Social Sustainability Manager

The Social Sustainability Manager is responsible for driving social value across the lifecycle of major construction and civil engineering projects in Ireland. This involves translating corporate sustainability goals into project-specific KPIs and ensuring rigorous reporting through proprietary tools like the Social Sustainability Reporting Tool (SSRT). Day-to-day, the role focuses on community engagement and local impact, including organizing job fairs, STEM activities for schools, and collaborating with social enterprises. You will act as the primary advisor for internal teams and external clients, ensuring that every project enhances the social fabric of the surrounding area while meeting stringent contractual requirements. Beyond field activities, you will play a critical role in bid development. By providing specialist social sustainability insights for tenders, you help the company win new work by demonstrating a best-in-class approach to social impact, supply chain management, and inclusive procurement.

In this role, you will likely gain deep expertise in Social Value Frameworks such as the Themes, Outcomes & Measures (TOMs), which are increasingly becoming standard in public procurement. Navigating these complex metrics will provide you with a high-level analytical skillset valuable across the global construction and infrastructure sectors. Exposure to the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) audit process and various ED&I accreditation standards will bolster your technical compliance profile. You will also develop strong project management skills by overseeing social sustainability from the pre-construction phase through to completion, providing a birds-eye view of how sustainability is integrated into heavy industry operations. Mentorship from a large, established sustainability team at one of Europe’s leading construction firms offers unique insights into corporate ESG strategy. You will learn how to scale local community impacts into national-level data sets, enhancing your ability to communicate complex social results to executive stakeholders.

The ideal candidate should possess at least six years of professional experience in social sustainability, social impact, or community development. A background in private or public sectors that involve large-scale physical infrastructure is highly desirable, as you must understand the logistical and social nuances of construction sites. High proficiency in quantitative reporting and data management tools is essential, alongside a degree in a relevant discipline. Since the role involves significant interaction with schools, charities, and subcontractors, excellent communication skills and a passion for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) are fundamental requirements. Finally, you should be a strong technical writer capable of contributing to high-scoring tender responses. Valid Irish driving credentials and the willingness to travel across various regional sites are necessary for managing the physical footprint of the company's social impact projects.

To stand out, emphasize your quantifiable impact on previous projects. Rather than stating you managed community engagement, specify how many local jobs were created or how your initiatives improved a project’s TOMs score. BAM focuses on 'Making Possible,' so show how you turn sustainability theory into tangible social results. Given the importance of bid support in this role, provide examples of where your input directly contributed to winning contracts. Highlight your familiarity with construction-specific standards like the Considerate Constructors Scheme, as this demonstrates you are ready to hit the ground running without an industry learning curve. Align your cover letter with BAM’s mission of Building a Sustainable Tomorrow. Detail your experience with supply chain management, as this role requires holding subcontractors accountable to social targets. Showing you can influence stakeholders who may not have a sustainability background is a key competency to highlight.

This role is almost exclusively focused on the 'S' in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance). Specifically, it targets the human impact of construction: local employment, labor standards within the supply chain, and community well-being. You will likely work on projects that seek to reduce the 'social gap' through inclusive hiring and STEM education. There is also a strong focus on governance through data. By using tools like BAMSI and SSRT, you ensure that social sustainability is not just a collection of good stories but a measurable, auditable part of the company’s performance. This ensures transparency for both governmental clients and corporate investors. Additionally, you will touch on diversity and inclusion initiatives, ensuring that BAM’s workforce and subcontractor base reflect the communities they serve. This includes supporting ED&I accreditations and facilitating toolbox talks that educate site workers on the importance of an inclusive work environment.

One of the primary challenges will be bridging the gap between corporate social strategy and the fast-paced, high-pressure environment of a construction site. Convincing operational and commercial teams to prioritize social value metrics alongside budget and schedule constraints requires significant diplomacy and persistence. Another challenge is the decentralized nature of the work. With projects spread across the country, maintaining consistent data reporting from various subcontractors and project managers can be difficult. You will need to be highly organized to manage aggregate reporting without losing the quality of individual site initiatives. Finally, keeping up with evolving legislation and procurement requirements regarding social value in Ireland and the UK requires constant learning. Ensuring that tender responses remain 'best-in-class' means you must stay ahead of industry trends and shifting societal expectations.

A typical day might start with a site visit to monitor a local community program or attend a meeting with project managers to review social sustainability KPIs. You could be facilitating a 'Toolbox Talk' for site workers on diversity and inclusion before heading to a meeting with a local charity partner. In the afternoon, you might shift to analytical work, inputting site data into the Social Sustainability Reporting Tool or drafting a technical response for an upcoming civil engineering tender. This requires a balance between outgoing community interaction and focused, detail-oriented office tasks. Your day could conclude with a stakeholder video call with the wider UK & Ireland sustainability team to share best practices or coordinate a national-level job fair initiative. The role is highly dynamic, blending strategic planning with hands-on field execution.

Working for a major European player like BAM offers significant lateral and vertical mobility. Success in this regional role could lead to a 'Head of Social Sustainability' position or a transition into broader ESG leadership, overseeing environmental and governance pillars as well as social ones. Because the construction industry is undergoing a sustainability revolution, experts in social value are in high demand. You could eventually specialize in sustainable procurement or move into strategic bid management, where the ability to articulate social impact is a high-value skill for winning multi-million euro frameworks. BAM explicitly encourages internal progression and provides extensive learning and development opportunities. You may have the chance to lead international projects or contribute to the development of the company’s next generation of digital sustainability reporting tools.

Internally, you will interact daily with Project Managers and Site Teams to ensure social targets are being met on the ground. You will also collaborate closely with the Preconstruction and Commercial teams during the tender stage to integrate social value into project bids. Externally, you will act as a bridge to Local Authorities and Clients, presenting reporting data and ensuring project compliance with social mandates. You will also be the face of the company for local schools, job centers, and non-profits during community engagement events. Lastly, you will manage relationships with Subcontractors and Supply Chain partners. You will be responsible for ensuring they understand their social sustainability obligations and for collecting the necessary data from them to facilitate aggregate corporate reporting.