Highways Manager

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Highway Manager to join our Highway Delivery team at Hampshire County Council. 

Highways Delivery is seeking a highly motivated Highways Manager to join our senior management team. As part of the Highways service, we manage and maintain the highways assets within Hampshire. In this role, you will collaborate with other Highways Managers and our Service Contractor to provide strategic leadership to teams responsible for both reactive and proactive highway maintenance.

As the Highways Manager you will oversee a team of up to 50 staff and lead on the delivery of both reactive and planned improvements to the network. Working closely with our service contractor you will play an important role in identifying and implementing improvements, exploring new ways of working with our partners and supply chain to encourage collaboration and thereby improve the service we provide to the residents of Hampshire. You will need excellent communication skills and a proven ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships at all levels. 

You will:

• Lead and manage Highways Delivery teams, ensuring effective workload distribution, resource planning, and staff development
• Oversee recruitment and team performance, maintaining service standards and budgetary control
• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to ensure seamless service delivery aligned with strategic goals
• Monitor and improve service delivery through innovation, continuous improvement, and adherence to policies and asset management principles
• Manage emergency highway responses and contribute to 24-hour service provision during adverse weather or incidents
• Engage with stakeholders, including the public and elected members, handling enquiries, FOIs, and complaints with professionalism
• Support training initiatives, including graduate and apprenticeship programmes, to foster team growth and future talent
• Make key operational decisions on resource allocation, budget setting, and prioritisation of maintenance and improvement works

You will have good knowledge of the highway environment, including a knowledge of Health and Safety management (including CDM Regulations), Highway Law, materials and construction methods used, as well as an understanding of Contract management (specifically NEC4 Contracts). You will be able to demonstrate experience and knowledge of financial management and the application of asset management principles alongside a good understanding of the political context in which we work, both nationally and locally.