Acre has led the market in sustainable finance executive search, recruitment and talent development since 2003, being the first sustainable finance recruitment consultancy with a global team specialising in responsible investment, sustainable finance and impact investing. Our pioneering work has created the largest and most established global sustainable finance recruitment network.

Our sustainable finance practice covers four core client verticals: investment management, banking & insurance, private markets & real assets, and sustainable development. We provide global financial institutions and investors with access to the most established network of sustainable finance professionals to build teams that not only outperform their markets but also support the transition to a more sustainable economy.

We help to create and fill sustainable finance jobs in all areas of investment, distribution, sustainable finance recruitment, risk and research, as well as influential leaders to help push forward sustainable investment and corporate citizenship agendas. Our expertise in responsible finance recruitment ensures we can connect organisations with professionals who have the skills and values to drive positive change in the financial sector.

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Trusted by

world-leaders

We know the difference the right people make. Clients ranging from world-leading investment managers and banks, to forward-thinking insurance groups, pension funds and private equity firms, trust us to help them define, map and solve their sustainable finance challenges.

We also use our network to support the growth of specialist NGOs, such as the UNPRI, Carbon Tracker, Big Society Capital, Planet Tracker, the IIGCC, UKSIF, the Impact Investing Institute and the Green Finance Institute.

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A strong track record in driving change

Our sustainable finance recruitment and executive search teams have successfully completed over 800 searches since 2017 across asset managers, asset owners, private equity & debt funds, real estate & infrastructure investors and NGOs, placing influential leaders to help push forward the adoption of sustainable finance, ESG and impact investing across the financial services industry.

We also hire teams and make strategic hires for core business units to ensure compliance, drive transition and launch new products and services.

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Offering a full range
of services

Connecting talented sustainable finance professionals who have the ability to make an impact with progressive organisations is our core expertise. Our unparalleled understanding of sustainable finance, ESG and impact investing helps us go beyond sustainable finance recruitment to offer a genuinely consultative service. We deliver strategic reviews of in-house capabilities alongside recommendations on how to recruit, retain and restructure. We also provide a sustainable finance contract and interim recruitment service to help you find the right people, at the right time, to make a difference in the right places. ​

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Meet the Team

What Our Clients Say

  • ESG Director Interim - Anonymous Feefo Testimonial

    Acre is engaging, thorough, understanding, knowledgeable and connected. Always on hand to offer support and source the right opportunities.

    Trusted Customer

    Feefo
  • Senior E&S Specialist - ESG - Anonymous Feefo Testimonial

    The Acre team was very professional and supportive throughout the process. The selection process involved a number of interviews and Acre ensured that these were set up well ahead of time and went beyond expectations in assisting me with preparing for the interviews. The pre-interview coaching exercises were particularly useful.

    Trusted Customer

    Feefo
  • Associate of Engagement - ESG - Anonymous Feefo Testimonial - 2

    Acre is professional, encouraging and provided helpful background information about the company and interviewers. They were great advocates in presenting my case, and went beyond my expectations in preparing me and negotiating my final package.

    Trusted Customer

    Feefo
  • Stewardship Analyst - ESG - Anonymous Feefo Testimonial

    Helen and her team are amazing. They are thoughtful, thorough and very professional. They ensured that I was aware of any relevant opportunities. When it was time for interviews, they provided solid guidance for advance preparation and helped me feel very confident. As a result, I ended up landing the perfect job! Highly recommended Acre.

    Trusted Customer

    Feefo
  • Responsible Business & ESG Manager - CR&S - Anonymous Feefo Testimonial

    I worked with Acre on two opportunities, one of which has turned into an accepted job offer. Working with Tanith has been the best experience I've had with a recruiter so far. She understood my profile very well, always kept me informed about the recruitment steps, helped me prepare for interviews, and generally was just lovely to work with!

    Trusted Customer

    Feefo
  • Associate of Engagement - ESG - Anonymous Feefo Testimonial - 1

    The Acre team did a great job of taking me through the interview process for a job in ESG/responsible investment.

    Each person that I spoke to was thorough, friendly and efficient. I would highly recommend Acre for sustainability professionals!

