City of York Council

Head of Highways and Transport
Salary: Salary £61,518 - £70,019 per annum (pay award pending) plus relocation support
Location: York / Hybrid
Contract: Full-time / Permanent
Employer: City of York Council
Closing: Midnight Sunday 1 October

Welcome, and thank you for your interest in learning more about City of York Council (“the Council”) and our exciting new role for Head of Highways and Transport.

This is hugely exciting time to join the Council and to have the opportunity to strategically lead our innovative Highways and Transport service. York is an ancient city with a rich heritage and is looking forward to its’ 2000 year birthday in 2071, so we are passionate about making sure that we provide the best transport infrastructure for all our 202,000 plus residents, both now and in the future. This role represents a unique chance to leave a real legacy for York residents.

The Council is in the final stages of adopting a Local Plan which defines the next phase of the city’s growth and which addresses the infrastructure which York will need to help it grow. We have also begun drafting a Local Transport Strategy and Plan and against this backdrop, we are looking for a visionary leader who will help us deliver on our key challenges which are:
• Reaching net zero by 2030, which will require a reduction of 71% in York’s transport carbon emissions
• Strengthening the economy post-COVID-19
• Improving the health and wellbeing of residents
• Accommodating the growth set out in the local plan
• Addressing the existing shortcomings with transport in York as identified through consultation

This key role will be instrumental in driving forwards some of the major new projects we have in the pipeline – such as the £26 million York Station Gateway Project, the new station at Haxby and you will also work with partners such as Homes England and Network Rail on the York Central project. We are very excited about the £70 million project for first phase of dualling the Outer Ring Road which will move more traffic away from the city centre and create opportunities to be creative in the city. Looking ahead, we also need to focus on how we transform transport to achieve York’s ambition of being carbon neutral by 2030, so we are looking at projects to reduce the carbon emissions and have already secured £10 million funding from government with a similar amount pledged by First Bus to move more buses to electric power.

The prospect of our devolution deal brings further opportunity and ambition, widening the scope of local decisions and investment for the benefit of those who live, work and visit York. The geography of our city surrounded by rural communities enables us to clearly measure the impact of our transport solutions, so we can focus on tangible outcomes and identify where further improvements can be realised.

We are looking for an ambitious leader who is innovative and forward thinking, with the ability to lead, inspire and motivate others to ensure we deliver on our plans. This unique role will provide you with the opportunity to make a significant difference as well as a platform to enhance your career in the longer term. You will be pivotal to ensuring that we continue our successful approach to thinking about transport differently - we developed the first live transport model in the country, and we are the only city to introduce a voluntary clean air zone. If you are keen to make your mark by working on some prestigious projects and eager to continue to help shape how transport is delivered across York, then we want to hear from you.

About the role

This exciting role will involve acting as the Council’s most senior expert, providing provide strategic leadership, direction, management, advice and control in the delivery of the Council’s highways and transport infrastructure and functions in an effective, sustainable safe way. In particular it will:
• Hold the statutory role of Traffic Manager on behalf of the Council and ensure the authority performs its network management duty and manage the Council’s Highway Authority functions.
• Oversee and assure multiple programmes of capital works to maintain and improve the highway and transport network including the city walls.
• Provide corporate advice on all Highways and Transport related matters that support the Council Plan as well as other Place, Asset Management, Regeneration, Economic and Carbon strategies covering the city and region
• Support and provide professional guidance on complex issues within the Council to Committees, Members, the Corporate Management Team and other senior managers across the whole of the Council to ensure informed decisions regarding transport are made.

The new post holder will have the opportunity to take a fresh approach, to shape their services, and through their leadership integrate services to achieve clarity and united ambition.

You will find that the role will provide you with the kind of professional challenge and complexity you will naturally aspire to as an ambitious leader - our size means that we are large enough to provide the rich mix of complexities facing local government, but at the same time we are small enough to enable you to get things done - we are not tied up by bureaucracy and red tape. We are a stable authority with a new administration, our resources and finances are well managed, and you will be welcomed by an experienced and hardworking team, united in our ambition for York residents.

Finally, York is a beautiful city and is regularly voted as one of the best places to live. It is well connected with great schools and a fantastic history – amongst other things, this role has responsibility for the famous city walls.

If you are interested in joining our team and are inspired to help lead the next phase of our journey, we look forward to your application. In the meantime, following an initial conversation with our recruitment partners at The Resourcing Solution I would be delighted to discuss this opportunity with those who might wish to learn a little more.

For further information and to apply, please click here.