Reimagining places for people to thrive.
Social value is a golden thread that runs throughout our business. We believe that giving opportunities for people to thrive is just as important as new buildings and infrastructure.
Our Social Value Strategy
We care about the good we as a business can do for the economy, for our communities, and for society. Launched in 2020, our five-year social value strategy has three key themes:
CHALLENGING INEQUALITY
Helping those furthest from the workforce.
We want to change people’s lives for the better, and support groups who face barriers to work. For example, those who’ve been through the criminal justice system, and ex-service individuals. Our Residential, FM and Developments businesses are accredited with the Living Wage Foundation to champion the real Living Wage.

INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION
Inspiring and educating young people about this sector.
We want to diversify and widen our talent pool, and more young people to discover the brilliant careers in the built environment. Since 2020, we’ve engaged 80,000 young people and hope to reach 100,000 by 2025. We run education outreach programmes to young people from primary school through to college. Our aim is to support them to raise aspirations, develop their potential and learn about the world of work. This includes assemblies and workshops in schools, and work experience through our T-Level placements, and summer programme.

SUPPORTING THRIVING COMMUNITIES
Supporting and scaling up social enterprises.
Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose. We have spent over £31m with social enterprises since 2020 and are targeting £45m by 2025. Through our ASSETS programme Wates employees support social enterprises to scale, mentoring them to develop and grow their businesses. We’re a founding partner of the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, a consortium of businesses who together want to spend £1bn with social enterprises by 2026.
APPLY TODAY
Interested in a Social Value job at Wates?

SHE Advisor
Location: East Midlands
Job Type: SHEQ
Application Deadline: 05-06-2025
Shape the future. Drive change. Build safer.Are you ready to challenge convention and make a genuine impact on some of the most high-profile, technically complex projects?At Wates Construction, we’re on the lookout for a forward-thinking SHE Advisor to join our dynamic team in Leicester. We work across multiple sectors, pushing boundaries in design, delivery, and sustainability — and we’re looking for someone just as passionate about excellence and innovation in health, safety, and environmental leadership.ABOUT THE ROLEThis is more than just a compliance role. It’s a chance to influence how SHE is embedded at every stage of construction, from pre-con through to delivery. You’ll be supported by a diverse, collaborative team and empowered to bring new ideas to the table — all while progressing your career in a business that truly values your voice.As our SHE Advisor you will: Champion SHE best practice across multiple projects — supporting, coaching and advising teams on site. Conduct visits and reviews, identifying risk and influencing safe behaviours. Lead investigations, support RAMS reviews, and ensure incident reporting is timely and meaningful. Influence early-stage design and bid activity, driving risk awareness from the ground up. Collaborate with supply chain partners to embed Wates’ SHE standards. Share insight, innovation and learning across the business to help us continually raise the bar. WHAT WE OFFER Competitive salary & profit share scheme Flexible working Car Allowance / Company Car (subject to Role/Grade) Travel covered to any of our sites (subject to HMRC advisory rates) Extensive corporate benefits including, Private Medical, Pension 8% employers’ contribution, Health and Wellness programme, 26 days holidays + bank holidays and much more… Excellent range of learning and development activity to support your career progression. Industry leading family leave benefits to included 26 weeks fully paid maternity, 12 weeks fully paid paternity.To find out more about LIFE AT WATES please click on the following link https://www.wates.co.uk/careers/We are always looking for a variety of new talent to join our teams, to help us grow and innovate as a business. Although you may not have all of the skills listed, many of them may be transferable to other roles within the WATES Group.If you would like clarity on any of our vacancies, discuss career opportunities in strict confidence or need anything to make our recruitment process easier, please contact our In-House Recruitment Team directly or via recruitment@wates.co.uk and one of us will get in touch as soon as possible.As a responsible and inclusive employer, we are committed to equality and are proud to have been recognised for this through a range of accolades including gold accreditation with Investors in People, we are also a Disability Confident employer. Being a family owned, business means we understand and value long term relationships.Given the nature of this position, you will need to undergo a Standard Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) at offer stage. Applicants with criminal convictions will be assessed individually, and we assure you that we do not discriminate based on an applicant's criminal record or the details of any disclosed offenses. Additionally, certain roles may be subject to additional pre-employment checks. To learn more about the checks included in this process, please click on the following link: National Security Vetting
SHE Manager
Location: Market Harborough
Job Type: SHEQ
Application Deadline: 16-05-2025
We have a great opportunity for an experienced SHE Manager to join our MOJ team providing professional SHE support, advice and coaching up to business MD level. This role will engage with business boards and supply chain peers to ensure that the business SHE policy is promoted and effectively deployed.Your key responsibilities will include; Develop a programme of project visits that ensures the highest level of SHE standards as appropriate to project risk, with VMRs completed for each occasion Personally, be accountable for the deployment of group SHE policies and standards (WPS) throughout the business and actively and effectively challenging noncompliance Coach the business and regional leadership on risk identification and mitigation and promote best practice Ensure regional SHE team investigate incidents in accordance with standards, developing SHE team to ensure a high level of investigation competence Develop and nurture a network of peers within business supply chain and influence to ensure Wates SHE policy is understood and deployed Actively participate in