    Trusted Customer

    Feefo
  • Dominik Schneider - Testimonial

    Ian was very helpful when navigating the different interview stages in our recruitment process. I was always well prepared and could lean on his advice. He understands the market well, is well connected, can always spare a few minutes to discuss and he is generally a nice person. I would definitely recommend working with Acre.

    Portfolio Manager

    Fund & Asset Management Company
  • Ingrid Holmes - Testimonial

    ​Ian was a pleasure to work with - really plugged into the sustainable finance space and opportunities there. Very supportive through the recruitment process. I highly recommend.

    Executive Director

    Green Finance

Featured Content

  • A war for climate talent is hotting up • With commentary from Acre's Helen Pradas-Page

    ​In a recent article for the Financial Times, Acre's Client Director, Head of Private Markets & Real Assets - EMEA, Helen Pradas-Page, discusses the "green hiring spike" the world has seen in recent years, the growing demand for specialist knowledge, and the opportunity to hire people from the non-profit sector. In addition, Helen addresses the transition of industry professionals from environmental non-profit groups to financial firms that the demand for climate specialist knowledge has resulted in.

    A war for climate talent is hotting up • With commentary from Acre's Helen Pradas-Page
  • How to build a sustainable bank • With commentary from Acre's Ian Povey-Hall

    In a recent survey, KPMG UK found that environmental, social and governance factors influence where UK office workers want to work. Some 20% said they had turned down a job because the company’s ESG commitments were not in line with their values, a number that rose to one in three for 18- to 24-year-olds. 

    As companies look for ways to turn sustainability commitments into action, finding and keeping the right talent and expertise is a big part of the challenge. 

    How to build a sustainable bank • With commentary from Acre's Ian Povey-Hall
  • Could the reallocation of human capital be a key solution to today's climate crisis?

    Following the UN’s recent report announcing there is “no credible pathway to 1.5°C in place”, taking action to operationalise the Paris Agreement has never been more urgent.

    The reality is that, despite the window dressing that says otherwise, the transition will only take place if long-term capital is funnelled into unequivocally credible decarbonisation-focused solutions.

    The problem lies not in the fact that the market lacks these solutions, but in the startling truth that people without the necessary understanding, experience and skills have been tasked with orchestrating change quickly.

    Could the reallocation of human capital be a key solution to today's climate crisis?

Sustainable Finance Recruitment Overview

More and more, organisations are requiring sustainability-minded employees, for every role, in each department and skill set.

At Acre, this is our core expertise. Since 2003, we have been connecting talented sustainable finance professionals who have the ability to make an impact with progressive organisations that are driving sustainable change.

Why should you work with Acre to meet your sustainable finance recruitment and executive search needs?

Our expertise adds great value; but this needs to be balanced with a deep understanding of your business. In order to deliver informed solutions, we will both advise and challenge.

We’re always in touch with the very best candidates in our markets which means we can meet your ambitions by being a trusted partner for finding and developing the talent your business needs to make a sustainable impact.

We can deliver what you need. Our sustainable finance recruitment team:

  • Build teams that not only outperform their markets, but also help create a more sustainable future

  • Work with large established firms who are seeking to add specialist, sustainability-aligned skill sets – often from outside of traditional financial services – to help drive transformation across their core business models

  • Work with specialist firms whose sole focus is creating sustainable & impact investing outcomes for clients and are now scaling rapidly as a result

  • Create and develop teams that use ESG/impact investing methodologies to deploy capital in the most effective way to support their clients' stated purpose/mission

  • Provide access to seed investors and strategic partners/advisers for start-up funds that have a clear positive environmental or social purpose

  • Connect pioneering individuals who have deep subject matter expertise and extensive commercial networks with organisations seeking to refine their strategy before entering this market

  • Attend key conferences and convene panels of experts to catalyse innovation and further understanding amongst mainstream investors

  • Deliver bespoke market intelligence and salary benchmarking to support organisations as they continue to build out their team, as well as those making initial hires in this space

What areas of sustainable finance does Acre recruit in?

