Technical Support Officer

Are you organised, analytical and confident working with technical information? This is an opportunity to play a central role in supporting Brighton & Hove’s Highway Operations service, helping us keep the city’s highway network safe, well-maintained and responsive to the needs of residents, businesses and visitors. The role provides specialist technical and administrative support to the Highway Operations team, with a particular focus on contract performance, works ordering, service data, financial monitoring, winter maintenance, insurance claims and correspondence. You will help ensure that the service meets its statutory responsibilities to keep the highway safe and that managers have clear, accurate information to support decision-making.

About the role

Join us in Brighton & Hove – a unique, energetic and diverse city, and an exciting place to develop your career in local government highway maintenance. As Technical Support Officer, you will work closely with the Highway Operations Manager, the Highway Inspection and Winter Manager, engineers, inspectors, contractors and colleagues across the council. You will support the delivery and improvement of the highway maintenance service by turning operational, contractual and financial data into clear reports, updates and practical actions. This is a varied role in a service that is highly visible to the public. You will need strong attention to detail, good communication skills and the ability to work confidently with data, systems and a wide range of stakeholders, including contractors, elected members, internal teams and members of the public.

You will be responsible for:

• Managing the reporting of highway defects through the works ordering system and providing clear analysis of operational data.
• Using financial systems to monitor and analyse Highway Operations spend, identifying trends, risks and areas for improvement.
• Producing clear reports and service updates using data from highway and asset management systems.
• Working with the insurance team to support the efficient processing of highway claims and identify opportunities for service improvement.
• Supporting elements of highway maintenance project work and helping develop a risk-based approach to asset management.
• Developing and maintaining systems to monitor Winter Maintenance delivery, performance and financial spend.
• Supporting improvements to Winter Maintenance protocols and public communications, in line with the agreed Winter Maintenance Service Plan.
• Engaging with other council teams, contractors, external stakeholders, elected members and the public, providing technical information in a clear and accessible way.
• Supporting the review and development of highway maintenance policies, guidance, processes and service improvement work.
• Providing technical support during flooding, severe weather and other network resilience events, including supporting recovery of costs where third parties damage highway assets.

About you

You will have knowledge or experience of highway maintenance, traffic/highway management or a related technical environment. You will be comfortable using Microsoft Office/Excel and other digital tools to analyse information and produce reports. You will be able to communicate clearly and sensitively with a wide range of audiences, including technical colleagues, contractors, elected members and the public. You will be organised, flexible and able to manage competing priorities while maintaining accuracy and a high standard of service. A qualification at NVQ Level 3 or equivalent/comparable knowledge and experience in highway maintenance, together with training or experience in technical data analysis and presentation, would support you in this role.

Our offer

You will be based within a supportive Highway Operations service and will work with colleagues from a range of transport and council teams. The role benefits from flexible working, including home-working where appropriate, alongside the opportunity to contribute directly to a service that affects everyone who lives, works in or visits the city. We offer great terms and conditions including the Local Government Pension Scheme, excellent training and development, generous annual leave and staff discounts.

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full Time, 37 per week

Additional Information: Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

Work Permits: We may be able to obtain a Work Permit for this post but this is subject to meeting the requirements of the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) Points-based Immigration System.

Company Information: Encouraging a diverse workforce. Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce.

Why work for us: Our organisational values define how we work and behave. They help us to do our best for the city and its residents. Our People Promise has 5 commitments from the council to our staff.