ESG and Social Value Lead

Hippo is recruiting for a ESG and Social Value Lead within the Operations team, reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer.

We are a fast-growing Digital Consultancy headquartered in Leeds with operations across multiple locations including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Glasgow. We work heavily in the public sector where there is a real focus on Social Value. ESG and Social Value is important to us - as demonstrated by our commitment to deliver £100m of social impact by 2030 and become a net zero business by 2040. We are looking for someone to continue to drive our social value agenda forward and deliver on these ambitions.

The role can be based in any of our locations and we operate a hybrid working model. Travel to the office is on an as-needed basis, but likely to be no more than 2 days per month.

We are looking for someone who will enjoy working in a dynamic, fast paced environment providing ESG/Social Value experience and expertise to drive forward this agenda.

Your role in a nutshell:

• Responsible for measuring our carbon footprint, working in conjunction with our third party partners;
• Identifying and delivering initiatives within the business to meet our objectives of being net zero by 2040 including working with internal members of staff and third parties;
• Responsible for external reporting and ensuring we meet any legal obligations on our Carbon Footprint and reduction plan;
• Responsible for completing sustainability related questionnaires/assessments such as Ecovadis, client questionnaires etc;
• Responsible for reporting to customers or procurement departments on social value initiatives and progress using our social value reporting tool;
• Identify and deliver initiatives within the business to deliver social value in line with our social value strategy: Environmental Responsibility, Sustainable Procurement, Social Mobility, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, and Health and Wellbeing.
• Produce contract-winning responses to social value tender questions with commitments aligned to customer values and priorities - often within very short deadlines;
• Working collaboratively with our internal communities including Green Hippos (internal staff focus on green initiatives), regional volunteering leads, and diversity inclusion and belonging forum;
• Point of contact for all ESG/Social Value related activities and responsible for internal and external communications;
• Line management responsibility for junior members of the social value team.

We are seeking an experienced candidate with knowledge of the basics of carbon footprint accounting, understanding of the government’s Social Value Model as well as experience of delivering social value projects and writing bid responses.  Only candidates with this experience will be offered a salary towards the top of the salary range provided.

You must be self-organising, motivated and be able to drive projects through to conclusion in challenging environments with excellent written and verbal communication skills. We hope that the successful candidate is also passionate about this subject!

Given the time demands of the role, this is a full-time position.

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Hippo

At Hippo, we’re dedicated to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that works for everyone. We understand that having a diverse team unlocks our capacity for innovation, creativity and problem solving. Only by building a community of diverse perspectives, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds can we create an environment where all can contribute and thrive.

We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups including women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and people with disabilities. We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process that reflects our workplace culture. We are a registered Disability Confident Employer, Mindful Employer, Endometriosis Friendly Employer and a member of the Armed Forces Covenant. Hippo continually strives to remove barriers, provide accommodations and offer reasonable adjustments to ensure equity throughout our practices.

Hi, we’re Hippo.

At Hippo, we design with empathy and build for impact. We do this by combining data-informed evidence, human-centred design and software engineering.  We're a digital services partner who is genuinely invested in helping our clients thrive as modern organisations. Our delivery methodology is truly agile, from concept to reality, supporting innovation and continuous improvement to achieve your desired outcomes.

We firmly believe that technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. We take a human-centred approach to everything we do because we understand that complex problems require a service design approach. This means understanding how users behave and ensuring our solutions work for them in the real world. 

Our combination of data, design, and engineering delivers bespoke digital services that make a positive and meaningful impact on organisations and society. We're confident in our abilities, authentic in our approach, and passionate about what we do. If you're looking for a digital services partner that can deliver real results, let us help you build for the future and make a lasting impact.

Hippo locations

We are headquartered in Leeds and located across the UK in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Bristol. We're on the lookout for top talent nationwide, so don't let location hold you back from applying. We welcome candidates from all over the UK who possess the flexibility to work from any of our locations. Plus, we offer a generous relocation support package of up to £8k to help make your move a smooth one. It's worth noting that, given the dynamic nature of our business, you may be required to work on-site at client locations or from your own home.