns Internship

Job location

London, UK

Job description

An opportunity to acquire experience within a campaigning charity that aims to use the shareholder power of large investors to target transnational corporations on their environmental and human rights impacts. This internship is likely to involve action research into UK pension funds, their investment managers and those who influence and regulate them, as well as research on current environmental and human rights issues. This role may also involve working on the delivery and administration of campaigns, supporter development, communications and fundraising. FairPensions’ internships provide an opportunity for individuals who wish to combine research and analysis with practical experience of campaigns. We work hard to ensure that our interns have clear structured projects, although you will also be involved in a variety of activities arising on an ad hoc basis. We are proud of the fact that previous interns have gone on to excellent jobs in areas including charities and NGOs, consulting, research, and investment.

Requirements / qualifications

Salary / benefits

This post is unpaid. Allowance: Reasonable transport costs and lunch

Period / start date

Ideally a four-month duration, starting in February 2010. Hours of work: Ideally full time, five days per week (hours flexible)

Institution / Company description

FairPensions is a ground-breaking organisation created to fill a specific need: a campaigning body able to focus specifically on harnessing the power of investors to improve corporate behaviour. Even after the recent financial crash, pension funds own assets worth £1.2 trillion (equivalent to the entire UK stock market) and the fund managers they hire to look after their money control trillions of pounds more. FairPensions encourages these powerful shareholders to adopt Responsible Investment, using their position as important stakeholders to improve corporate behaviour on environmental and human rights issues. The massive sums at the disposal of these investors means that they could use their shareholder influence to (for example) reduce greenhouse gas emissions – but they are largely failing to do so. FairPensions is working to change this. FairPensions was set up in 2005 by leading NGOs including Oxfam, Amnesty and WWF. In five years FairPensions has already persuaded investors worth more than £827 billion to adopt Responsible Investment practices, representing the pensions of more than a million people.