Social Mobility and Citizenship Manager

Ideas People Trust

We're BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today's changing world.

We work with the companies that are Britain's economic engine - ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high growth businesses that fuel the economy - and directly advise the owners and management teams leading them.

We'll broaden your horizons

Our greatest asset is our people, so our HR team focus on ensuring we are all reaching our potential. They use their specialist expertise to help us attract great talent, enable our employees to succeed and inspire a unified culture of development across our firm. By playing a role in the recruitment and management of our people, they help change lives and influence the future of BDO. Join a driven and passionate team where you can be yourself, while also helping your colleagues to achieve their ambitions.

We'll help you succeed

Leading organisations trust us because of the quality of our advice. That quality grows from a thorough understanding of their business, and that understanding comes from working closely with them and building long-lasting relationships.

You'll be someone who is both comfortable working proactively and managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with senior managers, directors, BDO's partners including sponsoring partners and external stakeholders to help businesses effectively.

You'll be encouraged to identify and draw attention to opportunities for enhancing our delivery and providing additional services to organisations we work with. We are committed to making a real and sustainable difference in the way we work together. We understand that the talent and energy we have can contribute to the kind of firm and society we all want to work and live in. Social Mobility and Community Impact matters - To our people, to our clients, to society - and to future generations. We believe businesses have an economic imperative and an ethical responsibility to do what they can to ensure a thriving, sustainable and equitable world. We want to be a firm that plays its part to address the challenges facing people and planet without adding to them. It is through our Social Mobility efforts and Citizenship impact that we will be judged as a responsible business that uses its influence to help people, businesses and society succeed.

As the Social Mobility & Citizenship Manager, you will play a pivotal role in creating lasting social impact, enhancing community engagement, and driving improvements in social mobility. You will spend approximately 50% of your time focusing on Social Mobility initiatives working to reduce barriers to entry into professional services and 50% on Citizenship efforts designed to maximise our broader social impact and contribute to meaningful societal change.

This role combines strategic thinking with hands-on delivery and offers the opportunity tangible difference across the firm and the wider community. You will be responsible for implementing initiatives, measuring and demonstrating their impact, ensuring that every action taken contributes to long-term social mobility outcomes and meaningful, measurable change in the communities.

In this busy and rewarding role you'll be responsible for:

• Business Thinking Design, implement, and evaluate initiatives aligned with BDO's Social Mobility and Citizenship Strategies.
• Lead outreach programmes to broaden participation and enhance representation from underprivileged or non-traditional backgrounds.
• Actively engage with the business to increase participation in the 5+5 days, aligning it with our social mobility efforts.
• Build and manage existing partnerships with charities and social enterprises to support early engagement initiatives (e.g., mentoring and coaching).
• Take an active role to represent BDO's involvement in Access Accountancy and RISE and collaborate regularly with ICAEW and the top accountancy firms to address social mobility outreach and entry through our Early in Careers opportunities.
• Provide effective support to networks aligned with Social Mobility and Citizenship, such as the the Bridge Network and Trustee Network ensuring these networks can effectively advance their goals.
• Ensure that updates from partnerships are cascaded and discussed with Senior Sponsors, and Early in Careers.
• Support our ring-fenced summer programmes, liaise with relevant charities to promote, and provide a CSR challenge for students.
• Be responsible for overseeing other initiatives within the broader scope of Social Mobility and Citizenship, ensuring a comprehensive approach to delivering high-quality outcomes both within the firm and across the wider community.
• Actively drive consistency, excellence, and impact in all related activities, fostering positive change and advancing the firm's commitment to social responsibility.
• Collaboratively build strong relationships with key stakeholders across the firm, offering support and guidance on relevant activities.
• Collaborate closely with teams in EDI, Benefits, HR Generalists, HR Operations, People Development, Communications, Marketing, PR, Procurement, Facilities, Finance, and Legal.
• Continue to establish strategic relationships with external organisations to increase positive outcomes, e.g. regular ongoing meetings with ICAEW and the other top accountancy firms to continue to develop a pan-profession approach on social mobility and outreach projects to support students in social mobility cold spots across the UK.
• Evidence and Impact Lead the planning, coordination, and submission of BDO's annual benchmark entries, including the Social Mobility Employer Index, ensuring alignment with firms's goals and industry standards.
• Perform in-depth analysis of internal data, including the socioeconomic background of employees, outreach program metrics, volunteering participation, and other key performance indicators (KPIs), to measure effectiveness, identify trends, and highlight areas for improvement.
• Synthesise and present data insights, findings, and actionable recommendations to senior leaders and relevant teams, such as the People, Culture, and Purpose Executive, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and facilitating data-informed decision-making.
• Continuously monitor and evaluate data to track progress against the success measures, ensuring ongoing improvements and fostering a culture of transparency and accountability within the firm. Communicating Input into the annual Culture Report to provide clear direction on strategy, delivery and performance.
• Ensure effective communication methods are in place to communicate stories and new initiatives to support engagement.
• Develop and present high-quality communications, presentations, reports, guidance material and documentation to increase engagement and awareness to support key stakeholders.
• Find opportunities to communicate employee volunteering, e.g. during National Volunteers' Week in June.
• Find stories and celebrate successes via the intranet and other channels.

You'll be someone with:

• Demonstrable experience of working as a Social Mobility / Outreach / Citizenship and / or CSR Manager ideally in a Professional Services firm. Demonstrable previous experience of leading, evolving and developing internal and external strategies to support these areas.
• Passionate about employee wellbeing and community engagement including schools and skills-based volunteering programmes.
• Ability to work and communicate at all levels in a way that encourages two-way communication. Adopts an organised and systematic approach to work and incorporates flexibility to respond to changes.
• Ability to gather data, analyse issues and is able to breakdown themes systematically.
• Builds alliances inside and outside the business to meet strategic objectives.
• Strong project management skills Significant experience in dealing with and influencing a variety of stakeholders.
• Strong communication skills, demonstrating clear ability to influence and have impact with credibility.

At BDO, we'll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.

We're in it together

Mutual support and respect is one of BDO's core values and we're proud of our distinctive, peoplecentred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we'll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs.

Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you'll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work.

We know that collaboration is the key to creating value and satisfying experiences at work, so we've invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO's people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we'll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you'll never stop learning at BDO.

We're looking forward to the future

At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy. Our success is powered by our people, which is why we're always finding new ways to invest in you . click apply for full job details