Project Manager

National Highways; Cardington; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

National Highways is seeking a Project Manager to lead the closeout of complex programmes within the Significant Projects team. You will coordinate cross‑functional teams and external partners to ensure safe, compliant delivery and complete handovers at Stage 7.

You will drive governance, risk management, and high-quality reporting, while capturing lessons learned to inform future capital schemes across the UK road network.

Qualifications

• Experience leading closeout of complex projects in major programmes.
• Strong governance, QA, HSE principles across the delivery lifecycle.
• Proven ability to manage multi-disciplinary teams and external partners.
• Ability to produce high-quality project documentation and reports.

Responsibilities

• Lead the closeout of complex projects through Stage 7 and ensure timely handover.
• Oversee Stage 7 activities, including defects period and records collation.
• Define roles and ways of working to align with objectives.
• Produce baseline management products, risk registers and performance reports.
• Identify, monitor and manage risks, issues, dependencies and constraints.
• Capture lessons learned and embed best practices in governance and safety.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Project management

Risk management

Contract management

Governance

Safety standards

Documentation

Education

APM membership / professional body

Job description

National Highways have an excellent opportunity for a Project Manager to join our Significant Projects team within Major Projects. The Project Manager will plan and manage the delivery of projects, managing the performance of a project team, external contractors and consultants, ensuring adherence to effective governance, quality assurance, health and safety, technical and specialist standards across the supply chain and National Highways, to ensure successful delivery of agreed project outcomes. This role will be based within Project Control Framework (PCF) Stage 7 - the Closeout stage. At this point in the project lifecycle, the focus is on ensuring all elements of delivery are brought to a successful conclusion, lessons are captured, and commitments are honoured. While some closeout activities are completed promptly within the first year, others such as aftercare, safety monitoring, and evaluation can extend over several years. As a Project Manager, you will play a central role in steering projects through these critical closeout stages balancing the need to wrap up delivery efficiently with the responsibility of managing longer-term obligations. This role can be based from any of our UK offices, however travel to Birmingham and Manchester to attend monthly team meetings will be required.

• Lead the closeout of complex projects through Stage 7, ensuring defects are resolved, handover activities are managed, and long-term commitments are captured.
• Oversee activities within Stage 7, including the completion of the defects period, collation of records, and delivery of all documentation required for final handover / manage Stage 7 responsibilities, including ongoing aftercare, fulfilment of safety obligations, post-project evaluation, and monitoring of environmental or community commitments.
• Provide clear direction to your project teams by defining roles, responsibilities, and ways of working, ensuring alignment with project and organisational objectives.
• Produce high-quality project management documentation, including baseline management products, risk registers, and timely performance reports.
• Identify, monitor, and manage risks, issues, dependencies, and constraints specific to closeout, ensuring appropriate solutions are developed and escalated when necessary.
• Capture lessons learned and best practice from the project, embedding them into future delivery programmes and champion best practice in governance, safety, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement during the closeout process.
• Full membership of the Association of Project Managers (or another relevant professional body), or an aspiration to achieve this.
• Exceptional stakeholder management experience, with a track record of influencing relationships for positive outcomes across multi-disciplinary teams and building trusted relationships at all levels.
• Demonstrable experience in implementing and embedding safety standards within a project closeout or complex operational environment.
• Proven ability to capture lessons learned, manage post-project evaluation processes, and ensure commitments are followed through after completion.
• Experience of leading teams through the complexities of project closeout, including contract management and risk mitigation is desirable.
• Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England's motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership.
• Significant Projects are responsible for major enhancements to our road network. We make roads safer, journeys more reliable and unlock economic growth. At the same time, we seek out ways to create opportunities for sustainable travel, help nature to thrive and support our journey to net zero carbon. Our team work closely with the supply chain to design and construct road projects, as well as develop a pipeline of possible projects as we look to the future. Our skills span many areas from customer experts, land and property advisers to project management. We understand the potential that our road schemes can bring. External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy. We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.