Stakeholder Engagement Lead (Bus) in London

Location: Hybrid

Salary: Up to £46,000 per annum

Role Status: Full-time, 37 hours per week

Closing Date: 27 Jul 2026

Location & Travel: This is a hybrid role requiring attendance at the CIHT office in central London two days a week (one day must be Wednesday). However, fully home-based working may be considered (at a reduced salary) if a case can be made. Whether hybrid or home-based, the role requires regular travel across England and occasionally work outside normal office hours for events. This is a fixed term post, currently ending on 31 March 2029. The contract may be renewed in March 2029.

About the job

Job Purpose: This role sits within the Bus Centre of Excellence (BCoE) team, which is part of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) and is funded by the Department of Transport. The purpose of the role is to act as a stakeholder manager and named contact for Local Transport Authorities (LTAs), understanding their bus delivery challenges and connecting them with BCoE resources, networks and support. The role will focus on supporting authorities with bus service improvement, including franchising and Enhanced Partnership (EP) initiatives, and enabling peer learning opportunities across different local authority contexts.

Key Contacts: Stakeholders include: BCoE Members, Local Transport Authorities, Mayoral Combined Authorities, Sub‑national Transport Bodies, BCoE Advisory Group, BCoE Forums/Networks, advocacy groups and commercial entities such as bus operators and suppliers to the bus industry, CIHT marketing and communication colleagues, CIHT members, external participants in events, external suppliers and venues.

Key Responsibilities:

• Stakeholder Relationship Management: Act as the named contact for LTAs and their elected members for bus-related queries they have for either BCoE or the DfT. Liaise with local authorities and their elected members to assess their challenges in the local context. Build trusted relationships with bus sector stakeholders, understanding their operational challenges and connecting them with appropriate BCoE support. Support authorities undergoing change due to devolution by acting as a focal point for bus-related questions, organise relevant events and resources.
• Franchising and Enhanced Partnership Support: Support LTAs with bus service improvement, including franchising and Enhanced Partnership initiatives, identifying their specific challenges and coordinating BCoE resources to address them. Work closely with authorities considering or implementing franchising, connecting them with BCoE's Franchising Network and relevant expertise and resources. Support the development and improvement of Enhanced Partnerships through peer exchange and sharing of best practice.
• Collaboration: Work closely with bus sector groups and local authority stakeholders. Facilitate knowledge exchange and peer learning between LTAs, helping them share best practice and practical solutions for bus service improvement. Collaborate with stakeholders across different local authority contexts and facilitate cross-learning where appropriate.
• Events and Capacity Building: Organise regional workshops, in person or virtual, to assist LTAs with bus delivery challenges, facilitating peer learning and skills development. Attend and represent BCoE at regional bus forums and relevant transport events, whether virtual or in person. Carry out market research and identify professional course instructors or training providers to deliver courses on topics relevant to bus sector stakeholders, as identified through the skills survey and stakeholder discussions. Help to organise and curate the annual Quality Bus Conference, developing the agenda in collaboration with conference organisers and other partners, ensuring it addresses the bus sector’s priorities.
• Networks and Knowledge Exchange: Support the development and delivery of BCoE's Networks and Bus Forum, helping to connect LTAs with similar contexts and promote consistent approaches to EP improvement. Support the development and delivery of BCoE's Franchising Network, ensuring authorities have access to expert guidance and can learn from peers who have implemented or are considering franchising. Identify emerging trends and challenges in bus delivery, feeding these insights back to the Regional Stakeholder Engagement Manager to commission appropriate technical support or guidance. Support other BCoE Networks and Forum as required (e.g. source relevant speakers to present at Network meetings).
• Support and Coordination: Support the delivery of BCoE's training courses, conferences and webinars, ensuring a broad range of bus sector perspectives are represented. Contribute to the annual BCoE Members Survey and BCoE Annual Report. Identify, share and amplify case studies and best practice examples from different local authority areas through BCoE's communications channels.

Person Specification:

ESSENTIAL: Experience working in or with Local Transport Authorities, particularly in relation to bus policy, bus service delivery or wider public transport delivery. Proven ability to build effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders, including local authority officers and elected members. Experience of organising events, workshops, or facilitating professional networks. Experience of working with MS Teams and MS Office.

Knowledge and Skills: Understanding of public transport challenges, particularly issues affecting bus service delivery. Understanding of bus policy and delivery mechanisms, including Enhanced Partnerships and franchising. Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with stakeholders at all levels. Good organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously. Self‑motivated with the ability to work independently and take initiative in identifying opportunities to support stakeholders. Commitment to knowledge sharing and capacity building within the transport sector. Ability to chair meetings. Degree level education or equivalent. Knowledge of bus policy frameworks, including bus franchising processes and Enhanced Partnerships development. Knowledge of bus network planning, bus priority measures, bus data and modelling approaches.

DESIRABLE: Experience working with Mayoral Combined Authorities. Experience working with DfT or other central government departments.

Equality and Diversity Statement: CIHT is committed to equality and diversity in its role as an employer, valuing the benefit a diverse workforce brings. It is our intention not to discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Benefits:

• Learning and development: We are committed to supporting employees’ learning and development. Ensuring every employee has a learning and development plan is part of our annual performance development process.
• Wellbeing support: We provide a range of benefits to support staff wellbeing: Healthcare cash benefits plan provided (post probation), employee assistance programme (post probation) and opportunity to apply for flexible working hours.
• Pension and life assurance provision: All employees are eligible for the statutory provision, and additionally we provide a good pension scheme with 8% employer contributions (employee contribution is minimum 5%). Group Life Assurance scheme is offered to all staff upon completion of their probation.
• Other benefits: Generous holiday allowance (27 pro rata days plus bank holidays), with option to buy/sell leave. Healthcare cash benefits plan provided by SimplyHealth (after probation). Cycle to Work Scheme.