Lancashire County Council
Head of Service - Highways Commercial Delivery
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Salary £80,401 - £87,928 Per annum | Permanent, Full Time, 37 hours per week | Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Head of Service – Highways Commercial Delivery
We're looking for a Head of Service with drive and passion to deliver an effective and very specialist service to our stakeholders at an incredibly exciting time for both the present and future of Lancashire County Council and the community we serve.
About The Role
This is an exciting opportunity to shape the commercial approach behind highways services across Lancashire.
As Head of Service – Highways Commercial Delivery, you’ll lead a team of more than 80 colleagues and take strategic responsibility for the commercial and contractual management of a significant highways portfolio, ensuring our contracts, suppliers, procurement activity and financial controls deliver strong performance and genuine value for money.
You’ll lead the development of commercial strategies and oversee the full commercial lifecycle, from market engagement and procurement through to mobilisation, contract management, cost assurance and supplier performance.
Providing expert advice to senior leaders and elected members, you’ll use your commercial judgement to manage risk, challenge performance and expenditure and help us make well-informed decisions about how services are delivered.
You’ll also have the opportunity to develop new commercial and partnership models, including mixed-economy approaches, while driving improvement through digital innovation, business intelligence and customer insight.
About You
You’ll be an experienced commercial leader who understands how strong commercial thinking can improve both services and outcomes.
You may bring a background in quantity surveying, commercial or supplier management, civil engineering, infrastructure or a related discipline, but crucially you’ll have the confidence and experience to operate across complex, high-value contracts and programmes and provide credible professional challenge when it matters.
You’ll combine commercial expertise with strong leadership skills and the ability to see the bigger picture.
Whether you’re assessing risk, scrutinising costs, improving supplier performance or exploring a different delivery model, you’ll be comfortable using evidence to make decisions and influence others. You’ll also know that successful commercial leadership is about relationships as much as contracts, bringing people together across operational, technical and commercial disciplines to achieve shared outcomes.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Ideally, you’ll bring:
- A relevant degree-level qualification or equivalent experience in quantity surveying, commercial management, supplier management, civil engineering or a related discipline.
- Chartered status, or a willingness to work towards it, with a relevant professional body such as RICS, CICES or CIHT.
- Significant experience of commercial and contract management within highways, infrastructure or another complex contract-managed environment, including management of high-value contracts, programmes or commercial portfolios.
- Strong knowledge of commercial and contract management principles, including NEC or equivalent contract frameworks, procurement, governance and financial controls.
- The ability to develop and lead commercial strategies and delivery models that improve productivity, efficiency and value for money across complex services.
- Strong financial and cost-management capability, with experience of budget ownership, forecasting, financial decision-making and oversight of significant capital and revenue programmes.
- Experience of supplier and contractor performance management, with the confidence to challenge contractual, financial and operational performance constructively and manage commercial risk.
- Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-management skills, enabling you to work credibly with senior leaders, partners, contractors and multi-disciplinary teams.
- The ability to lead, motivate and develop teams, creating a culture of accountability, high performance, professional standards and continuous improvement.
- Knowledge of areas such as customer experience, business intelligence, digital transformation, CDM Regulations, mixed-economy delivery models, sustainable and social value procurement and ISO 9001.
- Ideally, knowledge of construction contract law, dispute resolution and commercial risk management, or experience developing innovative commercial delivery models or transformation programmes.
About Us
At Lancashire County Council, we're committed to delivering services that make a real difference to the people and communities we serve. Our Highways Team is at the heart of that mission, helping ensure that customers are put first by delivering safe, reliable and accessible highways services that local communities can depend upon.
When you join us, you'll become part of a supportive and knowledgeable team where your expertise is valued, your development is encouraged and your contribution has a direct impact across the organisation.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
In return, we offer:
- Competitive salary
- 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- Flexible working opportunities
- Health and wellbeing support
- Family-friendly policies
- Financial and travel benefits
- Training and development opportunities
Please refer to the job description and person specification for further information regarding the scope of work and responsibilities for the post.
Please ensure you address and evidence all the essential criteria from the person specification at the application stage in your supporting evidence. Some criteria will also be addressed further at the interview stage.
Please take care to upload your supporting documentation before submitting your application. No additional documentation will be accepted after the closing date.
If you're already a Lancashire County Council employee, you must apply via the internal vacancies option on Oracle Fusion [https://fa-esms-saasfaukgovprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/faces/FndOverview?macKey=cSuQ8fnM6VCEKIWe&_afrLoop=15982367973495945&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null&_adf.ctrl-state=327f3bt2k_334&_afrFS=15&_afrMT=screen&_afrMFW=1920&_afrMFH=937&_afrMFDW=1920&_afrMFDH=1080&_afrMFC=8&_afrMFCI=0&_afrMFM=0&_afrMFR=96&_afrMFG=0&_afrMFS=0&_afrMFO=0].
You can do this by logging into Oracle Fusion and then going to Me - Current Jobs.
We reserve the right to close down a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications.
Local Government Reorganisation
The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2028.
If you are successful in your application, you will initially join Lancashire County Council. However, as part of the planned transition, your employment will transfer to one of the new unitary councils from April 2028, subject to the implementation of the reorganisation and relevant employment legislation.
Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities. By joining us now, you'll play an important role in shaping the future of local government and helping to build a strong new organisation that will serve residents for years to come.
Job Description & Person Specification [https://lancashire-county-council-umbraco-sites.uksouth01.umbraco.io/media/uq3pqdvh/hos-hcd.pdf]
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Location