Social Value Specialist

The Growth Company’s (GC) Business Growth Hub has an opportunity for a Social Value Specialist.

Working with business owners and/or senior management, the role is wide-ranging with an external advisory focus that embeds social value through knowledge sharing and best practice guidance whilst also, supporting both the Head of Leadership, Skills and Social Value and the Growth Company’s Social Value steering group, to ensure societal impact is central to strategic decision making and has measurable outcomes at all levels across our workforce, service design and operational delivery.

GC Business Growth Hub is a community of specialists with a passion to help businesses across Greater Manchester to realise their ambitions. Since 2011, the Hub has supported more than 15,000 businesses including start-ups, scale-ups, and established businesses, providing finance guidance, creating international links, and paving the way for innovation and people development across the region. We work with the best of public and private partners, offering expert one-to-one and peer-to-peer business support, events, specialist programmes, funding and much more.

**Key Responsibilities**
- Work with private, public and VCSE sector organisations to develop and evolve their social impact practices and programmes.
- Work with our internal Social Value steering group to evolve the Growth Company’s pledge to further increase its impact via the staff, clients, businesses, and communities that we serve.
- Represent the Growth Company, and engage with appropriate external stakeholders and relevant forums relating to the topic of Social Value across GM.
- Create effective connections with our clients, partners, and the communities we work with that enhance good employment in their practices, widen accessibility, share learning and best practice.
- Engage with Local Authorities to understand place-based challenges and localised resource.
- Provide thought leadership and drive awareness of social impacts, connecting with a range of audiences.
- Evaluate and measure the impact of initiatives, and subsequently share learnings with clients.
- Review external data collection methods and support the development of overarching social value themes, benchmarking data.
- Provide wider analysis and expert advice on how social value is understood and embedded by Greater Manchester based organisations.
- Design and deliver business support programmes to enhance learning and understanding of social value and broader inclusive growth.
- Assist with marketing to build an employer brand that represents and promotes our impacts.
- Examine clients’ business practices to identify opportunities to ensure social value is a business priority.
- Design and deliver high impact events to educate on social value that may cover themes such as (but not limited to): understanding social value, modern slavery, paying a real living wage, tender readiness/procurement, and measuring/reporting impact, representing the Growth Company as an ambassador.

**About You**
- Significant experience and practice in social value generation, monitoring and reporting, strategy development, formulation of policies and procedures, and execution, to achieve business results.
- A strong track record and experience of working in this area in a complex organisation and driving measurable change.
- Have a passion for people and a true belief in the value of good business and employment practices for organisational and business success.
- Experience of taking an organisation through accreditation/auditing processes such as the Social Enterprise Mark or equivalent, where evidence and information gathering is required from multiple sources.

**Skills Required**:

- Have a clear understanding of the social value agenda, particularly within Greater Manchester, and what current societal and economic challenges are faced by Greater Manchester based businesses
- Understanding of the Social Value Act 2012 and the current agenda which impacts on organisations and business. Knowledge of how social value impacts procurement and supply chain activity.
- Proven ability to facilitate learning through focus groups, coaching and training.
- Strong analytical skills and the ability to develop metrics and provide insight from data.
- Experience of using social value frameworks and platforms that support the measurement and reports of impacts.

**Salary**: Up to £40,700.00 per year

**Benefits**:

- Additional leave
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Enhanced paternity leave
- Flexitime
- Gym membership
- Sick pay
- Work from home

Flexible Language Requirement:

- English not required

Schedule:

- Flexitime
- Monday to Friday

Ability to commute/relocate:

- Manchester: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)

Work Location: In person