Head of Highways & Transportation

Overview

About the job Head of Highways & Transportation

Reporting to the Director of Operations, you will be a key member of the Director of Operations Senior Management Team. You will collaborate with colleagues in the Operations Department and engage with internal and external stakeholders to deliver high-performing services aligned with the Council's vision, priorities, and pledges. You will oversee the strategic and operational management of all Highways and Transportation operations, ensuring the service meets national and local priorities in a customer-focused and efficient manner. As the lead advisor to the Council on Highways and Transportation services, you will cover Highways Asset Management and maintenance, Traffic Management, Transportation, and parking services. You will significantly raise standards across our Highways and Transportation portfolio, contributing to improved outcomes across all aspects of the service, and ensure our services support the Council's emerging new ways of locality working. You will establish and maintain strong links with Planning Services to ensure transportation considerations are fully integrated into the planning and development process, crucial for sustainable and well-coordinated infrastructure projects that meet the needs of a growing community. On a day-to-day basis, you will be hands-on, leading a team of professionals responsible for all elements of the Council's Highways and Transportation functions. You are specifically accountable for all service elements.

Key Responsibilities include providing clear leadership and support to teams, fostering a culture of operational excellence, and focusing on innovative ways of working to enhance the service and reputation of the Council, with residents at the heart of everything we do.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and management for a portfolio of transport services aligned with Council priorities and financial targets.
• Develop and implement a coordinated strategic infrastructure delivery strategy, integrating all Council areas into long-term planning.
• Lead statutory and regulatory activities to maintain a safe, efficient, and effective transport network, ensuring compliance with policies and legislation.
• Ensure the service contributes to Council priorities and pledges, embedding the Council's culture, behaviours, and values.
• Provide expert technical advice on highways, transportation, and flood management to planning applications and development proposals.
• Simplify complex legislation and provide strategic advice to senior leaders, including Elected Members, the Chief Executive, and the Corporate Leadership Team.
• Manage and deliver the Council's statutory compliance across Highways and Transportation services, incorporating performance monitoring and robust action plans.
• Take strategic responsibility for large revenue, staff budgets, and capital investment programmes, ensuring efficient service delivery.
• Proactively manage service budgets, forecasting expenditure and ensuring affordable plans align with the annual budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan.
• Identify and secure external funding sources to deliver key strategic infrastructure projects.
• Work collaboratively with senior officers, elected members, partners, statutory bodies, and local authorities to achieve agreed outcomes.
• Coordinate and manage external consultants and partners, ensuring effective contribution and understanding of roles and responsibilities.
• Engage with key local, regional, and national bodies to support strategic objectives related to place-making.
• Lead the development and delivery of activities that contribute to local economic growth through strategic infrastructure projects.
• Promote a "one Council" strategy to avoid siloed operations and achieve more effective outcomes.
• Develop and deliver the highways capital programme and major projects through existing and new contractual arrangements, ensuring oversight and sound financial management.
• Foster a culture of operational excellence with a strong customer focus, delivering value-for-money services.
• Lead a risk-based approach to delivering strategic transport and infrastructure projects, maximizing external funding opportunities.
• Oversee end-to-end commissioning of highways and transportation work streams, ensuring robust contract management and performance monitoring.
• Lead, support, mentor, and coach operational staff, ensuring compliance with performance management systems and HR policies.
• Role model the Council's priorities, ways of working, and values, ensuring they are embedded across the service.
• Ensure equalities are embedded in all professional and managerial roles, adhering to Council policy.
• Operate within the Council's governance, financial, and legal frameworks, providing strategic advice to senior leaders.
• Participate in cross-organisational risk management and emergency planning activities.
• Manage data securely in compliance with legislation such as GDPR and the Freedom of Information Act, promoting transparency.
• Be accountable for all quality and performance metrics related to commissioned property maintenance activities.
• Integrate external best practices into service development and delivery.
• Provide performance reports to senior management, including insights, forecasts, trend analysis, and efficiency opportunities.
• Lead and contribute to the delivery and implementation of specific capital projects as required.

Knowledge & Experience / Qualifications

• Significant senior management competence in managing operational services within Highways and Transportation or related field with a proven track record of leadership and strategic planning within a local authority or similar public/private sector environment.
• A proven ability of successful change management, implementing and delivering new working policies and practices alongside significant cultural and structural change that deliver improved services for customers in a more efficient way.
• Ability to work across organisational and professional boundaries, to contribute to the establishment of the desired organisational culture, to partnerships and to challenge inappropriate behaviour.
• Proven experience of successful financial management including budget formulation, including a track record of improving services, managing complex budgets, involving a range of funding streams, and delivering value for money.
• A proven track record of establishing and sustaining a performance management culture, supported by effective and efficient management information systems.
• Able to deal with ambiguity and the pace of change within local government, confidently making and standing by decisions in challenging situations and persisting with flexibility in the face of setbacks.
• Track record of developing staff, building effective teams and leading multi-disciplinary professional staff to achieve organisational aims and objectives.
• Experience to lead and manage high-profile front-line services to our communities.
• Experience of contract management and major public realm infrastructure scheme delivery.
• Extensive experience of supporting decision makers, including Councillors and statutory consultees and strategic partner organisations to achieve positive outcomes.
• Ability to make site visits throughout the Borough and attend meetings outside the Borough.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent qualification with considerable relevant senior management experience in an appropriate related Highways and transportation setting.
• Membership of, or eligibility for membership of, a relevant professional body such as ICE, CIHT, IHE or equivalent knowledge and practice gained through experience.
• Management qualification
• Evidence of continuing professional development, leadership and personal development.
• Competent working knowledge of Prince 2 Practitioner or knowledge of "programme and project management techniques" within a similar digital environment.

Decision Making

• The postholder has delegation of powers as head of Highways and Transportation services to make significant, complex, decisions and must be aware to manage corporate risks.
• The postholder must take effective decisions quickly and act on their own initiative in order to resolve problems. Effective delegation across the team will be essential to empowering the team to provide efficient customer focused services.
• The postholder must be able to quickly get to the heart of issues and accurately assess and manage risk
• The postholder must show creativity in using intellectual capital and resources to deliver cost effective services.
• The postholder will be accountable for the successful operational delivery of the services and by extension to cross council transformational priorities.
• Through developing and reviewing Highways and Transportation strategies, the postholder must ensure decisions taken are based on clearly defined needs of the council (and our wider community) ensuring both short, mid and long term requirements are planned for.

Creativity and Innovation

• Constantly reviews ways of working and identifies opportunities to improve the quality of the work of the service.
• Identifies creative solutions to Council-wide issues and takes action to implement them.
• Shows creativity in using resources to deliver cost effective services, engaging external experts where relevant, and looking beyond the boundary of current service delivery.
• Continually identifying, evaluating and implementing innovative new areas of partnership working where it is beneficial to Swindon.

Job Scope

• Number and types of jobs managed To lead and co-ordinate service delivery and performance in the following service areas:
• - Public Transport & Low Carbon Strategy
• - Traffic Management and Transport Policy
• - Highway Project Delivery
• - Highway Technical Design
• - Operational Highway Team
• - Transport Development Management
• - Highway Asset Management
• - NEC term service contract
• - Professional Services Contract
• The total service staffing headcount is approximately 200 via 5 direct reports. The postholder will also convene cross-service and multi discipline boards to develop polices to support strategic Highways and Transportation services.

Typical tasks supervised/allocated to others

• To visibly lead the day to day running of the highways and transportation services and associated statutory elements.
• Detailed budget monitoring
• Implementation of staffing and performance matters including recruitment and retention of staff.

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