General Operative

Balfour Beatty plc; Horncastle; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Smart working options

25 days annual leave (pro rata)

Pension

Share incentive plan

Volunteer leave

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

Balfour Beatty plc seeks a Highways Operative for our UKCS Living Places team in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. You will perform diverse highway maintenance tasks—drainage, footways, asphalt, vegetation—and contribute to safe, high-quality project delivery.

We value a strong health-and-safety mindset, teamwork, and flexibility in hours. A full UK driving licence and relevant certifications are desirable; a range of benefits is offered.

Qualifications

• Full UK driving licence is required.
• Strong commitment to health and safety.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team.
• Honest, reliable and able to act with integrity.
• Flexible approach to working hours, including overtime and shift work when required.

Responsibilities

• Carry out a broad range of highway maintenance activities safely, efficiently and to a high standard.
• Undertake drainage works, kerb laying, footway improvements, vegetation clearance and asphalt repairs.
• Completing excavation and trenching works, including use of specialist equipment where required.
• Work within a Zero Harm culture and ensure health and safety remains the top priority.
• Report close calls, good practices and safety observations.
• Follow work programmes and complete tasks right first time.

Skills

Full UK driving licence

Health and safety

Teamwork

Integrity

Flexibility

Education

NRSWA accreditation

CSCS Highway Maintenance card

Confined Space training

EUSR Excavation qualifications

Class 1 or Class 2 LGV licence

Driver CPC qualification

Winter service experience

Telehandler training

Vacuum excavation experience

Highway maintenance, construction or groundworks experience

Job description

About the role

Balfour Beatty has an exciting opportunity for a Highways Operative to join our UKCS Living Places team based in Horncastle, Lincolnshire.

As a Highways Operative, you will play a vital role in maintaining and improving the local highway network, helping to keep communities connected and safe. Working as part of a dedicated operational team, you will undertake a wide range of highway maintenance activities, contributing to the delivery of essential infrastructure services across the region.

This is a hands‑on role offering a varied workload, where no two days are the same. You will work on projects ranging from drainage and footway improvements to asphalt works, vegetation clearance and excavation activities, all while maintaining the highest standards of safety, quality and customer service.

What you’ll be doing

As a Highways Operative, your responsibilities will include:

• Carrying out a broad range of highway maintenance activities safely, efficiently and to a high standard.
• Undertaking drainage works, kerb laying, footway improvements, vegetation clearance and asphalt repairs.
• Completing excavation and trenching works, including the use of specialist equipment where required.
• Working within Balfour Beatty’s Zero Harm culture and ensuring health and safety remains the top priority at all times.
• Reporting close calls, good practices and safety observations.
• Ensuring compliance with statutory requirements, company procedures and quality standards.
• Operating and maintaining plant, tools and equipment safely and effectively.
• Monitoring and organising materials and resources to support project delivery.
• Following work programmes and completing tasks right first time.
• Supporting winter maintenance and emergency response activities, including out-of-hours work when required.
• Building positive working relationships with colleagues, customers and stakeholders.
• Acting as a professional ambassador for Balfour Beatty at all times.

Who we’re looking for

We are looking for motivated individuals who take pride in their work, put safety first and are committed to delivering high-quality results.

Essential Requirements

• Full UK driving licence.
• Strong commitment to health and safety.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team.
• Honest, reliable and able to act with integrity.
• Flexible approach to working hours, including overtime and shift work when required.

Desirable Requirements

While not essential, the following qualifications and experience would be advantageous:

• Highway maintenance, construction or groundworks experience.
• NRSWA accreditation.
• CSCS Highway Maintenance card.
• Confined Space training.
• EUSR Excavation qualifications.
• Class 1 or Class 2 LGV licence.
• Driver CPC qualification.
• Winter service experience or NVQ.
• Telehandler training.
• Vacuum excavation experience.

Why work for us

Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

Why join us?

As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions wasn’t rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. You’ll have the freedom to shape the package that’s right for you and your life. Here are some of our key benefits:

• Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
• 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
• Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave
• Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more…

About us

Balfour Beatty Living Places works in long‑term partnerships with local authorities to create great places to live, work and play. We actively engage with local people to understand the needs of the communities we work in and shape the places where local economies can thrive and grow. As a leader in sustainable working, diversity, and social value, we use our expertise to bring real, positive change for our customers.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion

To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, enei, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence ‘Employer Recognition Scheme’ and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long‑term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/

We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at [e-mail]