Social Value and Accessibility Manager

We are Avanti West Coast, and we are busy making rail the greener, cleaner, and comfier way to go. A joint venture between First Group and Trenitalia, we are going all out to transform train travel on the West Coast Main Line, and we are looking forward to whooshing more people to their destinations in industry-leading comfort.

Every one of our colleagues are encouraged to make a difference today to look after tomorrow. We are passionate about people sharing their spark and get a buzz seeing our teams take pride. With employees based right across the country, we love to win together and drive a culture which stands for progress & ready to raise the bar at every opportunity.

We have an exciting opportunity to join our team as the Social Value and Accessibility Manager!

The team is responsible for the implementation of Our Responsible Plan, leading on the following agendas: environment, accessibility, community, and social value. One of our goals is to enable independent and integrated travel for all customers and to create £1 billion of Social Value by 2031.

In this role, you will be integral to the delivery of our social sustainability and accessibility ambitions by contributing to our strategic aim of measuring and maximising the true value of the work that we do in the communities we serve. You will work with the Community Manager and the Accessibility and Inclusion Manager to ensure we understand and promote all aspects of social value and accessibility opportunities throughout the organisation.

Key Accountabilities for this role:

• Lead the coordination and development of an annual Social Value plan and develop initiatives with relevant departments to maximise social value and future ambitions in social value thinking.
• Utilise the rail industry Social Value competency framework to review key workforce capabilities, skills, and competencies to support continual improvement on the broader social value added by the West Coast Partnership.
• Hold discussions with appropriate internal stakeholders to embed Social Value metrics and accessibility into existing business processes such as business cases, funding scorecards and project output requirements.
• Collating Social Value metrics and accessibility KPIs and produce performance reports as and when required.
• Become an expert in disability awareness and accessibility on the railway, acting as a key contact for colleagues needing accessibility guidance in their roles, whilst helping to deliver Avanti's Accessible Travel Policy.
• Organise the regional accessibility panels and engage disabled customers and disability groups to recruit attendees.
• Encourage and harness feedback from our disabled community. Using these insights, work
• Manage accessibility station improvements including improved signage, seating, and passenger assistance areas.

You will be able to demonstrate:

• Previous experience of delivering improved social and accessibility performance in projects, programmes or at organisational level
• Knowledge of social value and accessibility best practice,
• Strong influencing skills to bring people on the journey.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.

Benefits include:

• Final salary pension
• Free travel on Avanti West Coast for you/spouse/partner/dependents
• Privilege Travel card (75% off other train operators fares for leisure travel)
• 30 days holiday rising by 1 for every completed year of service to a maximum of 37 days (inclusive of bank holidays)
• 10 free journeys on other First Group Train Operators

At Avanti West Coast, we value the differences that make each of us outstanding! Avanti West Coast recognises the benefits of building a diverse workforce and employing people from diverse backgrounds, which includes their race, religion, age, gender, gender identity, disability, and sexual orientation.

Everyone who joins Avanti West Coast becomes part of our close-knit team. We're committed to ensuring that Avanti West Coast is inclusive, a place where people are encouraged to be themselves, and not an edited version to fit in. A place where differences are encouraged, recognised, accepted, and put to good use!