Department Manager - Local Infrastructure

Sweco; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible and hybrid working (Flexworks

Competitive pension contribution

Life Assurance

Private Medical Insurance (including '

Job summary

Sweco UK&I seeks a Department Manager to lead a portfolio of transport projects and operations across the UK. You will guide technical design, client engagement and teams, ensuring project quality and financial performance while pursuing new business opportunities.

The role supports hybrid working, with flexibility for site work and client meetings across multiple locations, including Manchester and Edinburgh.

Qualifications

• Experience in a similar leadership role delivering transport projects.
• Professional qualification, ideally Chartered status.
• Strong client understanding and ability to influence decisions.
• Proven track record in business development and bidding.
• Excellent consultancy, communication and relationship management skills.
• Ability to present and sell ideas in multiple settings.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of diverse transport projects and business operations.
• Develop and mentor teams across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cork, Leeds and Manchester.
• Monitor financial results, project quality and client outcomes.
• Generate sustainable business opportunities aligned with Sweco’s four cornerstones.

Skills

RIBA design stages

Traffic engineering

Community engagement

Public realm placemaking

Road safety

Sustainable transport

Highway design

Commercial acumen

Bid/win work

Framework management

Client understanding

Financial skills

Leadership & people management

Education

Chartered status (preferred)

Job description

What does the role involve?

The Local Infrastructure Department manager role is a leadership position focused on delivering innovative and sustainable transport solutions. This role is accountable for the financial results, client’s outcomes, project quality, commercial awareness and people leadership across their department. Developing their teams, generating sustainable business opportunities and delivering against Sweco’s four cornerstones across their teams.

Sweco has an established track record of successfully delivering Transport projects and works closely with other disciplines from Transport Planning, National Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Environmental sectors. The team workload ranges from business cases, concept designs, detailed design, technical design and site supervision for a variety of local authorities and contractors.

We Are Looking For a Department Manager To Support And Lead On The Delivery Of a Variety Of Transport Projects And Business Operations Covering Teams Based In Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cork, Leeds And Manchester, Delivering The Following

• Full design life cycle experience of the RIBA stages
• Managing and delivering traffic engineering in public and rural areas,
• Community engagement
• Public realm regeneration and placemaking,
• Road safety
• Sustainable transport, and highway design projects, ideally within the UK public-sector context.

To Be Successful In The Role You'll Possess

• Experience in a similar role or be ready to take the next step
• A professional qualification, ideally Chartered status
• Good client understanding of the projects on which they work and the broader division they work within
• Commercial acumen - capacity to influence strategic decision-making within the business and externally along with the ability to make commercial decisions within defined parameters
• Experienced work winner both in terms of business development and bidding
• Framework management experience is desirable.
• Excellent consultancy, communication and relationship management skills
• Ability to present and sell in multiple settings
• Good analytical and process ability
• Excellent financial skills.

What’s in it for you?

This is an exciting time to join Sweco, and if you want to be part of a company who is small in all the best ways but large enough to provide a diverse and exciting workload, this may be the job for you.

If you believe you have the skill set required, are keen to join a business with genuine opportunities for career progression, then we’d love to hear from you.

Let’s transform society together!

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 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. To find out more The Armed Forces Covenant - Our Commitments | Sweco UK .

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 I have a disability, can I get help (e.g. "reasonable adjustments") with the application process?

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 [e-mail] for assistance.

In order to address your request the following information is needed:

• Name
• The best method for contacting you (Phone or email)
• The position title
• Requisition/vacancy number

Upon receipt of this information, we'll respond to you promptly to obtain more information about your request.

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. Any speculative CVs received into the business (whether to a manager or member of the resourcing team) will become the property of Sweco and the agency will not be eligible for an introductory fee.

Our Preferred Supplier List was reviewed in November 2025 and we are not looking to add any additional agencies. We'll be reviewing the PSL again at the end of 2026 and non-compliance with the above statements could be detrimental to you having the opportunity to be included.