Service Manager - Highway Operations and Street Lighting

Highways Magazine; Greater Lincolnshire; Remote; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

North East Lincolnshire Council is seeking an experienced Service Manager (Highways Operations and Street Lighting) to lead the Council's highway maintenance and street lighting services. You will provide strategic and operational leadership for the DLO and manage frontline delivery to keep roads safe and resilient.

Working with elected Members and partners, you will oversee performance, budgets and resources, drive continuous improvement, and promote safety, customer service and sustainability

Qualifications

• Experience in highways, infrastructure, maintenance or street lighting services.
• Proven ability to lead frontline operational teams and deliver high-quality public services.
• Ability to manage people, budgets, resources and performance with a focus on safety and customer service.

Responsibilities

• Lead highway maintenance and street lighting services.
• Develop and oversee the Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) for frontline delivery.
• Manage service performance, budgets and resources, and drive improvement initiatives.
• Ensure health, safety and customer service standards across the network.
• Engage with Members, residents, contractors and partners to deliver outcomes.

Skills

Highways operations

People management

Budget management

Contract management

Job description

Are you passionate about delivering frontline highway services that make a visible difference every day?

Can you lead operational teams responsible for maintaining roads, footways and street lighting while ensuring North East Lincolnshire remains safe, connected and resilient?

Be the difference. Make the change to #TeamNEL.

North East Lincolnshire Council is reimagining the way highways and transport services are delivered, placing innovation, sustainability and community at the heart of everything we do. As part of this exciting transformation, we are creating a new leadership opportunity for an experienced and forward-thinking professional to help shape the future of our highway infrastructure.

We have ambitious plans for investment, improvement and service delivery, and we are looking for a collaborative and inspirational leader to join #TeamNEL in a full-time, permanent role.

The Highways & Transport Service plays a vital role in supporting our communities, businesses and visitors. Every day, our teams maintain and improve the infrastructure that keeps people moving safely and efficiently across North East Lincolnshire.

This role sits at the heart of that mission, leading the operational delivery of essential highway maintenance and street lighting services while ensuring our assets remain safe, resilient and fit for the future.

What will your day look like?

As the Service Manager (Highways Operations and Street Lighting), you will provide strategic and operational leadership for the Council's highway maintenance and street lighting services.

A key part of the role will be leading and developing our Direct Labour Organisation (DLO), ensuring the efficient delivery of frontline highway maintenance activities including pothole repairs, footway and carriageway maintenance, dropped kerb installations, highway drainage works, signing and lining, emergency repairs and winter maintenance operations.

You will also be responsible for the management and maintenance of North East Lincolnshire's street lighting assets, ensuring they remain safe, reliable, compliant and capable of supporting the Council's wider environmental and sustainability ambitions.

Working closely with elected Members, senior leaders, residents, contractors and partner organisations, you will oversee service performance, manage operational budgets and resources, lead improvement initiatives and ensure the highest standards of health, safety and customer service are achieved.

No two days will be the same. One day you may be responding to severe weather events and overseeing winter gritting operations; the next you could be shaping future investment programmes, driving service transformation or supporting the delivery of major infrastructure projects.

This is a highly visible leadership role with a direct impact on the quality, safety and resilience of the borough's highway network.

Who are we looking for?

We're looking for an experienced operational leader with a strong background in highways, infrastructure, maintenance or street lighting services.

You will have a proven track record of leading frontline operational teams and delivering high-quality public services while managing competing demands and challenging priorities.

You will be confident managing people, budgets, resources and performance, with the ability to motivate teams, drive improvement and foster a culture focused on safety, professionalism and customer service.

You will possess strong knowledge of highway maintenance operations, asset management principles and the delivery of reactive and planned maintenance programmes. Experience of leading a Direct Labour Organisation, managing street lighting services or overseeing external contracts would be highly desirable.

You will be an excellent communicator who can build effective relationships with colleagues, contractors, Members, residents and stakeholders, providing clear and professional advice whilst maintaining a strong focus on service outcomes.

Most importantly, you will share our ambition to deliver safe, well-maintained and resilient infrastructure that supports economic growth, healthy communities and pride in place.

Why join us?

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the services that residents see and rely upon every day.

From repairing potholes and maintaining footways, to managing street lighting assets and coordinating winter gritting operations, your leadership will directly influence the quality of life experienced by people across North East Lincolnshire.

You will join a service with ambition, purpose and a commitment to continuous improvement. We will support you to develop professionally while providing the opportunity to shape the future of operational highways services across the borough.

If you're looking for a rewarding leadership role where you can make a genuine difference to communities, businesses and road users, we'd love to hear from you.

Be the difference. Make the change to #TeamNEL.

Key Dates

We aim to interview candidates w/c 30thNovember 2026

We reserve the right to close our adverts early if we have received a significant volume of suitable applications.

We love AI and think it plays a great role in the world of work. However, for your application, we want to hear from YOU! As such, we will be testing applications to determine the use of AI, and applications that have heavily utilised the function will be scrutinised for suitability.

Do you need support?

Looking for career support? Wendy Trask from the Career Café can provide advice and guidance on job searching, completing application forms, building confidence, and accessing digital support. To speak with Wendy, call or text 07702 338542.

Join #TeamNEL and help keep North East Lincolnshire moving.