Planned and Third-Party Works Team Leader

Overview

We’re looking for an experienced and highly motivated Planned and Third‑Party Works Team Leader to help shape and deliver high‑quality highways services across Buckinghamshire. This pivotal role leads the delivery of planned work programmes, highways licences and small‑scheme design, ensuring accuracy, technical excellence and outstanding customer service. Acting as the escalation point for complex issues, you’ll play a key role in maintaining the Council’s reputation and ensuring our highway network meets the needs of our communities.

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally. 

Buckinghamshire Council’s Highways services play a vital role in supporting our communities, keeping the county moving and ensuring our transport network is safe, resilient and well‑managed. We’re ambitious, collaborative and committed to continuous improvement. Our teams are proud, ambitious, collaborative, and trustworthy, with a shared commitment to high standards, innovation, and excellent service delivery. You’ll be part of a supportive environment that values expertise, encourages learning, and promotes forward‑thinking approaches to managing our highways.

As part of our ambition to deliver the very best highways service for Buckinghamshire, we have recently reshaped our service, creating a stronger, more resilient and forward‑looking structure. This transformation reflects both local priorities and significant national developments in the sector. With new initiatives emerging, including the introduction of Lane Rental and wider changes to streetworks and network management, we are now investing in a range of new and exciting roles that will help us meet the needs of our communities today and into the future. These posts offer a genuine opportunity to shape how we manage and improve our network, drive innovation.

About the role

In this role, you will lead a team of Planned Works Lead Officers and Licensing Officers, overseeing the delivery of small scheme design, planned works programmes, and managing  highway licencing. You will provide expert technical guidance, manage performance, and drive improvements across processes and service delivery.

You will act as principal designer signing off technical designs in accordance with CDM Regulations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead a team responsible for the end‑to‑end delivery of the planned works programme, ensuring schemes are prioritised, scheduled and completed to the required standards, within budget, and aligned to organisational and stakeholder expectations
• Oversee the effective management and issuing of highways licences, ensuring all applications are assessed, approved and monitored in line with legislation, policy requirements and accurate record‑keeping standards.
• Lead the development and delivery of small‑scale highway improvement schemes, ensuring designs are technically robust, compliant with relevant standards, and aligned to local needs and service priorities.
• Develop and implement service business plans focused on performance, value for money and customer priorities.
• Monitor team performance, report risks, and provide expert technical guidance on complex or escalated issues.
• Prepare and present reports to senior managers, Members, and internal/external decision‑making groups.
• Drive continuous improvement, reviewing procedures and contributing to specialist and service‑wide projects.
• Manage budgets associated with planned and third‑party works, working closely with contract and commissioning teams.
• Build strong relationships across Buckinghamshire Highways, alliance partners, contractors and community stakeholders.

About you

You will be an experienced highways professional with a strong technical background and expert knowledge of relevant legislation, including the Highways Act and CDM Regulations. You have the credibility to lead a team, influence partners and work collaboratively across services. You will be an excellent communicator, able to provide expert technical guidance, resolve complex issues and manage escalated enquiries with professionalism. Highly organised and proactive, you can manage competing priorities, deliver large programmes of work to time and budget, and use data, performance insight and best practice to drive continual improvement. With strong interpersonal, negotiation and leadership skills, you will play a key role in shaping a modern, resilient and forward‑looking highways service for Buckinghamshire.

You will hold an appropriate professional qualification and maintain active membership of a recognised professional body relevant to the highways or engineering sector.

Other information

For further information on this role please see the attached job summary.

This role requires face-to-face working, collaboration and meetings. The postholder will be expected to be in the office at least two days a week.

Closing date: 19th March 2026

Interview date: Week commencing 30th March 2026.

Interview type: In person.

If you would like to have an informal conversation with the recruiting manager, please contact: Christopher Anousis, Network Strategy Manager ([email protected]).

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Our Communities directorate works across the county to deliver a number of the key customer-facing services that our residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day. 

This directorate includes a wide range of services, including:

• collecting and disposing of waste and recycling
• maintaining our roads and Rights of Way network and parking
• ensuring the delivery of school transport, and supporting sustainable travel including public bus services and School Crossing Patrollers
• managing Country Parks
• leisure facilities, museums, theatres and libraries, as well as developing our Cultural Strategy
• Licensing, Environmental Health and Trading Standards
• Cemeteries and Crematoria

The customer is central to how we develop and deliver all of these services, which help promote our rich and vibrant culture and special environment. 

We are looking for enthusiastic, ambitious and committed individuals to join our team and help us to continue to make Buckinghamshire a great place to live, work and visit. This is an exciting time for us as we bring together the services previously run by five separate councils before Buckinghamshire Council was created. Whilst making major changes to contracts affecting residents across Bucks, we continue to focus on delivering great customer service. You will join us on our journey of continuous improvement - whether that’s through developing strategies and ways of working or delivering services on the ground, every person in Communities is a valued member of the team.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/