Corporate Head of Service - Highways and Transport

London Borough of Sutton; London; On-site; GBP 71,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity to lead the Highways and Transport Shared Service between Kingston and Sutton, focusing on delivery of sustainable transport infrastructure. The ideal candidate will be a seasoned leader in transport management, driving change and embodying strategic excellence. Join a dedicated team in a role central to local community development and sustainable practices.

Benefits

Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays

Flexible working arrangements

Comprehensive learning and development programme

Discounts on local shops and leisure centres

Interest free season ticket loans

Local Government Pension Scheme

Qualifications

• Strong background in Highways or Transport.
• Effective leadership and strategic thinking.
• Ability to drive change management.

Responsibilities

• Operational lead for the Highways and Transport Shared Service.
• Manage around 90 staff with 5 direct reports.
• Interface with senior leaders and councillors.

Skills

Leadership experience

Programme management

Data analysis

IT and Digital competency

Education

Degree in Highways, Transport, Engineering or equivalent experience

Job description

Corporate Head of Service - Highways and Transport

Employer Kingston Council

Location(s) Kingston, Sutton

Contract Type Permanent

Working Hours Full Time

Grade M+3

36

Salary Range £71,850 - £79,446

Salary Basis Per annum

Leave Entitlement 30 days

Application Deadline

13/07/2025, 23:55

Anticipated Interview Date(s) Monday 21 July 2025 (second interviews if required on Thurs 24 July or Friday 25 July)

About the Borough

The Royal Borough of Kingston and The London Borough of Sutton operate a shared Highways and Transport service and this role covers delivery across both boroughs.

Located in South West London Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of the district town centres have something unique to offer. In Sutton looking ahead, there are plans for the delivery of new homes and new schools and the London Cancer Hub is being developed. Both councils are seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment.

Both councils are ambitious for their future and it is an exciting time to join our Highways and Transport team as we lead the way in South-west London in delivering sustainable transport infrastructure, regeneration and rise to the net zero challenge.

About the Role and our Ideal Candidate

About the role

The role is the operational lead for the Highways and Transport Shared Service between The Royal Borough of Kingston and The London Borough of Sutton, The post holder will be the interface with senior leaders and councillors in both boroughs and the service. The role combines change management, and the need to embed change, with ensuring effective capital programme delivery and developing excellence in asset management and operations, and inspirational people leadership
The team provides the full range of Highways and Transport functions across both boroughs. The post holder will be managing around 90 staff, with 5 direct reports; 4 Team Managers and a Programme Manager.

The postholder will have to attend the office 'as required' - the current expectation is around 2-3 days a week across both boroughs
If you wish to have an informal discussion about this role, please contact:

Matthew Hill, Director of Highways, Transportation, and Regulatory Services - [e-mail]
Sarah Rye, Director of Highways, Transportation and Regulatory Services - [e-mail]

Our Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Highways or Transport and, although not necessarily professionally qualified, will have relevant technical knowledge and a track record of effective leadership, strategic thinking and change management. Political understanding and nous are important but the candidate could come from public or private sectors. Excellence in programme management is seen as key, and driving the operational service with inspirational leadership.

To be successful in this role, essential skills, knowledge and competencies include:

• Degree in Highways, Transport, Engineering or other relevant discipline, or equivalent experience
• Leadership experience which promotes distributed leadership,empowering others to take ownership and accountability of outcomes
• Is competent with IT and Digital processes, seeking to drive digitisation
• Ability to analyse data and intelligence to drive improvements and collaborate with partners and communities
• Excellent in project and programme management
• Excellent knowledge of the latest thinking in the field of H&T
• Experience of driving a service to deliver the net zero agenda
• Clear and thorough understanding of legal framework the service is operating in
• Creates a learning environment where innovation and creativity is celebrated and risks are managed
• Works collaboratively with others, leading by example

About Us

The service has a vision to be an exemplar shared service locally and nationally, striving for excellence in delivering the corporate aims of both Sutton and Kingston, tackling the climate emergency and ensuring a high quality environment for our residents.

We have ambitious plans and are looking for ambitious people to embody our high performing inclusive organisational culture, where everyone can thrive and be their authentic self whilst making a real difference to our local communities. We want to nurture all our people in their professional development and we will empower everyone to work in a distributed leadership model giving individuals ownership, responsibility and accountability.

Our Offer To You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. The COVID-19 pandemic has required us to be even more flexible in how we work and manage staff workloads, ensuring they have the correct equipment and resources to be able to maximise their talents and looking after their wellbeing.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Three volunteering days per year
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Application Process Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Additional Information

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, tolerant and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

We are proud to be recognised as a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people.We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking theGOV.UK website for right to work guidance.