Director of Highways & Transport
Essex
Role
Director of Highways & Transport
Temporary, Full Time
£900 per day (Umbrella, Inside IR35)
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
Closing Date: 8th March 2026
We are seeking an experienced leader for an initial temporary period of 6 months, who can provide strong on‑site visibility approximately two days per week, or as required. The ideal candidate for the role of Director of Highways and Transport will be commercially astute and highly experienced in managing large-scale highways services, preferably within a client‑side contract environment, through business change and/or contract implementation. The Role The incumbent Director of Highways & Transport has been seconded to ensure delivery of the procurement of the Council’s replacement Highways maintenance contract. This is the largest contract in the Council and the largest of its type in England. ECC now requires an experienced and highly motivated interim Service Director to run all BAU aspects of the service and to lead the planning work required to prepare for disaggregation of the Transport Authority function to the newly created Greater Essex Combined County Authority and to plan for the disaggregation of the Highways Authority function to the new Unitary Authorities, as determined by MHCLG. This is expected to be 3, 4 or 5 new councils in place by April 2028, with MHCLG expected to make the ‘minded to’ decision by 31 March 2026. It is therefore vital that the interim Director is fully conversant with leading and planning change; ensuring tight contractual compliance in a mature and well performing partnership contract with the incumbent provider, Ringway Jacobs; working collaboratively with elected members of all parties, as we enter an all-out local election in May 2026; the leadership of the Integrated Passenger Transport Unit, including working with Education colleagues to manage the safe delivery of Home to School Transport in a financially challenging market; ensuring delivery of a £24m BSIP programme; collaborating with DfT, National Highways; MHCLG and Homes England on interventions to improve the capacity and safety on the A12, following the government’s decision to cancel the widening scheme, lead on ensuring our Highways capital programme is delivered in accordance with member priorities on time and within budget; delivering the Local Transport Plan and the published commitments in our strategic plan: Everyone’s Essex. You will also lead the hand back of the A130 PFI contract. You will need to be a seasoned political and commercial operator with excellent leadership, communication, planning, technical, financial management, safety focus and people engagement and motivation skills with a keen eye for performance. You will have a track record of leading a Highways and Transport function of similar scale and complexity and will need to have low ego, as this role is part of a high performing team of Service Directors, all focused on delivering BAU, delivering a challenging MTRS, and planning for LGR and devolution. In other words, this is an exceptional opportunity to make a significant difference to the people of Essex and to bring strength to the Council’s senior leadership. This leader is passionate about Highways and Transport, the need to keep our Highway Network safe and functional, to develop and deliver new infrastructure to accompany economic growth and enable people to travel safely and sustainably whether by foot, cycle, private or public motorised and non-motorised transport. Partnership working with private sector providers delivering muti-millions of pounds of services and schemes is a significant part of this role, but equally important are the relationships with our District, Borough, Parish and City Councils, our Essex Unitary Partners and Central Government. Therefore, the leader will need to take an effective commercial and innovative approach to how we maintain and develop our highways and transport services and infrastructure whilst being sensitive to differing expectations and needs or different stakeholders. Acting as the Authority’s Senior Responsible Officer on Highways and Transport matters this leader will need to be both influential and resilient in promoting Essex at a national level and being the focal point for the Member led Authority. This role requires a focused and determined leader, who has the drive and creativity to do things differently and forge new relationships and collaborations across Essex, the East of England and Nationally in the short, medium and longer terms including through any possible Local Government Reforms, LGR. Working within the context of an evolving central government highways and transport agenda and associated financial constraints, this leader will understand how to balance their focus and attention to deliver the best outcomes for Essex, our communities and our businesses to ensure a sustainable future for all. The leader has a wide-ranging role across multiple other Council functions and important part to play in influencing council wide services and strategies in Education, Adults, Procurement, Finance, Public Health, Legal, Environment and Economic Growth, in delivering sustainable services across the breadth of Highways and Transport. To request a copy of the full role profile, including Operation and service accountabilities, please email essexsharedservices@essex.gov.uk The Experience You Will Bring Why Essex? As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you. In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site. Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying. Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs. At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone. Please note that Essex County Council has determined that the off payroll working rules will apply to this assignment and where a worker elects to provide their services through an intermediary (such as a personal services company) then income tax and primary national insurance contributions will be deducted at source from any payments made to the intermediary. Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email Essexsharedservices@essex.gov.uk