Social Value Lead

About the role
Giving back to the communities we work in, and those our customers serve, is a core part of how Version 1 delivers value. Our work has won a Princess Royal Training Award, and our social value framework holds a Silver Social Value Quality Mark accreditation.
This is a senior role in our commercial function, owning social value propositions and partnerships across Version 1. Working alongside our ESG team and delivery practices, you will build the partner network and the propositions our social value commitments come from, including joint propositions with community, education, SME and hyperscaler partners.
You will shape strategy aligned to our sector and account plans, engaging customers early and designing social value programmes we can deliver at scale. You will write the social value content on our largest pursuits, and set and assure the standard on the rest, scored against the criteria each customer has published.
Regular travel to customers, partners and sector events is expected, with more during live deals. You will engage at SRO and commercial director level with customers, and with partner leadership, Version 1 account directors and our executive team.
What you'll do
Own Version 1’s social value development
Own and run a rolling gap analysis of where we stand against the criteria we are scored on, covering data, process, partner coverage and delivery evidence.
Decide how gaps get closed, and make the investment case for new partnerships, changes to practice or new capability.
Review scoring feedback and debriefs after every bid, and act on what the evaluator told us.
Build social value capability across commercial and delivery teams through guidance, templates and training.
Set the approach to Procurement Act 2023 transparency data.
Design repeatable social value solutions that bid teams can tailor rather than rebuild each time.
Line manage and develop the social value team.
Chair the monthly Social Value Steerco across Commercial, Delivery and ESG.
Represent Version 1 at customer, sector and partner events, and with accreditation bodies.
Build our Social Value partner network
Build and manage our partner network across further education colleges, universities, employability providers, local authorities, SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.
Build joint propositions with hyperscaler and ISV partners, covering partner-funded training places, certification pathways and co-branded community programmes.
Co-design opportunities with those partners, communities, cohorts or anchor institutions.
Keep partners ready to bid, so we can produce named partners, agreed commitments and letters of support to a tender timetable.
Drive commitments that score highly
Contribute social value strategy into our sector and account plans, working with account leads and client directors.
Research and engage customers, SROs and commercial leads ahead of procurement to shape our offers before tenders are issued.
Brief teams on what a specific buyer has accepted, monitored and enforced before.
Convert Version 1 and partner capability and data into quantified commitments that score well and that we can deliver.
Design commitments that scale with delivery, understanding what each one costs and how it grows as contract value, duration and headcount change.
Analyse competitor social value commitments and published contract performance data, and turn that into bid positioning and win themes.
Review and edit the social value content written by others, and approve what Version 1 commits to.
Make commitments deliverable and reportable
Define the KPI, the evidence requirement and the owner for every commitment at the point of award, and hand them to the ESG team and the delivery team.
Check reported performance against what we committed to, and feed back into future bids and the gap analysis.
Essential
Extensive Social Value and/or UK Public Sector Consultancy experience
Experience of managing Social Value teams
Have strong existing UK government stakeholder relationships
Substantial experience in social value, employability, skills or community investment, including partnership delivery and bid work at scale.
Deep working knowledge of the UK Government Social Value Model and Model Award Criteria (MACs), with the judgement to challenge how a buyer has weighted them and propose alternatives.
Able to use the Social Value Portal and National TOMs Framework critically, including where proxy values overstate or understate real impact.
Working knowledge of Procurement Act 2023 transparency notices, published contract performance data and impact measurement.
Track record of building external partnerships that produced measurable outcomes, with examples you can talk through in detail.
Ability to write and review content that scores highly.
Commercial judgement on quantified commitments, contract KPIs, cost to serve, performance reporting and the evidence trail behind them.
Credible with customer director and SRO level stakeholders, and with Version 1 executives.
Highly organised, able to manage partnership work alongside live bid deadlines.
Line management experience.
Desirable
Experience of social value delivery on the supplier side of a public sector contract.
Experience of hyperscaler or ISV partner programmes.
Understanding of Shipley or APMP writing-to-score principles.
Proficiency in AI-enabled research and drafting.

Employment type
Full-time

Work arrangement
Hybrid