Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste Southend-on-Sea, England
Job description
Southend-on-Sea is a place like no other. And what a place to live, work and play. A vibrant, entrepreneurial place, with a burgeoning cultural scene, we are a place of escapism and fun, where the underground meets the mainstream. Our vision, impact and potential are limitless. Forget the norm. Forget expectations. Forget the beaten path. Southend is the alternative seaside experience.
Highways services and waste management are two of the councils most utilised and visible services. With high degree of councillor and public interest this challenging role is one that can make a significant difference to the lives of Southend’s residents, businesses and visitors, whilst striving to protect our environment and climate.
As Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste, you will be the lead for the service, working with our staff and supply chain to deliver high quality, value for money services. You will be the senior officer responsible for leading the procurement of the new waste management contract. This is one of the largest contracts that the council places and is vitally important not only to the city’s residents but also to the environment. You will provide strategic leadership for transport policy, public and school transport as well as the city’s parking services and highways operations, including a significant capital improvement programme. Developing an environmentally sustainable service/network is one of the council’s key priorities, this role is key in spearheading this. All of this whilst set against a national back drop of increasing customer expectations with constrained resources and the pressures of climate change.
Delivering best value from our in-house teams and contracted arrangements, through effective relationship and performance management will be a critical part of your work. You will ensure that the customer is placed at the centre of everything we do, driving service improvement, speed of response and resident and business engagement. You will be a member of the departmental management team and will deputise for the Executive Director of Place when appropriate.
Your leadership will ensure that our infrastructure and operations helps support our Southend 2050 Ambition and the council’s pledge to be carbon neutral by 2030. Ensuring the city is a place of pride and joy where residents are both physically and mentally well.
You will contribute to our Green City agenda, working closely with our environment and sustainability team and national partners such as the Department for Transport, Natural England and the Environment Agency. Together you will identify climate positive approaches to the management of our highways and traffic (including developing our EV charging infrastructure) and ensure the implementation of a clear waste management hierarchy. You will also lead on projects to develop sea defences for our seven miles of coastline. Community safety is a key priority for our administration; you will work collaboratively with our public protection teams to ensure your services help keep residents and visitors safe.
We are looking for a values-based leader with extensive experience of delivering a modern client focused service. You will have a significant track record of service delivery and contract management in a complex environment. Your background could be in public sector highways and/or waste services, or with private sector partners. You will be able to demonstrate strong leadership, a passion for collaborative working and a commitment to putting the resident first.
To support our workforce and their well-being the council have rolled out a Work smart hybrid model that is progressive and flexible.
Succeed in this role and you will have delivered our capital programme on time and to budget to meet our 2050 Ambition of Connected and Smart, making a massive contribution to the city; thanks to you and your teams, Southenders, our businesses and our visitors will benefit from a safer, more sustainable and more resilient highways network, coupled with improved access to public transport and fantastic green infrastructure to enjoy.
Find out more by contacting Simon Winspear 07525 466 357 or [email protected] or click the Apply Now link below.
