Associate Director - Transport Planning

AECOM Corporation; St Albans; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working model

Career development

Volunteer days

Flexible benefits

Job summary

AECOM is seeking an Associate Director to lead the Midlands Transport Planning team, delivering innovative and sustainable transport solutions. You will lead strategic initiatives, client engagement, project delivery, and business development while mentoring a high-performing team.

You should have extensive transport planning experience, strong leadership, and a track record of winning work. The role offers hybrid working, collaboration across disciplines, and opportunities to shape major UK

Qualifications

• Degree in Transport Planning, Civil Engineering, Urban Planning, or related field.
• Chartered Status in CIHT or TPS.
• Extensive experience in transport planning with appraisal, business case development and/or monitoring and evaluation.
• Strong leadership and communication skills.
• Comprehensive knowledge of transport planning principles, policies, and regulations in the UK&I region.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute strategic initiatives to grow the transport planning practice and ensure cross-discipline integration.
• Client and Stakeholder Engagement: Build relationships with clients, provide strategic advice, and represent the company at events.
• Project Delivery: Oversee delivery of complex transport planning projects ensuring quality, budget, and timelines.
• Business Development: Identify opportunities, prepare bids, and collaborate with other lines to secure projects.
• Team Development: Recruit, mentor, and develop a high-performing team.

Skills

Leadership

Client engagement

Project delivery

Team development

Communication

Stakeholder management

Education

Degree in Transport Planning

Degree in Civil Engineering

Urban Planning degree

Tools

Modelling software

Job description

• Legal Entity: AECOM Infrastructure and Environment UK Limited
• Business Line: Transportation
• Work Location Model: Hybrid
• Operating Group: International
• Primary Location: UK - Birmingham - Colmore Plaza

Company Description

Work with Us. Change the World.

At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world’s most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations.

There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world.

We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Job Description

Are you ready to challenge the boundaries of what's possible?

AECOM offers a dynamic and collaborative environment where you can lead impactful projects and work alongside industry experts. As an Associate Director, you will have the opportunity to shape the future of transport planning, delivering solutions that enhance connectivity, sustainability, and quality of life.

About You

The Associate Director role in our Midlands Transport Planning team is a leadership position focused on delivering innovative and sustainable transport solutions. Responsibilities include leadership, client engagement, project delivery, business development, and team development. Candidates should have extensive experience in transport planning, strong leadership skills, and a commitment to excellence.

The team has an established track record of successfully delivering Transport Planning projects and works closely with other disciplines from Streets and Technology, Highways, Aviation, Ports, Rail and Environmental sectors. The team workload covers the full range of policy, strategy and appraisal and evaluation. This includes the development of associated business cases and transport studies.

We are currently looking for an Associate Director to support and lead on the delivery of a variety of transport projects. The role will suit a self-motivated individual who is aspiring to take a lead role in client engagement and manage dynamic teams delivering high quality projects. You will work within a large and collaborative team to support the delivery of a diverse range of Transport Planning work within our regional and national portfolio including:

• National Highways Monitoring and Evaluation Framework
• National Highways Spatial Planning Contract Framework
• Birmingham City Council Professional Services Framework
• Transport for West Midlands Transport Planning & Modelling Frameworks
• Midlands Highway Alliance PSP4
• Transport for Wales (TfW) Framework
• Black County Transport
• West of England Combined Authority Framework
• Department for Transport Evaluation Scoping and Implementation

Here’s what you’ll do:

• Strategic Leadership: Lead the development and execution of strategic initiatives to grow the transport planning and consulting practice. Align team objectives with AECOM’s broader business goals, ensuring integration across disciplines. Proven work winning, project management and team management abilities with excellent Client relations.
• Client and Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain strong relationships with key clients, including public sector agencies, private developers, and infrastructure operators. Provide strategic advice to clients, ensuring their goals are met with innovative and sustainable solutions. Represent AECOM at client meetings, industry events, and conferences, enhancing the company’s reputation as a leader in transport planning.
• Project Delivery: Oversee the delivery of complex transport planning projects, ensuring they meet quality, budget, and timeline requirements. Provide technical oversight and ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards. Manage project risks, develop mitigation strategies, and ensure successful outcomes.
• Business Development: Identify and pursue new business opportunities in the transport planning sector. Lead the preparation of bids and proposals, ensuring they align with client needs and AECOM’s strategic priorities. Collaborate with other business lines to secure and deliver multidisciplinary projects.
• Team Development: Recruit, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of transport planners and consultants. Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement within the team. Promote diversity and inclusion, ensuring a supportive and equitable workplace.

Come grow with us.

We develop projects from concept through to operation providing engineering and construction services for multiyear, multimillion-dollar projects for major rail and transit agencies. Our specialists provide analytical and strategic expertise for every stage of a project

And let's not forget about the perks at AECOM. You'll enjoy a range of core and personalized benefits designed to support your future and well-being, customized to fit your lifestyle. Take advantage of career development opportunities, our flexible hybrid working model to ensure a work-life balance that suits your lifestyle, technical practice networks, AECOM University, and volunteering days.

Qualifications

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible?

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Degree in Transport Planning, Civil Engineering, Urban Planning, or a related field.
• Chartered Status in professional bodies such as the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) or Transport Planning Society (TPS).
• Extensive experience in transport planning (focusing on appraisal, business case development and / or monitoring and evaluation), with a proven track record in winning work and leading teams
• Strong leadership and team management capabilities.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects and deliver results.
• Comprehensive knowledge of transport planning principles, policies, and regulations in the UK&I region.
• Expertise in transport appraisal and business case development.
• Ability to interface with modelling and design teams in scheme development.
• Understanding of the technical requirements of major public clients in the region with respect to appraisal.
• Proficiency in commonly used transport planning tools and software.

We celebrate diversity, including neurodiversity, and believe it enriches our team. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and abilities. If you are an applicant with a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us at [e-mail]

At AECOM, we value everyone's unique contributions and perspectives.

If you meet some of the requirements above or have transferable skills you believe would benefit us, we would be delighted to hear from you!

Additional Information

#stap #transportplanning

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options.Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility.As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are aDisabilityConfidentEmployer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address [e-mail] if you would like to apply through theDisabilityConfidentInterview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.