Senior Social Value Project Consultant in Salford

As a Senior Social Value Consultant, you'll lead high-quality advisory commissions and help grow our client-facing social value service.

You'll work with clients to understand, embed and maximise social value across their projects, programmes and organisations.

You'll join the Social Value Advisory Lead and colleagues across Ridge, supporting public and private sector clients throughout the built environment.

Your portfolio may include master planning, design, housing, infrastructure and regeneration.

You'll advise on areas such as strategy and policy development, procurement, local needs assessments, stakeholder engagement and co-production, impact assessments, and organisational capability.

You'll need proven experience across these types of projects and advisory activities.

Reporting to the Social Value Advisory Lead, you'll take commissions from opportunity through to delivery.

You'll build trusted client relationships, shape proposals and develop a sustainable pipeline while achieving strong commercial, technical and social outcomes.

This role will suit you if you are an entrepreneurial consultant who enjoys leading complex projects, developing practical solutions to social challenges and building lasting relationships.

Ridge manages its internal social value programmes, corporate responsibility activities and business-wide impact initiatives separately, so they are not part of this role.

What you'll do

• Business development and collaboration
• Identify and develop opportunities, contribute to bids and proposals, and help build a sustainable pipeline of social value advisory work.
• Build relationships with existing and prospective clients and with colleagues across disciplines and regions.
• Help integrate social value into wider commissions.
• Support market engagement, thought leadership and the development of sector-specific services.
• Client leadership
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders and identify opportunities for repeat or additional work.
• Lead advisory commissions from scoping and mobilisation through to completion.
• Deliver practical, evidence-based outputs that reflect relevant policy and good practice.
• Manage client expectations and maintain high standards of quality, satisfaction and impact.
• Commercial and project management
• Prepare scopes, fee proposals, programmes and budgets.
• Manage project resources, risks and commercial performance.
• Maintain accurate forecasts and pipeline information, following Ridge project and commercial processes.
• Manage several projects and competing priorities while meeting deadlines and maintaining quality.
• Team and service development

You'll work with colleagues on commissions, share knowledge and help strengthen capability across Ridge.

You'll improve our social value advisory service by developing practical methods, tools, templates and guidance.

You'll also stay informed about emerging policy, legislation and market practice, using your insights to shape new services and opportunities.

What you'll bring

• A degree-level qualification in a relevant discipline.
• At least five years' experience in social value, environmental, social and governance, sustainability, socio-economics, stakeholder engagement or a related field.
• Experience in the built environment.
• Good knowledge of social value policy, public procurement and planning frameworks.
• Proven experience of securing and delivering consultancy commissions.
• Experience of managing client relationships and leading projects.
• Strong commercial awareness and business development skills.
• Experience of supporting public sector clients.
• Strong organisation and project management skills.
• Experience of carrying out local needs assessments, equality impact needs assessments or similar work.
• Experience of delivering stakeholder engagement.
• Strong report-writing and quality assurance skills.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and presentation skills.
• The ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Willingness to travel across the UK when client and project work requires it.
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