Project Director

Your new role

Are you interested in being a part of delivering a modern network of strategic roads in England? Do you have experience delivering a complex project or programme of high value capital infrastructure schemes? Here at National Highways, we have an exciting opportunity for a Project Director to join the Regional Investment Programme (RIP) team in Bedford.

National Highways is responsible for delivering a modern network of strategic roads in England. The Strategic Road Network is arguably the biggest and single most important piece of infrastructure in the country. Our motorways and major A–roads are the most heavily used part of the national road system. They carry a third of all traffic and two–thirds of all freight, provide business with the means to get its products and services to their customers, gives access to labour markets and suppliers and encourage trade and new investment. It is essential to the growth, wellbeing and balance of the nation's economy.

RIP is one of four programmes within National Highways Major Projects Directorate. Major Projects is responsible for the delivery of nearly 70 projects with a total value more than GBP14 billion, and some of the most exciting and challenging projects in the country. National Highway's goal is to change the industry: to make roads and their construction and maintenance safer; to be more responsive to the needs of our customers, particularly about biodiversity and carbon; and to exploit the digital agenda and drive the productivity agenda to improve delivery.

We exist be a focal point for the delivery of sensitive and complex projects; growing individual talent and our organisational capacity to be successful. We strive to be creative and exploit digital and technological opportunities whilst maintaining the highest standards in Safety, Health, Wellbeing and Customer Service to deliver great projects.

With more than 600 miles of motorways and major A roads in the Eastern region, our roads provide main routes taking people and freight from the ports of the east coast through the region to the M25, M1 and A1. The strategic road network keeps the region connected to the rest of the country. We're delivering GBP2.2bn of investment in our roads to increase capacity and reduce congestion to reduce journey times and to make journeys more reliable and safer.

Our projects include the widening of the A12 in Essex, preparing the case for upgrading the A120 in Essex, a series of dualling and junction improvements along the A47 in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and improving the A34 north and south of Oxford.

As Project Director on one of two significant projects (GBP700m+ each), you will have the opportunity to shape not only the future of the project, but also of the industry. We recently published our strategy on Net Zero Carbon, and we are looking for a leader who can embrace the opportunities to deliver, inspire and lead the team to higher levels of assured performance.

What you'll be leading on

1. Champion the very highest health and safety standards within the organisation; promote designs and solutions which eliminate risk at all stages of the lifecycle.
2. Provide inspirational leadership and set strategic direction, which creates buy–in and build a strong sense of purpose and meaning for the project.
3. Instil a strong delivery and performance culture, which is attuned to major risks and opportunities. In doing so deliver the project within agreed cost, time and quality parameters.
4. Actively sponsor and promote the transformation work within the portfolio and the project, growing our people and sharing learning.
5. Build collaborative relationships with our partners; enabling genuine partnerships which are challenging, powerful and effective.
6. Both personally, and through the wider project team, build strong stakeholder relationships both with external parties and internally, and use these relationships to build our reputation and improve the quality of our delivery.
7. Being a role model for National Highways values and behaviours.
8. Actively promote, coach and support the development of individuals and teams within the project and across the wider National Highways business.

To be successful you'll need

• Confidently lead on health, safety and wellbeing matters, demonstrating how your leadership has delivered improvement.
• Have experience of engaging with and influencing senior public stakeholders including parliamentary members and statutory bodies.
• Be known for your inspiration and leadership of teams to grow and motivate your people and deliver high performance.
• Have used innovation and technology to enable new ways of working and improve delivery
• Be able to demonstrate a track record in delivering a complex project or programme of high value capital infrastructure schemes You will be able to show how, through your leadership and involvement, the schemes for which you have been responsible have achieved their principal objectives and/or outcomes.
• Have strong commercial and organisational skills and can demonstrate working with extensive supply chains of professional and/or technical service providers, holding partners to account whilst maintaining good collaborative relationships.