Sustainability Manager - Social

Who are we?

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

Join our team and help us continue to bring people together to get the most out of life.

About the job

As Sustainability Manager, you will lead the delivery of SWR's social sustainability programme and be responsible for delivering the socially responsible pillar of our Sustainability Strategy. You will drive social value performance across the business, ensuring compliance with industry and government requirements while creating positive outcomes for customers, communities and stakeholders.

You will lead key workstreams including:

• Social value strategy, reporting and performance measurement
• Charity partnerships and community investment
• Community Benefit Scheme management
• Supply chain engagement on social sustainability and modern slavery
• Community Rail Partnership reporting and stakeholder engagement

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Lead the delivery of SWR's social sustainability commitments, targets and government obligations.
• Support the integration of sustainability workstreams across SWR and Network Rail, aligning with industry best practice and Department for Transport expectations.
• Ensure SWR's sustainability strategy remains responsive to emerging risks, regulatory developments and stakeholder expectations.
• Champion sustainability across the organisation by engaging colleagues, fostering ownership and embedding social and environmental responsibility into business activities.
• Drive performance against sustainability KPIs, identifying opportunities for improvement and delivering measurable outcomes.
• Act as the organisation's subject matter expert for social sustainability, providing advice and guidance across the business.
• Design and deliver training, briefings and awareness campaigns, including support for the Sustainability Champion Programme.
• Lead the development and delivery of SWR's socially responsible pillar and associated community investment programmes.
• Work with the wider sustainability team to improve KPI performance and deliver sustainability objectives.
• Partner with Procurement to embed responsible procurement principles, including ISO 20400, social value requirements and modern slavery commitments within the supply chain.
• Manage and administer the Community Benefit Scheme, including funding agreements, governance, monitoring and delivery against agreed milestones.
• Oversee the delivery of social value initiatives across the business, ensuring effective allocation, management and reporting of funding.
• Develop robust processes for measuring, calculating and reporting social value impacts from projects and supply chain activities.
• Support the embedding of social value principles across operations, procurement and decision making.
• Build and maintain relationships with communities, charities, government bodies, industry partners, customers, suppliers and political stakeholders to promote meaningful collaboration and maximise social value outcomes.
• Produce regular reports and updates on social value performance, achievements and outcomes for executive and governance reporting.
• Monitor performance against industry frameworks and tools, including RSSB's Rail Social Value Tool (RSVT).
• Manage projects effectively, ensuring delivery to agreed timescales, budgets and objectives.
• Attend and, where appropriate, chair internal meetings and represent SWR at relevant industry forums and events.

What you'll need:

• Degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent professional experience.
• Membership of, or working towards membership of, a relevant professional body such as ISEP.
• Experience delivering social sustainability, social value, sustainable procurement or modern slavery programmes.
• Strong understanding of sustainability legislation, policy and reporting frameworks.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication and influencing skills.
• Experience managing projects and delivering measurable outcomes.
• Strong analytical skills with experience monitoring and reporting against KPIs.
• Experience producing reports, business cases and presentations for a range of audiences.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and identify opportunities for improvement.

Desirable

• Experience working within transport, infrastructure or another regulated industry.
• Degree in Environmental Management, Sustainability or a related subject.
• Active membership of a relevant professional body.

About the location

South Western Railways HQ is based on the 4th Floor at South Bank Central, a stone's throw from the River Thames and a 10 minute walk from our busiest station, Waterloo. It is local to many well-known attractions, restaurants and retail facilities and is easily accessible by public transport. 

Working pattern

Working an average of 37 hours per week 

09:00 - 17:00, office hours 

The Reward

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:

• Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
• Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)
• 75% discount on many other train operating companies
• Full training and support with development
• Excellent pension scheme

We all belong at SWR. Our vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below.  We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/