Environmental & Social Complaints Officer

Our mission and objectives

• British International Investment is the UK’s development finance institution, owned by the UK Government. We invest with the aim of solving the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation.
• We have 75 years of experience successfully supporting the sustainable, long-term growth of businesses in Africa and Asia and have recently expanded to invest in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean.
• We invest to achieve impact and a financial return, which is reinvested for more impact. Over the past five years, we have committed £7 billion of new investments, with our net assets growing in value to approximately £8.1 billion. We are now invested in 1,400 businesses which directly employ over 950,000 workers and support many more. Over the next five years, we plan to grow further and aim to commit around £9 billion of new investments over the period.
• Our current five-year strategy responds to the opportunities and challenges facing developing and emerging economies. To ensure our capital is used in the best way possible to meet these opportunities and challenges, it sets out three clear strategic objectives – to invest in productive, sustainable, and inclusive development. These objectives mean an increased focus on climate finance, including investing in green infrastructure, financing digital transformation, and driving inclusive outcomes through gender and diversity finance.
• We changed our name to British International Investment in 2022 to more accurately reflect our central role in the UK Government’s international financing offer.
• In the last few years, we have expanded our presence in Africa and Asia by opening new offices in Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ghana, and Singapore, with further expansion planned.
• We take an entrepreneurial approach to investment. We think innovatively about ways to deploy our capital, attract and mobilise other investors, and drive transformational impact.
• Deliver impact. We are a team of over 600 and place immense value on diversity within our organisation.
• Read more about us and our strategy at co.uk

Organizational Setting and Reporting

The Reports and Complaints is one of the four specialist verticals embedded within BII’s Compliance function reporting to the Head of Compliance. The Compliance function sits under the General Counsel, who oversees legal, compliance, global affairs, and communications functions. The Compliance function operates as a second-line oversight function on matters related to financial crime compliance, regulatory compliance, data protection, transparency, and external reports and complaints independent of the deal teams.

The Compliance function at BII adheres to the Three Lines governance model, aligning with the UK FCA’s expectations on governance and accountability.

The Environmental & Social Complaints Officer will be responsible for coordinating and managing the external reports and complaints related to Business Integrity (BI) and Environmental & Social (E&S) matters, overseen by the Head of Compliance in coordination with relevant internal and external stakeholders. With a sound understanding of BII’s reporting and complaints Mechanism Rules (the Rules), operational procedures, and the Policy of Responsible Investing (the Policy), the R&C Advisor will be required to demonstrate fairness and impartiality.

Purpose

In carrying out its mission, BII expects high Environmental & Social (‘E&S’) and Business Integrity (‘BI’) standards from all our investment partners and portfolio companies. These standards have been implemented for all new investments since 2012 and are outlined in the Policy.

Effective June 2022, BII established the Rules to allow external parties to submit reports & complaints related to alleged breaches of the BI or E&S provisions of the Policy either by BII or its investee. The Rules are intended to provide a fair and transparent process for reviewing and responding to reports and complaints and, in appropriate cases, to enable access to remedy.

In the initial stages of processing external reports and complaints, the office aims to trigger action by BII’s deal teams (Investment, E&S, and/or BI teams) to strengthen portfolio monitoring activities and demonstrate resolution of the complaints. Where appropriate, the office, as a second-line oversight function, may also facilitate and engage with the complainant and investee through a dispute resolution process or involve an independent consultant to assess the issues within the complaint.

Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of this role will include (a) coordinating and managing complaints related to ESG and (b) advising relevant stakeholders on the principles of confidentiality and anonymity that must be adhered to with respect to BI-related reports.

Throughout the case management process, this role requires continuous liaison with internal and external stakeholders to ensure timely responses and actions, as well as oversee the implementation of measures to address E&S and BI concerns.

Day to Day responsibilities

• Support implementing, managing, and improving the BII’s reporting and complaints mechanism.
• Manage the Reports and Complaints inbox, respond to external reports and complaints in writing swiftly, and effectively collaborate with relevant internal and external stakeholders to ensure timely and accurate resolutions in accordance with the rules and internal operating procedures.
• Support consultant assessments by liaising with internal and external stakeholders to obtain the necessary information required under the Complaint.
• Collaborate with the E&S, BI, and Financial Crime Compliance teams to identify the root causes of complaints and opportunities for process improvement to mitigate these issues in the future.
• Monitor UK and international best practice requirements in relation to complaint management.
• Assist with the development and internal delivery of awareness program in the areas of external reports and Complaint rules.
• Assist the Head of Compliance in the preparation of management information reports for senior management ahead of board and senior management meetings.
• Support BII’s internal intranet site, providing useful guidance and tools for staff.

Work experience

The candidate should have demonstrated experience in complaint handling, including intake, assessment, dispute resolution for less complex cases, and the management of consultants undertaking assessments on environmental, social, and business integrity issues. Experience in engagements with civil society, including vulnerable groups, and environmental and social matters is desirable.

The candidate will demonstrate integrity, strong interpersonal skills, empathy, and robust judgment.

Background

• Must have suitable experience in complaint handling/management from the financial services industry and/or Development Finance Institutions
• Familiarity with the DFI Environment and Social policies and procedures would be an advantage.
• Experience undertaking complaints assessment to determine eligibility and materiality in collaboration with other teams
• Strong stakeholder management.
• Demonstrable project management experience in handling third-party service providers like consultants – including drafting requests for proposals, conducting transparent bidding processes, and managing workload processes to ensure swift resolution of complaints
• Demonstrated interest in emerging markets, especially BII’s investing geographies in Africa and Asia.
• Relevant qualifications in a relevant discipline, including but not limited to human rights, international development, law, journalism, politics, international relations, social sciences, environmental science, engineering, geography, or communications
• Experience in developing policies and procedures and preparing and delivering training to help various stakeholders handle complaints.

Personal skills

• Demonstrated ability to independently manage and prioritise a busy and diverse workload with various deliverables for relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Confident and articulate, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to empathize with distressed external parties, de-escalate specific situations and always remain professional.

Strong team player who enjoys working as part of a close team and is willing to collaborate and support the team on various initiatives and tasks.

• Highly motivated and results-driven.
• Sound research and analytical skills.
• Good report writing ability.
• Systematic approach to work with an attention to detail.
• Proactively identify and address issues.
• Candidates should be strongly motivated by BII’s development mission and ideally demonstrate some commitment to development or social goals through previous executive or non-executive activity.

BII’s cultural values

We look for team members who aspire, as we do, to work at our best and to be:

• Impact-led, commercially rigorous
• Tenacious in the face of challenges
• Collaborative and caring

British International Investment is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or educational background. 

Please provide a cover letter with your application

Salary: Competitive