Senior Economic Development Manager

National Highways; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK infrastructure organization is seeking a Senior Economic Development Manager to manage a £165 million Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund. This hybrid role requires expertise in economic development and stakeholder management to promote growth on the Strategic Road Network. Key responsibilities include leading a program supporting national economic strategies, providing evidence for strategic planning, and fostering relationships with key stakeholders. The ideal candidate should have a strong understanding of large-scale funding and the ability to operate at strategic levels.

Qualifications

• Experience in economic development related to infrastructure and network planning.
• Ability to operate at national or sub-national levels strategically.
• Knowledge of public/private funding and government support mechanisms.
• Proven track record of working with internal and external stakeholders.
• Familiarity with large-scale funding programmes and governance.

Responsibilities

• Lead a programme to support the economic role of the Strategic Road Network.
• Manage the Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund effectively.
• Build relationships with key stakeholders to promote economic development.
• Provide evidence and intelligence for strategic planning.
• Inspire and motivate the team to create a high-performance culture.

Skills

Economic development understanding

Stakeholder management

Strategic planning

Knowledge of funding programmes

Job description

Overview

We're looking for a Senior Economic Development Manager to join our Customer, Strategy and Communications Directorate at National Highways. Within this role, you'll lead a programme of work and provide evidence to directly support and demonstrate the economic role of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) and of National Highways in the national economy, including the development, management and oversight of £165m Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund.

But that's not all, you'll act as the Strategic Lead for the Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund within Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3), by providing overall management and oversight of the Fund Delivery programme and acting as lead subject matter expert to guide the effective deployment of the funding.

This role will be worked on a hybrid basis, with a minimum of 2 days per week in the office.

• Support the Director of Strategic Planning and the Head of Network Strategy and Development to develop and maintain senior level relationships with national and key regional stakeholders that play a significant role in economic growth.
• Act as a subject matter expert for economic development and lead National Highways' efforts in promoting economic development nationally, to improve understanding of road reliant sectors, and the role of SRN in securing efficient routes to global markets and place making.
• Lead the provision of evidence and geospatial intelligence to ensure investment decision and strategic planning by National Highways supports economic development and proactively responds to priority growth locations such as Industrial Strategy Zones.
• Procure and contract manage external commissions to ensure the economic development programme and Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund are delivered to time and budget.
• Lead, inspire and motivate the team to optimise behaviours, capability and create a high-performance culture.

About you

• Experience and in-depth understanding of economic development within the context of infrastructure, spatial development and network planning.
• Capability to operate strategically at national and/or sub-national level in an economic development or related environment.
• Knowledge of the wider levers that support effective investment delivery e.g. planning, public/private funding, other Government support mechanisms and interventions.
• Evidence of successful working with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders at a senior level to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Knowledge of large-scale external funding programmes and associated governance procedures.

About us

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.

The Customer, Strategy, and Communications directorate is essential to National Highways. We guide the direction of the strategic road network, helping the company deliver economic and social benefits by meeting the needs of our customers, clients, and fulfilling regulatory requirements. As the central hub within National Highways, we provide the corporate strategic planning function for the organisation.

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.