Corporate Governance Recruitment
We work with talented sustainable finance professionals in all areas of investment, distribution, risk and research to help push forward sustainable investment and corporate citizenship agendas. If your board is looking for support to set tangible objectives, provide strategic leadership, evaluate your business’s operational and reporting structures, and more, our market-leading corporate governance recruitment and executive search team is on-hand to support.

Browse our latest corporate governance jobs here.

Impact Investing Recruitment
Acre is the first and only sustainable finance search firm with a dedicated impact investing recruitment and executive search team. From an Impact Investing Analyst right through to an Impact Investing Director, we are equipped with the expertise and the global network to ensure that you have the right people, at every level, to make your business ready for tomorrow. Our focus on responsible investment careers ensures that we connect organisations with professionals who are committed to driving positive change in the financial sector.

Browse our latest impact investing jobs here.

SRI Recruitment
If your business requires socially responsible investing (SRI) professionals to help ensure a socially responsible financial return on your investments, our SRI recruitment team can help. We have the most extensive global network of SRI professionals, and can support you with permanent or SRI contract and interim recruitment solutions.

Browse our latest SRI jobs here.

ESG Recruitment
We place talented professionals into ESG jobs globally, from influential leaders to help push forward sustainable investment and corporate citizenship agendas, to analysts and reporting practitioners. Our pioneering work in ESG, responsible investment, sustainable finance and impact investing is paving the way for a more sustainable future, and has created the most extensive global ESG recruitment network, as well as the most comprehensive dataset in the market. Our team of specialised ESG recruiters understands the nuances of the field and can connect organisations with professionals who have the skills and values to drive positive change in the ESG sector.

Browse our latest ESG jobs here.

Climate Finance Recruitment
We have a specialist climate finance recruitment team that is explicitly dedicated to connecting talented climate finance professionals who have the ability to make an impact with progressive organisations to drive sustainable change. If you’re looking to create or fill climate finance jobs in your business, we have expertise that spans the entirety of the market, from TCFD and climate finance to decarbonisation and carbon accounting.

Browse our latest climate finance jobs here.

What type of sustainable finance jobs can Acre support with?

We have placed influential leaders to help push forward the adoption of sustainable finance, ESG and impact investing across the financial services industry. We also hire teams and make strategic hires for core business units to ensure compliance, drive transition and launch new products and services.

Many of our clients are at the forefront of developing new financial products and investment strategies in areas such as: impact investing, decarbonisation, natural capital solutions and gender equality. Our clients trust us to help them define, map and solve their sustainable finance challenges.

This includes organisations like HSBC, European Bank, Hermes, Lombard Odier, Actis, CIFF, KKR and BNP Paribas.

Search projects completed include:

  • Environmental Equity Strategies team build

  • Managing Director, Climate Risk

  • Head of Sustainability Strategy

  • Head of Sustainable Investing

  • Head of Sustainability

  • Global Head of Stewardship

  • Global Equities team lift

  • Global Debt team lift


What skills does Acre look for in a sustainable finance professional?

The technical expertise required to drive sustainable change varies from person to person, but driving real change in purpose-driven professions takes more than technical expertise.

We understand the sustainable finance skills and behaviours required to drive this change.

We develop and assess against our bespoke competency framework of non-technical skills, built based on data that outlines what 'good' looks like in over 2,000 purpose-driven professions. We believe that those non-technical skills, such as Innovation & Courage and Business Insight, make an effective sustainable finance leader who can drive change and deliver impact.

Find out more about our Sustainable Finance Leadership Assessments here.

Sustainable Finance Leadership Development

We work with your people, the leaders of today and of tomorrow, taking the time to understand the skills your business needs to achieve your ambitions and create impact. And, with our sustainable finance recruitment capabilities, we can advise on talent solutions that are designed to deliver this change.

We believe that a continuous approach to development leads to different types of actions, resulting in more thoughtful and impactful behaviours. That’s why our sustainable finance leadership development programmes include time between sessions to put theory into practice; providing an opportunity to reflect, think and take meaningful action.

Find out more about our Sustainable Finance Leadership Training Programmes here.

Contact Us:

Get in touch today to discuss our sustainable finance recruitment services, including ESG recruitment and impact investing recruitment, or to discuss our Executive Search offering. ​

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