Social Value Lead

Roke Manor Research Limited; Woking; On-site; GBP 55,000 - GBP 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research firm is seeking a Social Value Lead who will be instrumental in driving the Social Value strategy and delivery. In this high-impact role, you will collaborate with diverse teams to ensure Social Value is ingrained in operations and decision-making. The ideal candidate has experience in government-facing organizations, a strong understanding of Social Value models, and proven leadership capabilities. This role offers a competitive salary and benefits package, with a strong focus on creating positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Flexible benefits covering Health and Wellbeing

Savings and Protection & Life

Leisure and Entertainment

Qualifications

• Experience in a government-facing organization.
• Capability to create complex bid content related to Social Value.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the Social Value Strategy.
• Track delivery against plans and metrics.
• Manage Social Value budgets.

Skills

Experience delivering Social Value

Understanding of Government Social Value Model

Budget management skills

Strong organizational skills

Stakeholder management

Tools

Thrive platform

Job description

Roke, Roke Manor, Romsey, Hampshire, United Kingdom •

Roke, First Floor Windmill Green, Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom •

Roke, 5th Floor, Space, Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom •

Roke, Unit K, Elmbridge East, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

Job Description

Posted Tuesday 20 January 2026 at 01:00

Great ideas come from different minds. That’s why we bring together engineers, scientists, analysts, and creatives from every background — and give them the trust, tools, and freedom to make a difference. What connects us is the mission: solving meaningful problems and building capability that protects what matters most.

And as the challenges evolve, so do we — working on the technologies that will shape tomorrow, not just today.

At Roke, we’re committed to delivering meaningful, lasting Social Value across every part of our business. We’re now looking for an experienced Social Value Lead to drive our strategy, governance, and delivery — ensuring Social Value is embedded into how we operate, bid, deliver, and partner with government and industry.

This is an exciting, high‑impact role for someone passionate about social, environmental and economic outcomes, with the leadership capability to influence at every level.

What you’ll be doing

As our Social Value Lead, you’ll:

• Own and continuously evolve the Social Value Strategy, ensuring alignment with the Government Social Value Model, Chemring ESG Strategy, and Roke’s People, Environment, Places and Ecosystem priorities.
• Chair and coordinate the Social Value ecosystem within our ESG meets EVP Committee, bringing together ERGs, Charities, STEM/outreach teams, Sustainability and JOSCAR Zero activity.
• Lead regular planning cycles to set missions, outcomes and priorities.

Drive Workstream Delivery

• Provide leadership, direction and support to the four Social Value Chairs (Economic Growth, Sustainable Future, Community & Wellbeing, Fair Opportunities for All).
• Track delivery against plans, risks, metrics and outcomes, ensuring clarity and alignment across all workstreams.

Manage Budgets & Investment

• Oversee Social Value budgets, including workforce volunteering hours, ERG allocations, recurring programme commitments (e.g., Thrive, JOSCAR Zero) and charity partnerships.
• Evaluate new proposals, build business cases and recommend investment based on impact and alignment.

Lead Social Value in Bids

• Partner with bidding teams to develop compelling, compliant Social Value solutions from early engagement through to submission.
• Produce high‑quality content including MAC‑aligned commitments, delivery approaches, KPIs, and proxy valuations.
• Maintain best‑practice examples, evidence and case‑study libraries, and upskill internal teams on Social Value expectations.

Own Measurement, Data & Reporting

• Act as business owner for the Thrive platform, defining metrics, KPIs, baselines and reporting cycles.
• Produce dashboards and performance reports for Roke Operating Board, Executive Committee and customers.
• Ensure high‑quality, auditable data and consistent reporting across all activity.

Build Engagement & Culture

• Champion Social Value across the organisation, building understanding and ownership.
• Represent Roke at customer, supplier and industry forums.
• Support ERGs, volunteering, wellbeing and community partnerships.
• Maintain accessible Social Value content across SharePoint and our communication channels.

Continuously Improve

• Stay ahead of evolving government policy, procurement requirements and customer priorities.
• Lead maturity assessments, lessons learned, and improvement initiatives to keep Roke competitive and compliant.

What we’re looking for

• Experience delivering or coordinating Social Value within a government‑facing organisation.
• Strong understanding of the Government Social Value Model and related reporting expectations.
• Experience leading cross‑functional groups (e.g., ERGs, ESG, CSR, sustainability).
• Strong organisational and budget management skills.
• Proven ability to develop Social Value content for complex bids.
• Confident influencing at all levels, including senior stakeholders.
• Experience using Social Value measurement platforms (Thrive or similar).
• Background in ESG, procurement, HR/People, supply chain, bidding or programme delivery.
• Understanding of proxy valuation and outcome measurement.
• Familiarity with Defence & Security frameworks and Social Value expectations.

Who you are

You’ll be inclusive, collaborative and purpose‑driven.

You’ll bring strong communication, great stakeholder management and the ability to turn complexity into clarity.

And above all, you’ll be passionate about driving positive, measurable impact across people, communities and the environment.

What success looks like

• Higher Social Value maturity and consistent governance across Roke.
• High‑quality bid responses and stronger customer outcomes.
• Robust measurement and transparent reporting via Thrive.
• Strong engagement from Social Value Chairs, ERGs and delivery teams.
• Recognised Social Value leadership with measurable impact across our People, Environment, Places and Ecosystem priorities.

Why You Should Join Us

We have a competitive salary and access to a number of additional flexible benefits, which will cover Health and Wellbeing, Savings and Protection & Life, Leisure and Entertainment.

Security

Due to the nature of this position, we require you to be eligible to achieve SC clearance. As a result, you should be a British Citizen and have resided in the UK for the last 5 years.

The Next Step

Click apply, submitting an up‑to‑date CV. We look forward to hearing from you.

Roke, Roke Manor, Romsey, Hampshire, United Kingdom,

Roke, First Floor Windmill Green, Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom,

Roke, 5th Floor, Space, Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom,

Roke, Unit K, Elmbridge East, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom