Associate - Transport Planning in Manchester

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.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• Take responsibility for financial KPIs within the team including billing ratios, average fees, and EBITA, and collaborate with the Department Manager to mitigate negative movements in KPIs.
• Take responsibility for people KPIs within the team including absence, staff turnover and employee survey outcomes, and collaborate with other Team Managers to identify and share best practice and implement improvements.
• Ensure the effective and consistent delivery of projects within the team, 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 ensure the team engages with regional and national campaigns and leaders to maximise work winning and bid opportunities, including supporting bids and frameworks for local authorities 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.

Qualifications

• 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 proactive participation in the Department management team, supporting the wider team in developing overall objectives.
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal with the ability to adapt 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, and experience operating and influencing at a senior level.
• Chartered status with a professional body (or working towards chartership).

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
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