Assistant Highway Manager in Chilworth

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Highway Manager to join Hampshire County Council’s Highways Delivery team and play a key role in shaping the future of our network. We are looking for a highly motivated and driven individual to join our senior management team, helping to deliver our vital statutory highways maintenance service and make a real difference to communities across Hampshire.

As part of the Highways Delivery team, you will lead and support a team of highway engineers while overseeing frontline operations. You’ll play a crucial role in ensuring that maintenance activities are delivered safely, efficiently, and in full compliance with required standards across your area. This is a pivotal operational leadership role where no two days are the same. You will contribute to the management of inspection regimes, respond to customer enquiries, and ensure works are delivered in line with policy, legislation, and service expectations—keeping Hampshire’s road network safe and accessible for all.

Working as part of our wider Highways Service, you will collaborate with fellow managers and our service contractor to provide strong, strategic leadership. Together, you will drive both reactive and proactive maintenance programmes, helping to protect and enhance the county’s extensive highway asset.

As the Assistant Highways Manager, you will oversee a team of up to 20 staff and lead 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, as well as exploring new ways of working with our partners and supply chain to encourage collaboration and 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.

What you’ll do:

• Lead and manage Highways Delivery teams, ensuring effective workload planning, resource management, and staff development.
• Oversee recruitment, performance, and budgets, working with internal teams and partners to deliver high-quality services aligned with strategic goals.
• Drive continuous improvement, manage emergency highway responses as part of a 24‑hour service, and engage professionally with stakeholders, including the public and elected members.
• Support training initiatives and advise on key operational decisions, including resource allocation, budgeting, and the prioritisation of works.

What we’re looking for:

• Good knowledge of the highway environment, including Health and Safety management (including CDM Regulations), highway law, materials and construction methods, and an understanding of contract management (specifically NEC4 contracts).
• 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.

Why join us:

• A pleasant, supportive, and collaborative working environment which promotes an excellent work‑life balance.
• Hybrid working: role based between Bishops Waltham and Totton depots with a hybrid working arrangement (office and home) to suit operational requirements.
• Commitment to inclusion, diversity and wellbeing.
• Flexible and family friendly working patterns such as compressed hours, flexi leave and part time.
• Generous annual leave plus bank holidays and paid sick leave.
• Generous Employer Pension Contribution.
• Opportunities to develop your skills and experience, informally, or formally.
• The support of a wider team who will value you and what you achieve.

Hampshire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. In order to combat discrimination, no unnecessary conditions or requirements will be applied which could have a disproportionately adverse effect on any one group. All sections of the population will have equal access to jobs. No applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership and pregnancy or maternity, unless a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) applies. We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.