National Highways
Project Manager - Scheme Delivery Operations

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About the job.
At National Highways, we have an exciting opportunity for a Project Manager to join our Operations Directorate Scheme Delivery Team in the Southeast. This role will see you play a key role in planning and delivering a portfolio of critical infrastructure projects within the region’s 5-year rolling capital programme—directly improving safety and customer journeys.
You will lead the successful delivery of projects across the full lifecycle, managing the performance of external contractors and consultants while ensuring the highest standards of governance, quality assurance, health and safety, and technical compliance. You will be accountable for achieving agreed outcomes and driving excellence across all aspects of delivery.
This role can be based from our Basingstoke, Guildford or Maidstone office.
- Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with the Regional Management Team, key stakeholders, suppliers and wider National Highways teams to ensure alignment on strategic objectives and delivery priorities.
- Lead programme management, financial reporting and risk management across the portfolio, ensuring robust governance and effective financial and contractual controls are in place and adhered to.
- Maintain National Highways’ reputation through high-quality customer and stakeholder engagement, proactively managing relationships with stakeholders, transport operators, road users and local communities.
- Identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities, championing best practice and embedding consistent portfolio management approaches across Operations.
- Manage and resolve risks, issues, dependencies and constraints, leading the development and implementation of effective, timely solutions.
- You will provide direct line management and leadership to Assistant Project Managers, supporting their development while ensuring effective delivery across the project portfolio.
About you.
- Recognised qualification in a relevant engineering discipline and/or significant experience in the delivery of civil engineering projects and portfolios
- Proven experience in project and portfolio management (e.g. MSP, APM, PRINCE2 or equivalent).
- Strong contract management experience, with working knowledge of NEC 4 forms of contract.
- Good understanding of relevant legislation, technical standards and construction practices.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and challenge constructively
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About us.
Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England’s motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership.
Operations is at the heart of keeping the strategic road network moving and ensuring our customers get the best possible experience when using our roads.
We address over 39,000 customer enquiries every month, plan and deliver all maintenance activities on the network, drive efficiencies and improvements across our systems and roads, and respond to incidents across 4,500 miles of motorways and major A-roads that we manage. All to make sure National Highways customers have safer, smoother, and more reliable journeys.
External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy.
We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.
Why you should join us
At National Highways we believe in a connected country. We are passionate about creating a culture where colleagues feel connected, included and enjoy greater wellbeing to achieve this. We’re proud that as an organisation we are continually striving to do better and actively encourage and support our colleagues to do the same with their careers.
So, if you put safety first, take ownership of your work, show passion for what you do, work effectively in a team, and demonstrate integrity in how you do it – then you’ll be a great fit for our organisation.
A connected and sustainable working approach has been adopted across National Highways. For some roles, this means being able to work in a hybrid way spending up to 60% of time working from a remote location such as home.
We offer many different ways to work flexibly and we’re open to discuss part-time working, job shares, and flexible start and finish times.


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Please wait until the interview stage before asking us about flexibility, and we will explore what is possible.
Our benefits package
- Our total reward package includes basic salary, the potential for a performance related bonus
- Contributory pension scheme with employer contribution of up to 10%
- Annual Leave starting at 26 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising by 1 day each year up to 31 days (plus Bank Holidays)
- Flexible hours and an approach driven by connected and sustainable working which includes hybrid working
- Life assurance of 4 times annual salary
- Health and wellbeing support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, available 24/7 365 days and network of mental health first aiders. Plus access to a wellbeing app to enhance your self-care 24/7, Occupational health service and flu vaccines
- A cycle to work scheme for the purchase of a bicycle and equipment for healthy, low carbon travel
- Significant investment in your career development, through learning and development, talent management, coaching, mentoring and on job experience
And we are
- Family friendly with enhanced maternity leave and pay, paternity leave (15 days), shared parental leave, adoption leave. Plus access to financial support for holiday play schemes and paid special leave (up to 5 days pa), eg for caring responsibilities
- Money friendly with access to a discounts platform including over 3000 discounts for supermarkets, eating out, leisure, holidays. Alongside a financial wellbeing programme
- Community friendly – offering paid leave to volunteer, 3 days basic/year
If you are successful, it is key to know all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory completion of our pre-employment checks which include:
- Right to work check
- 3 year employment history references
- DBS criminal record check
- Social media and adverse journalism check
- Driving licence check (if applicable)
- Fit to work questionnaire (for all), followed by a medical check (if applicable)
- Qualifications and/or professional membership check (if applicable)
And finally
We reserve the right to close before the advertisement expires.
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