Highways Team Leader WMF3162e

The Cumbria County Council; Penrith; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pension

Enhanced annual leave

Perks & discounts

Job summary

Westmorland and Furness Council is seeking a Team Leader for highways operations in Penrith. You will supervise small teams, organise resources, and ensure outputs meet safety and quality targets. A full UK driving licence and relevant field experience with plant/equipment are essential.

The role includes out-of-hours duties and potential weather-related shifts, with a competitive pension and enhanced leave benefits. Applications close 25 October 2026.

Qualifications

• Experience in motivating and leading staff to deliver quality work.
• Organised, focused with high attention to detail and strong communication skills.
• Ability to work safely and adhere to procedures in a highways environment.

Responsibilities

• Supervise small teams to deliver highways maintenance and construction work.
• Assist with programming and ordering of materials and plant needed for tasks.
• Ensure safety procedures are followed and outputs meet targets.
• Perform out-of-hours duties during adverse weather or incidents.

Skills

Team leadership

Staff motivation

Communication

Attention to detail

Safety compliance

Tools

Plant and equipment operation

Job description

Job reference REQ00000020396 Date posted 18/09/2026 Application closing date 25/10/2026 Location PENRITH Salary 33,119.00 - 33,673.00 Package Blank Contractual hours 37 Basis Full time Attachments Blank

Job description

Location: Skirgill Depot, Penrith
Contract Type: Permanent

About this opportunity

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.

The Role

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.

Who we are looking for…

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.

What can we offer you!

Working at Westmorland and Furness Council you will receive a variety of benefits, including a competitive pension scheme, enhanced annual leave allowance and other various perks and discounts schemes. For more information about life at Westmorland and Furness Council and what we can offer you, please visit our Careers site. Our benefits | Careers (westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk)

Would you like to find out more?

For further information about this role, such as responsibilities and essential criteria please view the below attachments:

• Post Specification
• Role Profile

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.