Graduate Engineer

Bury Council; Bury; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

a structured career-graded salary with

support from experienced engineering

continuous professional development

hands-on experience across significant

flexible working hours

agile and hybrid working

generous annual leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

salary sacrifice schemes

employee discounts and benefits

modern technology to help you work

Job summary

Bury Council invites graduates to join its Highways Team, offering hands-on experience across design, maintenance, transport planning and project management. You’ll contribute to major infrastructure schemes, gain responsibility, and work with an experienced team to develop a rewarding engineering career at the council.

Roles start with a structured career grade and clear progression, with hybrid working across council offices and home.

Job description

Salary and career progression

• Level 1, Grade 10: £36,581 to £39,481
• Level 2, Grade 12: £43,149 to £45,529
• Level 3, Grade 14: £49,817 to £50,908

Location: Hybrid working, combining home working with Bury Council offices at Bradley Fold and Bury town centre
Hours: Full time
Posts available: 5

Start your engineering career by making a real difference

Looking for a graduate role where you can do more than sit on the sidelines?

At Bury Council, you could be helping to shape the roads, bridges, transport networks and public spaces that thousands of people use every day.

We're looking for five talented graduates to join our Highways Team and develop their careers across a wide range of engineering and infrastructure disciplines.

From improving highways and developing transport schemes to designing infrastructure and helping deliver multimillion-pound projects, you'll have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience, take on real responsibility and see the impact of your work across Bury.

And you won't be doing it alone. You'll join an experienced, friendly team who will support your development, share their expertise and help you build a rewarding professional career.

Build your career with us

This is a career-graded opportunity, giving you a clear route to develop your skills, experience and earning potential.

Depending on your existing knowledge and experience, you could join us at the appropriate level within the career grade. If you're at the beginning of your career, you'll have the opportunity to progress through the grades as your capability and experience grow, subject to annual review and meeting the required criteria.

You’ll have the chance to gain experience across areas including:

• highway design and maintenance
• transport planning
• structures and bridges
• drainage
• traffic and network management
• public rights of way
• project and programme management
• infrastructure and regeneration schemes

Whether you already know which area of engineering interests you most or want the opportunity to explore different disciplines, we'll help you develop your skills and experience.

The team you’ll be joining

Our Highways Team sits within Bury Council’s Place Directorate and includes more than 55 colleagues, supported by specialist consultancy partners.

Together, the team manages and improves an extensive network of infrastructure, including:

• 660km of adopted highway
• more than 220 bridges and walls
• approximately 42,000 gullies
• 330km of public rights of way
• developing electric vehicle charging infrastructure

Our work ranges from everyday highway maintenance to major infrastructure, regeneration and transport programmes worth up to £100 million.

You’ll also have opportunities to work alongside major regional and national partners, gaining valuable experience of complex projects and collaborative working.

What could you be doing?

No two projects are exactly the same.

Depending on your role and development, you could be involved in projects from the initial idea and business case right through to design, procurement and construction on site.

Your experience could include:

• helping to design highway and transport improvements
• supporting projects that make our transport network safer and more resilient
• developing project plans and business cases
• helping manage project budgets, programmes and risks
• working with engineers, consultants and contractors
• engaging with communities, developers and other stakeholders
• supporting procurement and construction activity
• helping coordinate planning, statutory and governance processes
• seeing projects you’ve worked on become a reality on the ground

You’ll be encouraged to ask questions, contribute ideas and take on greater responsibility as your experience develops.

Who we’re looking for

We’re interested in people with potential, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.

You should have a degree, or be able to demonstrate significant equivalent experience. An engineering, infrastructure, transport, construction or related background would be particularly relevant.

Technical engineering knowledge is an advantage, but we don’t expect graduates to arrive knowing everything. What’s important is that you’re keen to learn and can bring a thoughtful, organised approach to solving problems.

You’ll ideally be someone who:

• enjoys solving problems and finding practical solutions
• can organise their workload and manage priorities
• has good analytical and decision-making skills
• communicates confidently and clearly
• enjoys working collaboratively with others
• is comfortable using digital technology and learning new software
• is interested in engineering, infrastructure and how places work
• wants to develop professionally and build a long‑term career

You’ll work with a wide range of people, from fellow engineers and project managers to contractors, communities, funding organisations and elected representatives, so strong communication and relationship‑building skills will be important.

Why Bury?

Bury might be compact, but our ambitions aren't.

Home to around 200,000 people across five neighbourhoods, the borough combines busy urban centres with parks, countryside and excellent connections across Greater Manchester.

From Bury's famous market and cultural attractions to its tram connections and proximity to the M60 and M66, it's a varied place with equally varied infrastructure challenges and opportunities.

That makes it a brilliant environment in which to start and develop a career in engineering.

What you’ll get from us

We want you to enjoy your job while building a career you can be proud of.

As part of Bury Council, you’ll have access to:

• a structured career-graded salary with progression opportunities
• support from experienced engineering and infrastructure professionals
• continuous professional development
• hands‑on experience across significant projects
• flexible working hours
• agile and hybrid working
• generous annual leave
• Local Government Pension Scheme membership
• salary sacrifice schemes
• employee discounts and benefits
• modern technology to help you work effectively from different locations

Most importantly, you’ll have the chance to work on projects with a visible impact on people’s everyday lives.

About Bury

The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Appointment may be subject to a satisfactory disclosure at the appropriate level under the Disclosure and Barring Service.

In line with safer recruitment, please ensure that your application/CV covers your full employment history and there is a reason noted for any gaps in employment. Successful candidates will be asked to provide relevant references for the past ten years and character references will not be accepted.

Please note we are unable to support with sponsorship at this time.

As a Corporate Parent, ensure that the work and services you deliver considers our care experienced young people, promotes their life chances empowers them to influence the policies, services, and decisions that affect them, champions their rights, and ensure they grow up in the best possible way

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.

Benefits of working for Bury Council

To hear about the benefits for working with Bury Council, please visit Bury - Home | greater.jobs

We support employees to work with agility, where appropriate for the post and service requirements.

We are committed to Bury being an equal society that recognises values and embraces all people, regardless of any difference, for the skills, abilities and experiences they bring into the workforce and the wider community. Therefore we guarantee an interview for disabled people, looked after children/ care leavers, armed forces personnel (including reservists and veterans) and carers of adults or disabled children if they meet the essential criteria.