Highways Team Leader

Westmorland and Furness Council; Eamont Bridge; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Westmorland and Furness Council is seeking a Team Leader to supervise highways maintenance teams, ensuring safe and efficient delivery of works across Cumbria. You will oversee task planning, materials and plant provisioning, and maintain high quality outputs in line with procedures.

The role requires a full UK driving licence and proven leadership experience in a field using plant and equipment. Ability to travel across Cumbria and participate in out-of-hours duties is essential.

Qualifications

• Experience supervising and coordinating field teams in highways or related operations.
• Strong focus on safety, quality and meeting performance targets.
• Full UK driving licence is essential; UK licences with equivalent rights accepted.

Responsibilities

• Lead and supervise highways teams to achieve outputs and maintain safety standards.
• Assist with planning, programming and ordering of materials and plant for tasks.
• Be available for out-of-hours duties in adverse weather or incidents; overtime paid.
• Travel across Cumbria to inspect sites and support operations.

Skills

Team leadership

Health & safety

People management

Tools

Plant & Equipment operation

Job description

Are you a hard-working and experienced highways operative, looking for the next step in your career? We are looking to recruit a Team Leader, to support with the supervision and organisation of teams and ensure that a culture of performance, safety and quality is embedded within the highways operations service., As well as being responsible for a wide range of highways maintenance and construction type work, the right candidates will be supervising small teams, ensuring that they are operating at optimum performance and the outputs of the team meet or exceed targets.

You will be expected to assist the Stewards in the programming and ordering of materials and plant required by the team to deliver their tasks, always guaranteeing the team is operating safely and adhering to procedures. There is a requirement to conduct Out of Hours duties in response to adverse weather and incidents on the highways. Duties outside normal working hours are paid in addition to base salary., Please note: If the Post Specification for this vacancy states that a UK driving licence is required, non-UK driving licences with entitlement to drive vehicles in the UK will also be accepted.

Application and Interview information

Closing date: 25/10/2026

Interview date: 05/11/2026

We are currently operating both in-person and virtual interviews. Interview details such as venue/timings will be shared with successful candidates, following the shortlisting process. If you have any concerns or adjustments are needed, we are happy to discuss this with you.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

Westmorland and Furness Council is committed to improving the diversity of its workforce to better reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and work to promote an inclusive, supportive culture that values and celebrates our differences.

As a Disability Confident Leader, disabled applicants, who meet the essential criteria of this job, are guaranteed an interview.

We also offer guaranteed interviews to Armed Forces personnel and veterans and those in care or care experienced and under 24 years old (someone who has been looked after by a local authority at any point, for any length of time, e.g. foster care, residential care, or under the guardianship of a local authority) that meet the essential criteria for the role.

The successful candidate for this role will be organised, focused, and have a high level of attention to detail, ensuring your team completes work to the expected quality. We are looking for someone who has proven experience of motivating and leading staff, who can be positive, dedicated and ensure a culture of teamwork.

A full UK Driving Licence is essential, as well as experience in a relevant field with the use of plant and equipment associated with the role. This is a customer focused service, so personal conduct is key, as is good levels of communication.

We are also looking for people who can adapt well to the demands of the service, who can travel throughout Cumbria and who are willing to take part in adverse weather maintenance function or other out of hours duties.