Before you size any new role, it helps to understand who you're competing with for talent. Demand in financial services sits firmly at the senior and specialist end. According to GOV.UK's Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report, recruitment in the sector was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3 to 5 positions.
That matters for an ESG reporting hire. RQF 6+ roughly maps to degree-level and above, the kind of qualified, regulated expertise that takes longer to find and longer to replace. So when you plan your first ESG reporting role, assume you're hiring into a market that already leans towards experienced, credentialed professionals rather than entry-level ones.
Start with the regulatory output, not the job title. A UK lender's ESG reporting now touches climate-related financial disclosures, Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and the data that feeds them. Write down every report the role must own or support, the deadlines attached to each, and who signs them off. That list is your scope.
Next, decide seniority. If the role owns end-to-end disclosures and briefs the board, you're hiring a senior specialist or a lead. If it gathers and quality-checks data under someone else's sign-off, you can size it a step lower. Given the sector skews towards RQF 6+ roles per GOV.UK's Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report, be realistic: a credible first hire here is likely a qualified professional, not a junior analyst.
Then choose where it reports. ESG reporting can sit in finance (because it increasingly mirrors financial disclosure), in risk (because climate is a prudential concern), or in a standalone sustainability function. For a first hire, many lenders anchor the role in finance or risk so it inherits existing controls and sign-off discipline, then build outwards as the remit grows.
Write the job description around outcomes and reports, not a wish list of acronyms. State the disclosures the person will own, the systems they'll work with, and the stakeholders they'll brief. That clarity attracts the right people and filters out the rest.
Because the sector pulls towards senior, regulated professionals as GOV.UK's Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report shows, move quickly once you find the right person. A slow process loses good people to faster employers.
Once you've sized the role, you need to reach the right people fast. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost, through Reed.ai. If you're ready to find the person who'll own your ESG reporting, start your search with us today.