business board meetings and present SHE dashboard along with detailed analysis of and learning from incidentsWe are looking for a fully qualified and passionate Health and Safety professional who has experience of effectively leading and developing a team of SHE professionals within an industrial or construction environment, along with proven report writing skills, the ability to analyse data and present effectively to senior boards and forums.To be successful in the role you be an articulate communicator with good listening skills, and high levels of self-awareness, able to communicate, coach and influence with knowledge of all legislation regarding construction SHE, up to MD level. Given the nature of this position, you will need to undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standard Check (BPSS) as well as Enhanced Level 1 for entry to a live prison which will be done at offer stage. Applicants with criminal convictions will be assessed individually, and we assure you that we do not discriminate based on an applicant's criminal record or the details of any disclosed offenses. Additionally, certain roles may be subject to additional pre-employment checks. To learn more about the checks included in this process, please click on the following link: National Security Vetting
Sustainability Manager
Location: Finsbury Park
Job Type: SHEQ
Application Deadline: 31-05-2025
We have an exciting opportunity for an individual to join us and play a key role in driving Wates’ resource efficiency targets by engaging with individual business units, bid-, design-, and project teams, as well as procurement managers, supply chain partners and the wider SHEQ and sustainability team. Your experience may be from any discipline that has worked within or across the value chain to tackle resource efficiency and waste challenges in the built environment. This role will allow you to excel in liberating your technical expertise to realise efficiencies and deliver opportunities, that will eradicate waste from our projects, whilst sustaining our compliance with UK legislation and standards.Reporting to the Wates Property Services Head of SHEQ, this role will support the implementation of our new Environmental Sustainability Plan’s resource efficiency theme ambitions, by working with our project teams and procurement managers to drive resource hierarchy led outcomes across our business.You will have ownership for business processes relating to resource efficiency and for supporting strategic tenders and bids in these disciplines. This will involve providing technical support, as well as performance data analysis, where required. The role will work closely with our IT and Data Analytics team to automate performance reporting on our progress.The role will analyse, evaluate, identify, and deliver key areas for improvement, develop KPIs to track performance and drive material sustainable outcomes.Key Accountabilities for the role include: Lead on the engagement with business units on resource efficiency related projects, trials and programmes, with a particular focus on materials reuse, recycling, recovery, and avoidance of waste. Undertake site visits to provide advice and guidance to project teams. Drive the practical adoption of resource efficient solutions by working collaboratively with our design consultants and procurement teams, as well as our supply chain partners across the value chain. Develop a resource efficiency strategy to deliver the hierarchy ambitions, as well as sustain waste Duty of Care compliance, working with our waste and logistics partners Develop performance metrics for managing progress against our resource efficiency targets and automate reporting across the hierarchy interfaces. Develop processes and systems for projects to drive resource efficient outcomes to optimise reuse and meet 2045 zero waste ambitions. Represent the business on key industry forums and other relevant external platforms, ensuring Wates remains at the leading edge of resource efficiency and circular economy platform. Provide technical expertise on materials recovery, resource efficiency approaches and waste legislation to inform current and future strategic direction. Develop collateral for large tenders on resource efficiency and waste performance related topics. Update the business on key legal and policy changes on circular economy, resource efficiency and waste-related topics. Be a flexible and multi-disciplinary member of the Group Environment team, assisting colleagues with work relating to other key issues, such as carbon & energy, waste & resource efficiency, and water & nutrient neutrality, as well as compliance to protect the built and natural environment. We are looking for you to have a good knowledge of sustainability impacts on and from the environment, within the built environment, construction and property services (incl retrofit and refurb) sectors, and expert knowledge of waste legislation, resource efficiency, and modern methods of construction solutions. Good knowledge of international standards, such as ISO 14001:2015 and ISO2400 and circular economy, are desirable. Experience of procurement processes, familiarity of the supplier market and what solutions can be readily deployed would be ideal. We would want you to understand UK policy, environmental legislation, regulatory frameworks, technical standards, and experience in briefing senior managers on changes in legislation or policy and how these might affect their areas of work.To be successful in this role you will be post-graduate degree qualified in Environmental Science or Management (or equivalent) and a professional Member of a relevant Society for the Environment body (e.g. CIWM, IEMA etc) with preference given to Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) candidates. You will also have excellent presentation, facilitation and communication skills, and the ability to produce communication materials and campaigns that will drive sustainable outcomes. You will have excellent influencing skills and be able to explain complex information to enable key stakeholders to act. Strong analytical skills with good attention to detail are essential.Given the nature of this position, you will need to undergo a Basic Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) at offer stage. Applicants with criminal convictions will be assessed individually, and we assure you that we do not discriminate based on an applicant's criminal record or the details of any disclosed offenses. Additionally, certain roles may be subject to additional pre-employment checks. To learn more about the checks included in this process, please click on the following link: National Security Vetting This role can be based out of one of our offices Nationwide.
