Head of Service - Highways in Birmingham

Sandwell Council’s Place Division is seeking an experienced Head of Service – Highways to join its team on a full time, permanent basis from its Oldbury office.

The role:

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Highways leader to provide clear direction across a diverse and critical service area. Acting as the Council’s principal advisor, you will lead on highways, traffic management, road safety, and flood risk, ensuring full compliance with statutory duties and alignment with wider organisational priorities.

You will drive the development and delivery of key strategies, including asset management, infrastructure investment, and road safety, while overseeing maintenance, inspections, and capital projects to ensure a safe, efficient, and sustainable network. As Traffic Manager and Lead Local Flood Authority representative, you will play a pivotal role in keeping the network moving and resilient.

This role demands strong leadership across multi-disciplinary teams, responsibility for parking and streetworks services, and a proven ability to secure external funding and deliver high-profile projects on time and within budget. You will work closely with regional and national partners, champion innovation, and ensure the highest standards of health, safety, and service delivery.

This is a high-impact opportunity for a forward-thinking professional to shape the future of transport infrastructure and services.

Attributes that you would bring to the role:

• Degree in civil engineering, transport planning, or related discipline.
• Chartered Engineer or equivalent professional status.
• Extensive management experience to include project management, people management, budget management, performance management and best value.
• Have worked at a senior managerial level in a complex organisation comparable to local government.
• Effective skills to enable management of a varied team with differing skills and abilities.
• Extensive knowledge of issues affecting the service area.
• Excellent understanding of local government processes and functions.
• Experience of overseeing large scale change programmes by being outcome focused.
• Demonstrated experience in project planning that aligns to the organisational framework/corporate plan which enables the delivery of transformational change.
• Understanding how transformational change underpins the Medium-Term Financial Plan.
• Experience of delivery of high-quality customer services.
• Understanding of local government decision making and governance and experience of working with elected members.
• Leadership evidence in a public sector environment and with change management/transformation skills.
• Strong and positive service delivery champion for the service with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Play a key leadership and management role in developing a strong commercial function for the organisation.

Why Sandwell Council?

At Sandwell Council, our work has a real impact. We are proud to be a values‑led organisation that supports its employees with excellent benefits, a competitive remuneration package, and a strong focus on development. By joining us, you’ll play a key role in delivering services that make a real and lasting difference to thousands of people across the borough.

We place equality, diversity and inclusion at the core of who we are and how we lead, where every voice matters. At Sandwell, we recognise and value the richness that comes from diverse lived experiences, perspectives, backgrounds and identities. This diversity makes us a stronger and more effective council.

We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to building a workplace where everyone feels they belong, are treated fairly, and have the opportunity to thrive. Creating an environment where colleagues feel respected, supported and able to contribute fully is central to our culture and the way we work. We are committed to ensuring that all applicants and employees have equitable access to opportunities. Reasonable adjustments are available throughout the recruitment process and within the workplace so that everyone has the support they need to perform at their best and succeed in their role.