Senior Public Transport Officer

North Northamptonshire Council; Kettering; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Career development opportunities

28–33 days leave + holidays

Hybrid and flexible working

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee Benefits Scheme

Wellbeing support

Travel rates at HMRC rates

Job summary

North Northamptonshire Council in Kettering is recruiting for a role to shape the future of public transport across the district. You will work in a small specialist team to develop policies, support essential services, and ensure residents have access to reliable, sustainable, and inclusive travel options.

You will collaborate with transport operators, community partners and developers, review bus service changes, manage concessionary travel, and help procure services while maintaining value

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Understand how the bus industry works and the differences between commercial and subsidised operations.
• Ability to communicate clearly with councillors, senior management, bus operators and the public. Ability to write reports and contribute to policy documents.
• Awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people’s behaviour, physical, social and welfare needs.

Responsibilities

• Lead on the delivery of key public transport initiatives, including elements of the North Northamptonshire Enhanced Partnership Scheme and the annual Bus Service Improvement Plan.
• Review bus service registrations, liaise with operators on network changes, and identify opportunities to protect or improve local services.
• Develop service specifications and contract documentation for supported bus services, ensuring value for money and the best outcomes for communities.
• Manage concessionary travel arrangements, including relationships with libraries, transport operators and partners, while resolving complex customer enquiries.
• Assess planning applications from a public transport perspective, helping secure transport improvements through new developments.
• Oversee the operational management of real-time passenger information systems, working with operators, contractors and colleagues to maintain accurate and reliable services.
• Support the procurement and contract management of public transport services, systems and framework agreements.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with community transport providers, monitoring performance and administering funding and grant arrangements.
• Act as a key point of contact for public transport stakeholders, supporting the ongoing development and improvement of local transport services.

Skills

Bus industry understanding

Clear communication

Report writing

Education

Degree level or equivalent

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - Sheerness House 41 Meadow Road Kettering

Sheerness House 41 Meadow Road Kettering

Closing Date:

04/10/2026

Job Category:

Transport

Organisation:

North Northamptonshire Council

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28days, rising to 33days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About the role

Help shape the future of public transport across North Northamptonshire. Working within a small specialist team, you will develop and deliver transport policies, support essential services, and ensure residents can access reliable, sustainable, and inclusive travel options.

What will you be doing?

Working as part of a small specialist team, you will help deliver and develop public transport services across North Northamptonshire. You will work closely with transport operators, community partners, developers and internal stakeholders to improve local transport provision, ensure compliance with statutory responsibilities, and support residents' access to reliable and sustainable travel options.

• Lead on the delivery of key public transport initiatives, including elements of the North Northamptonshire Enhanced Partnership Scheme and the annual Bus Service Improvement Plan.
• Review bus service registrations, liaise with operators on network changes, and identify opportunities to protect or improve local services.
• Develop service specifications and contract documentation for supported bus services, ensuring value for money and the best outcomes for communities.
• Manage concessionary travel arrangements, including relationships with libraries, transport operators and partners, while resolving complex customer enquiries.
• Assess planning applications from a public transport perspective, helping secure transport improvements through new developments.
• Oversee the operational management of real-time passenger information systems, working with operators, contractors and colleagues to maintain accurate and reliable services.
• Support the procurement and contract management of public transport services, systems and framework agreements.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with community transport providers, monitoring performance and administering funding and grant arrangements.
• Act as a key point of contact for public transport stakeholders, supporting the ongoing development and improvement of local transport services.

About you

• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• Understand how the bus industry works and the differences between commercial and subsidised operations
• Ability to communicate clearly with councillors, senior management, bus operators and members of the public. Ability to write reports and contribute to policy documents.
• Ability to demonstrate awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people’s behaviour, physical, social and welfare needs.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Disability Confident Employer

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)