Sustainability Manager
Location: Finsbury Park
Job Type: SHEQ
Application Deadline: 31-05-2025
We have an exciting opportunity for an individual to join us and play a key role in driving Wates’ resource efficiency targets by engaging with individual business units, bid-, design-, and project teams, as well as procurement managers, supply chain partners and the wider SHEQ and sustainability team. Your experience may be from any discipline that has worked within or across the value chain to tackle resource efficiency and waste challenges in the built environment. This role will allow you to excel in liberating your technical expertise to realise efficiencies and deliver opportunities, that will eradicate waste from our projects, whilst sustaining our compliance with UK legislation and standards.Reporting to the Wates Property Services Head of SHEQ, this role will support the implementation of our new Environmental Sustainability Plan’s resource efficiency theme ambitions, by working with our project teams and procurement managers to drive resource hierarchy led outcomes across our business.You will have ownership for business processes relating to resource efficiency and for supporting strategic tenders and bids in these disciplines. This will involve providing technical support, as well as performance data analysis, where required. The role will work closely with our IT and Data Analytics team to automate performance reporting on our progress.The role will analyse, evaluate, identify, and deliver key areas for improvement, develop KPIs to track performance and drive material sustainable outcomes.Key Accountabilities for the role include: Lead on the engagement with business units on resource efficiency related projects, trials and programmes, with a particular focus on materials reuse, recycling, recovery, and avoidance of waste. Undertake site visits to provide advice and guidance to project teams. Drive the practical adoption of resource efficient solutions by working collaboratively with our design consultants and procurement teams, as well as our supply chain partners across the value chain. Develop a resource efficiency strategy to deliver the hierarchy ambitions, as well as sustain waste Duty of Care compliance, working with our waste and logistics partners Develop performance metrics for managing progress against our resource efficiency targets and automate reporting across the hierarchy interfaces. Develop processes and systems for projects to drive resource efficient outcomes to optimise reuse and meet 2045 zero waste ambitions. Represent the business on key industry forums and other relevant external platforms, ensuring Wates remains at the leading edge of resource efficiency and circular economy platform. Provide technical expertise on materials recovery, resource efficiency approaches and waste legislation to inform current and future strategic direction. Develop collateral for large tenders on resource efficiency and waste performance related topics. Update the business on key legal and policy changes on circular economy, resource efficiency and waste-related topics. Be a flexible and multi-disciplinary member of the Group Environment team, assisting colleagues with work relating to other key issues, such as carbon & energy, waste & resource efficiency, and water & nutrient neutrality, as well as compliance to protect the built and natural environment. We are looking for you to have a good knowledge of sustainability impacts on and from the environment, within the built environment, construction and property services (incl retrofit and refurb) sectors, and expert knowledge of waste legislation, resource efficiency, and modern methods of construction solutions. Good knowledge of international standards, such as ISO 14001:2015 and ISO2400 and circular economy, are desirable. Experience of procurement processes, familiarity of the supplier market and what solutions can be readily deployed would be ideal. We would want you to understand UK policy, environmental legislation, regulatory frameworks, technical standards, and experience in briefing senior managers on changes in legislation or policy and how these might affect their areas of work.To be successful in this role you will be post-graduate degree qualified in Environmental Science or Management (or equivalent) and a professional Member of a relevant Society for the Environment body (e.g. CIWM, IEMA etc) with preference given to Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) candidates. You will also have excellent presentation, facilitation and communication skills, and the ability to produce communication materials and campaigns that will drive sustainable outcomes. You will have excellent influencing skills and be able to explain complex information to enable key stakeholders to act. Strong analytical skills with good attention to detail are essential.Given the nature of this position, you will need to undergo a Basic Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) at offer stage. Applicants with criminal convictions will be assessed individually, and we assure you that we do not discriminate based on an applicant's criminal record or the details of any disclosed offenses. Additionally, certain roles may be subject to additional pre-employment checks. To learn more about the checks included in this process, please click on the following link: National Security Vetting This role can be based out of one of our offices Nationwide.