At the beginning of 2025, Chris Hayward, for City of London Corporation Insights, said, for the UK to remain a leader in impact investing, it had to focus on: driving innovation, building capacity and leading globally. This meant developing new finance models, promoting careers in the sector, championing policy, consistent impact standards and more.
Along similar lines, we noticed a rise in impact finance organisations looking for professionals with cross-functional experience. For example, across different financial products and structures (grants, debt, equity, blended funding) and departments (fundraising, marketing, operations, investment, investor relations), as well as those with data-driven impact measurement experience and soft skills like storytelling.
We saw strong demand for blended finance specialists, compliance experts, ESG analysts and impact fund managers. And similar to the GIIN’s 2025 State of the Market report, which highlights where firms and funds are concentrating their efforts, we’re seeing a clear hiring overlap in the same thematic targets of healthcare, clean energy and, most of all, housing.
There’s no doubt about it: Developments in the sector are creating new opportunities for growth. But with a tight hiring market, we wanted to lay out the trends expected to impact recruitment rather than our usual hiring advice. Here’s what you should keep an eye on to build future-ready teams with skills aligned with emerging demands:
Blended Finance Growth
The focus on public-private-third sector partnerships – which may rapidly grow, propelled by the new UK Government’s Office for the Impact Economy – has given rise to new funding and capital opportunities. Not just grantmaking but private business equity investing and debt-led funding. Take Bridges Fund Management, for example, using private equity, debt, property and outcomes partnerships for measurable, sustainable solutions. And Social Finance leveraging impact investment funds, social impact bonds and thematic impact funds.
With blended funding packages trending, organisations have to find individuals with multidisciplinary backgrounds and an understanding of different funding mechanisms, products and even private fund structures, due to the complexity of the deals.
Regional Markets Gaining Strength
It is worth highlighting Place-Based Impact Investing (PBII)’s significant traction last year. From the Royal Foundation – which brings together public, private and third sector partners to unlock scalable and transformative investment – to Responsible Finance, which supports the CDFI ecosystem, many organisations are helping drive this kind of investment forward “into specific cities, towns, and regions to generate positive social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns.”
PBII’s growth could have come about due to CDFIs’ capacity building and the government’s proposal that Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) show how they intend to increase their investment in local community projects across the UK – with an ambition to allocate 5% of assets under management to such investments.
We’ve seen a push for investment analysts, data specialists, impact measurement experts and partnership strategists to connect investors with local authorities and communities.
And although London remains the dominant financial hub – accounting for nearly half of professional finance roles — regional markets are popular within the impact finance sector. For example, organisations are growing offices in Leeds and Edinburgh, among other cities. It has been reported that, within the finance job market, more junior-level positions opened in other UK cities while London focused on senior and highly specialised positions. However, we have seen senior leadership teams choosing to be based out of northern cities too. Employers should be aware of this regional growth and how it will create new opportunities.
More Contract, Interim and Fractional Roles
Contract and flexible hires (fractional finance leaders, interim specialists, etc) became more prominent in 2025. Organisations sometimes brought in contract specialists to navigate regulatory changes, to build an impact framework, prepare for reporting or support a fund launch. Also, many impact finance organisations still have small core teams and restricted budgets but need specialists for sustainability reporting, portfolio monitoring, legal and more.
Across the board, candidates are still prioritising permanent roles but these kinds of contract roles are capturing late-career professionals, who are able to be more flexible, and women rejoining the workforce. Contractors think differently from full-time employees, so impact organisations need to speak their language – from day rates and contracts to scope and payment terms.
Disclosure and Standards Focus
Financial regulations are tightening up across the industry, with heightened FCA oversight, evolving ESG regulation and growing pressure from LPs for robust reporting. For example, the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) being applied to UK funds – with new sustainability labels, anti-greenwashing and marketing rules – have put greater emphasis on how impact is measured and how governance ensures delivery.
As a result, professionals with expertise in impact measurement, due diligence, regulation and risk management are increasingly sought-after across impact funds – to provide robust, measurable evidence of social and environmental outcomes. Also, a growing emphasis on transparency and outcomes is driving investors to move towards impact investing rather than ESG, so there will be a growing need for professionals with those skills.
It’s about starting to build diverse teams now that include the right kind of expertise and different perspectives to drive innovation when new regulations are imposed.
Technology and Innovation Drive
The broader finance hiring landscape in 2025 was increasingly shaped by technology and innovation; trends that directly influenced UK impact and sustainable finance, too.
Large impact funds started to investigate AI’s use, like Better Society Capital who did a study into “Can generative AI speed up and strengthen impact-performance assessment of venture investments?” So, there was a rising demand for professionals in the sector with experience using AI for risk assessment, accountability and data analysis.
Leading universities and institutions are also rolling out targeted AI courses and executive programmes looking at context-specific nuances and where AI may fall short with underserved communities. Internal recruiters who follow these types of programmes can pre-empt the skills entering the market and plan team upskilling accordingly.
UK’s Net Zero Economy Boost
Britain’s Net Zero economy grew, expanding employment, especially where finance intersects with renewable and climate sectors. This growth attracts private capital because investors see both financial returns and positive environmental/social outcomes.
Regional funds investing in projects (e.g., clean energy systems, low-carbon transport) are creating new jobs in local hotspots, like Yorkshire and Aberdeen. It is leading to transformative opportunities across the UK, helping advance sustainable economic development.
There will certainly be a continued increase in green, technical jobs, with net-zero projects looking for engineers, project managers and sustainability specialists. With the speed of development in the Net Zero economy, it’s important to anticipate and address emerging skill gaps, particularly in funding and investment.
Final Thoughts
As the impact finance sector evolves, so will the way organisations need to hire. Keeping sight of these general trends will be key to navigating recruitment and building teams that support long-term growth and sustainability. The sector trends provide a clear picture of what’s shaping the market and where opportunities and challenges lie, helping us prepare for what’s next.
Email sheena.pentin@careers4change.com to sign up to our Newsletter, which will cover trends, sector news and more, providing useful insights on what to watch out for in the impact finance sector.
