We are living through a period of great disruption. Changes to US federal environmental and social policy have had direct and indirect impacts on sustainability professionals. Those seeking to enter, pivot or continue in a sustainable finance and impact investing career are left wondering if there are any jobs in the sector. And if so, are they worth pursuing?
Over my nearly decade of professional coaching, MBA students and professionals, as well as those trying to pivot from the development sector, have asked me questions such as: “How do I get into impact investing if I don’t have any experience;” “How do I upskill myself;” and “What types of roles and companies are out there?”
In this era of uncertainty, the best place to start is with what we know.
State of the market
Data on direct job losses in the development sector has shown that funding cuts to the USAID are directly linked to job losses. Data from USAID Stop-Work Tracker, (a grassroots data collection effort that tracks voluntarily reported job losses from affected organizations) found that 258,161 jobs were lost globally in 2025.
The impact on sustainable finance jobs is less clear. Publicly available data on direct or indirect job losses is not readily available. This leaves us to analyze market sentiment and deduce job trends for 2026 and beyond.
Despite the unprecedented political, legislative and economic changes on environmental and social issues, the US Sustainable Investment Forum, or US SIF, notes that at the end of 2025, the US market remained committed to sustainable investing. Sustainable assets rose modestly in absolute terms, from $6.5 trillion in 2024 to $6.6 trillion in 2025; stewardship coverage (e.g. evidence of a stewardship policy) increased from $41.5 trillion to $42.7 trillion; and 53 % of surveyed individuals expect the sustainable investment market to grow over the next year.
Interestingly, US SIF summarizes the political impact on sustainable investing activity as “investors holding to their sustainability commitments while recalibrating terminology, stewardship practices, and disclosure framing to fit shifting legal and political conditions.” Investors continue to deploy a range of sustainable investing strategies including ESG integration, impact investing, sustainability-themed investing, negative screening and shareholder advocacy.
In the EU, regulatory frameworks continue to drive demand for sustainable finance expertise. The European Green Deal is likely to mobilize €1 trillion in sustainable investments this decade, with transition finance urgently needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55%by 2030.
According to the Global Impact Investing Network’s (GIIN) 2025 Market Intelligence survey, assets under management have increased at a compound annual growth rate of 21% over the six years from 2019 to 2025, with an 11% increase in the past year. The majority of 2025 survey respondents plan to increase investments in climate solutions, water and sanitation, and sustainable agriculture in the years ahead.
Material investment risks that result from a changing climate are well-established. A 2025 report from the UK Institute and Faculty of Actuaries predicts climate-induced GDP loss at 50% between 2070 and 2090. Conversely, the opportunity for enhanced return on investments using impact investing is also well established. Taken together with the US SIF data above, it is reasonable to assume that most financial institutions will continue to pay attention to environmental and social risks and opportunities.
While we don’t have conclusive data, this trend points towards sustained demand for impact investing expertise, including from analysts, advisors, climate change risk and carbon accounting experts, as well as compliance and reporting professionals.
What this means for job seekers
Recent research from Harvard Business School, which looked at the careers of 350,000 top MBA graduates in the US, is also revealing. Despite strong interest from students only 1 in 400 graduates currently work in impact investing roles, with jobs heavily clustered in Washington DC, California and New York. Encouragingly – especially for those from non-finance backgrounds looking to enter this space – about 31 % of impact professionals had prior careers in finance, and 6 % in consulting, but the majority come from elsewhere: nonprofit, government, technology and elsewhere.
Similar to the US, there is strong interest from students at top business schools in the UK in sustainable finance.
We can categorize individuals at different stages in the ‘spectrum’ of work experience – those at the beginning, most somewhere in the middle, and some advanced. Another key distinction is between those with a finance background or a finance-related education and those without.
As the HBS study finds, there are routes open in both scenarios, though the types of pathways will vary. For example, an investment officer or manager role in an impact-related organisation, in most cases, requires a finance background.
There now exists a plethora of resources – free and paid online courses, podcasts, newsletters and industry events – to build knowledge, skills and networks. There is much one can do to build a foundation in this area or deepen existing experience.
For entry and early-career professionals (and even as a reminder to those that are experienced), the role of networking in finding and securing a job, cannot be understated. Most people I know are happy to make available 20 to 30 minutes to share advice with those genuinely interested and committed to a career in impact. This is important, because anecdotally, I have heard stories of early-career professionals applying to 100 or 200 roles to secure a handful of interviews.
Coaching is a form of alchemy. The blend of experience (across geographies, sectors, and areas of expertise), skills, strengths, values, personal background and motivations is unique to each individual. There is no one size fits all answer; each requires a tailored discussion to move one step forward in this journey. I haven’t seen AI replicate this – yet. Where technology has helped is in creating a single place to organize the materials that support these conversations. Over time, this led me to develop Prospera, an online resource for those seeking careers in sustainability including sustainable finance and impact investing.
Finally, the answer to the question posed at the beginning – whether a sustainable finance and impact investing career is worth pursuing – is dependent on your worldview. I have tried to evidence the one presented here. In the end, any career decision is based on your values, whether you genuinely believe finance can be responsible and that ways exist to make it so, and whether, in a career spanning several decades it is work worth pursuing. I do.
Chintal Barot is the founder of Prospera & CoSustain Consulting Ltd.
