Associate (Transport Planning) in Manchester

Do you have what it takes to transform society? Do you enjoy being part of a dynamic and inclusive team where respect for people is a priority? Then Sweco is the place to be! We are currently looking for a Team Manager to support and lead our Transport Planning team across Leeds and Manchester. This role could be based in either office and can be worked flexibly with a minimum of 3 days per week in the office.

Our Transport Planning team is made up of highly skilled professionals delivering a wide range of transport planning services across both the public and private sectors. You’ll lead the team and be accountable for people leadership, financial results, client outcomes, project quality and commercial awareness across the team while also acting as a transport planning practitioner. The role combines people and commercial leadership with the delivery and technical oversight of transport planning services, predominantly for public sector clients.

What does the role involve?

• Take responsibility for financial KPI’s within the team including billing ratios, average fees, and EBITA. Collaborating with your team to mitigate negative movements in KPIs and provide feedback and context to the Department Manager.
• Take responsibility for people KPIs within the team including absence, staff turnover and employee survey outcomes and collaborating with other Team Managers to identify and share best practice and implement improvements.
• Take responsibility for the effective and consistent delivery of projects within the team, including acting as technical lead or senior reviewer on transport planning projects such as transport strategies, business cases, appraisal studies and multi‑modal transport assessments.
• Embed a culture of work winning, project quality and commercial awareness and ensuring the team is engaging with the regional and national campaigns and leaders to maximise work winning and bid opportunities, including supporting bids and frameworks for local authority and wider public sector clients.
• Collaborate with other Team Managers to create development opportunities, recruit and instil a culture of succession to ensure a pipeline of talent is grown within the Department.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key clients and partners through active client engagement and building strong relationships by ensuring excellent delivery and expert knowledge, with a strong focus on local authorities and public sector bodies, and an understanding of their funding, policy and decision‑making environments.

To be successful in this role you’ll possess:

• Extensive experience in Transport Planning with a thorough understanding of delivery, work winning with public and/or private sector customers and evidence of managing client relationships.
• Experience of managing and developing teams in a project manager or line manager capacity. Effectively balancing workload delivery, resource planning, employee development and wellbeing.
• Demonstrable experience leading or overseeing transport planning work, including transport strategy, appraisal, business case development and policy‑led studies across multiple modes.
• Strong leadership skills to enable you to be a proactive part of the Department management team working alongside and providing support to the wider team in the development of overall objectives.
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal with the ability to adapt your style to suit different audiences, including producing and reviewing high‑quality technical reports for public sector clients.
• Proven decision-making skills with the ability to influence strategic decision-making and make commercial decisions within defined parameters.
• Demonstrable experience of operating and influencing at a senior level.
• Chartered status with a professional body (or working towards chartership).

If you believe you have the skill set required, are keen to join a business with genuine opportunities for career progression and are motivated by leading people while delivering high‑quality transport planning services for public sector clients, then we’d love to hear from you. Let’s transform society together at Sweco!

Employee Benefits

• Flexible and hybrid working (Flexworks Policy)
• Competitive pension contribution
• Life Assurance
• Private Medical Insurance (including family cover)
• Company car or car allowance
• Discretionary Annual Bonus Scheme
• Payment of two relevant professional subscriptions
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (with the option to purchase up to 5 additional days per year).
• Cycle2Work Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme (wellbeing, mental health, financial and work advice).
• Employee discounts via Sweco Benefit Select (Faircare)
• Salary Sacrifice Electric Vehicle Scheme
• We plant a tree for all new starters!

About Us

Transforming society together, we're planning and designing sustainable communities and cities of the future. Solving the great societal challenges of our time is more relevant, demanding and inspiring than ever before. At Sweco, we bring together experts with different perspectives and skills to develop solutions that address the challenges of urbanisation, harness the positive power of digitalisation and make societies more sustainable. We offer our clients a combination of global expertise and local presence, adapted to their business and reality. Our ambition is to be our clients’ most relevant partner, working together to help them solve their challenges, today and into the future.

Sweco is committed to enabling all its colleagues to achieve a great balance between work and their other priorities, such as caring responsibilities, leisure activities, further learning or other interests. We offer flexible start and finish times, part time and hybrid working options so that you can flex your hours around your day to day needs.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

It’s important to us that all our colleagues thrive at work - we strive to have a friendly and inclusive culture which respects the contribution individuals can bring to Sweco. We aim to promote equality, inclusivity and diversity for everyone. Here at Sweco we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity.

We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly. We are an accredited Real Living Wage Employer which reflects our commitment to fair pay and support for all colleagues. We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer, and will interview applicants covered by the Equality Act 2010 that opt into the guaranteed interview scheme on the application form and meet the minimum criteria for the role.

If you’re an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability or unable to use the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, please contact GB_Function-HR-Resourcing@sweco.co.uk for assistance.

Please note: we reserve the right to close vacancies before the advertised closing date.

Sweco UK&I have an internal resourcing team who are responsible for all recruiting activity. We have a Preferred Supplier List of trusted agencies who we work with on those “hard to fill” roles. We have defined processes for recruitment applications and it is company policy not to accept speculative CVs.

Our Talent Community for experienced professionals is a great way to keep up to date with our latest news, insights, future vacancies, as well as gaining access to exclusive events hosted by our experts.