Head of Fairness, Inclusion & Respect

We are seeking an experienced leader to help us drive change in the construction and engineering industry, to raise awareness of the benefits of creating a fairer more inclusive workplace that is better for all. If you have experience of delivering equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives, the ability to engage at a senior level and demonstrable experience of driving change we would like to hear from you.

The Fairness, Inclusion & Respect (FIR) programme’s key objective is to understand the challenges and barriers within the industry and to raise awareness with the objective of supporting a more attractive, diverse and welcoming place to work for all.

The FIR Programme is an industry-wide change programme endorsed by the Construction Leadership Council and is led by our Employer Leadership Group including BAM Construct UK, GRAHAM Construction, Mace, WJ Group, Core Highways and VGC working together with major infrastructure clients such as HS2, National Highways, Transport for London and Network Rail.

Together we have developed a Toolkit of support, delivered workshops and events, created a range of online tools and developed and supported a network of over 600 FIR Ambassadors. This all aims to encourage a culture of Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR) across the construction and engineering sector.

The programme is co-funded by CITB, our four infrastructure clients and the partners of the Supply Chain Sustainability School.

Action Sustainability is a leading consultancy, founded in 2006, with the aim of leading and inspiring sustainable business.  We deliver the FIR Programme on behalf of our Partners.

We have a team of over 60 full and part-time employees and associates, working remotely across the UK with a central office in London.  We are proud of our successes, which include:

• Winners of the Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development 2022
• The development and launch in 2012 of the multi-award-winning Supply Chain Sustainability School (www.supplychainschool.co.uk), including the industry-leading Fairness, Inclusion & Respect (FIR) programme
• Training over 42,000 people form 10,000 companies annually. 47% of delegates said we had helped them to reduce their carbon emissions and 67% of those we reach with our FIR programme say we have helped them develop a more diverse team.
• The launch in 2014 of the UK’s first cloud-based sustainability performance reporting tool for the construction and built environment sectors, (www.sustainabilitytool.co.uk).
• Authoring the ISO 20400 in sustainable procurement and are now leading global adoption through our social enterprise arm, Action Sustainability CIC (www.iso20400.org) and our commercial consultancy services
• Providing bespoke, specialist business advice, training, and practical tools to leading organisations such as Land Securities, Serco, Siemens, the Houses of Parliament, Bentley, Burger King, and the NHS.

Many of our clients are leaders in their sectors on sustainability and supply chain issues and we are proud of our reputation for leading the thinking in this area.

Bringing EDI knowledge and experience to set the strategy for growth and delivery of the FIR Programme, building relationships with trade associations and federations, leading clients and contractors and other industry stakeholders

• Leading the delivery team to successfully deliver the FIR Programme.
• Representing the FIR Programme at industry groups and forums, such as the Construction Leadership Council, and other relevant groups
• Being a proactive, vocal advocate for a fairer, more inclusive and more respectful industry at conferences and trade events.
• Establishing and implementing a process for expanding and supporting the FIR Programme.
• Writing and reviewing industry reports and new learning materials.
• Working with the School Director and FIR Steering Group to identify and secure future project income.
• Delivering EDI training where necessary.

You will bring EDI expertise and a proven track record of successfully leading EDI initiatives, learning and development and understand cultural change and improvement. You will be able to demonstrate a passion for addressing and challenging equality and diversity issues and a good understanding of the dynamics of the construction sector.

You will have experience identifying and engaging with different stakeholders and stakeholder groups and assessing and addressing their views. You will be comfortable dealing with challenge and experienced in basing responses to challenge on facts rather than personal values.

Understanding the benefits that increased diversity bring to a business; why a culture of fairness, inclusion and respect is good for business to articulate the business case at Director level in businesses large and small.

Applicants will be able to:

• Approach the role with a ‘can-do’ attitude, taking ownership and responding to change with a willingness to get things done.
• Work collaboratively across teams with the ability to influence others.
• Apply a systematic approach to co-ordinate a project from start to finish overseeing finances and team members as it progresses.
• Think about a task/problem in a new or different way.
• Manage and influence multiple stakeholders.
• Guide the team to develop and deliver high quality EDI training and advice.