Senior/Principal Highway Engineer

EMEA3 Recruitment; Chichester; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local government pension

Flexible working options

Professional development support

Mentoring and training

Staff discounts

Health and wellbeing resources

Job summary

West Sussex County Council is seeking a Senior or Principal Engineer to lead a portfolio of highways projects from concept through to construction. The role involves collaboration with councillors, communities and contractors to deliver safe, high-quality outcomes.

You will be part of a supportive team dedicated to professional development, with mentoring and qualification support as part of our career path.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering highways, transport or civil engineering projects.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
• Knowledge of highways design, construction practices, standards and procedures.
• Experience managing consultants, contractors and project budgets.
• The ability to explain complex technical issues to a wide range of audiences.
• A customer-focused mindset and commitment to delivering high-quality outcomes.
• The motivation to support colleagues and contribute positively to the wider team.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a diverse portfolio of projects from concept through to construction and completion.
• Lead on strategic active travel schemes or road safety initiatives as required.
• Work closely with councillors, communities, consultants and contractors, providing expert technical advice and ensuring safe, effective delivery with the customer at the heart of decisions.
• For Principal Engineer roles, act as lead engineer on strategic projects, mentor colleagues, contribute to service development and help shape the team's direction.

Skills

Highways projects

Analytical skills

Stakeholder engagement

Technical communication

Budget management

Explain complex issues

Customer focus

Team support

Education

Engineering qualification

Job description

From major active travel schemes and public realm improvements to road safety, traffic management and town centre transformation projects, this is an opportunity to take a leading role in shaping the future of transport across West Sussex while developing your own engineering career.

About The Job

Salary:£39,862 to £47,181 per annum.

Location:Your office base will be in Chichester; hybrid working, currently two days in the office.

Contract Type:Permanent.

Working Pattern:Full time, 37 hours per week. With flexible working arrangements to be discussed.

Annual leave:27 to 30 days + bank holidays =35 to 38 days.

At West Sussex County Council, we're delivering an exciting and ambitious programme of highway improvement schemes that make a real difference to people's lives.

From innovative public realm projects and strategic cycling infrastructure to traffic management, road safety improvements and town centre transformations, our Highways Improvements Team is shaping how people travel, connect and thrive across the county.

We're looking for an enthusiastic and experienced Senior Engineer or Principal Engineer. You'll be joining a highly experienced, collaborative team that takes pride in supporting colleagues to develop their technical expertise, professional qualifications and careers.

We're passionate about developing our people and actively support professional and career development through mentoring, technical training and assistance towards professional qualifications and chartership through organisations such as:

• Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
• Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT)
• Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE).

Our team includes experienced professionals who are committed to helping colleagues develop technical excellence, confidence and leadership skills.

What you'll be doing

As part of our forward-thinking Highways Improvements Team, you'll take a leading role in delivering a diverse portfolio of projects from concept through to construction and completion.

No two projects are the same. One week you could be developing a strategic active travel scheme, the next delivering a town centre improvement project or progressing a road safety initiative that will benefit communities across the county.

You'll work closely with councillors, communities, consultants, contractors and key stakeholders, providing expert technical advice and ensuring projects are delivered safely, effectively and with the customer at the heart of every decision.

For Principal Engineer appointments, there will also be opportunities to act as lead engineer on strategic projects, mentor colleagues, contribute to service development and help shape the future direction of the team.

What we need from you

We're interested in people who combine strong technical capability with a collaborative approach and a genuine desire to improve local communities.

You'll bring:

• Experience delivering highways, transport or civil engineering projects.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
• Knowledge of highways design, construction practices, standards and procedures.
• Experience managing consultants, contractors and project budgets.
• The ability to explain complex technical issues to a wide range of audiences.
• A customer-focused mindset and commitment to delivering high-quality outcomes.
• The motivation to support colleagues and contribute positively to the wider team.

Ideally, you'll hold a relevant engineering qualification and be working towards, or already possess, Eng Tech, Incorporated or Chartered professional status.

We recognise that great candidates may not meet every requirement. If you're excited by the role and feel you can contribute, we'd encourage you to apply.

Please ensure you review the key skills and qualifications in the attached job description.

Whether you're already operating at Principal Engineer level or looking to take the next step in your engineering career, this is an opportunity to work on meaningful projects, expand your expertise and help shape the future of transport and place-making across West Sussex.

What we offer

As well as adding real value to our service users and our communities, as an employer we recognise our employees are central in being able to achieve this. To recognise this, we want to help support your development and provide a great place to work ensuring you can fulfil your full potential, have access to a range of benefits including:

• An excellent employer local government pension scheme
• Generous holiday entitlement of 27-30 days +bank holidays (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
• A range of flexible working options
• Commitment to staff development and training including gaining your professional qualifications
• Subscription fees paid for one relevant professional body
• Maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
• Volunteering opportunities
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• A range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see our Staff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
• Health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans.

A full list can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further information

The reference number for this role is EIE01851.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Andrew Dimarco: [e-mail]

For issues or queries regarding your application please contact [e-mail].

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 3 years referencing and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, which reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.