Routine Maintenance and Street Lighting Manager

The starting salary for this position is £61,784 per annum based on 36 hours per week.

We are looking for an experienced and forward‑thinking Highway Maintenance & Street Lighting Manager to lead the delivery of key highway maintenance services across Surrey. This is a critical operational leadership role, responsible for managing teams, contractors, and major service contracts-including serving as the Council's senior manager for the long-term PFI street lighting contract (approx. £20m per annum).

Our Offer to You

26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
A generous local government salary related pension
Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residentsAbout Us

The Place Directorate plays a central role in shaping Surrey's future-facilitating safe and reliable journeys, delivering sustainable infrastructure, and ensuring the County's 7.5 billion-pound highway network is maintained effectively. Highways, Transport & Network Management is the most publicly visible service we deliver, and this role sits at the heart of its success.

Why Join Us?

Influence one of the most high profile services Surrey County Council delivers.
Lead major service contracts and work closely with local Members and community partners.
Play a key role in delivering safe, sustainable, and reliable infrastructure for residents.
Be part of a supportive, highly skilled, and forward-thinking Highways service.About the Role

As a Routine Maintenance and Street Lighting Manager, you will oversee the delivery of routine highway maintenance activities such as drainage, road markings, traffic signs, street furniture, street lighting, and illuminated assets. With around £8m per annum of routine maintenance responsibilities and a team of approximately 10 staff, you will ensure services are delivered safely, consistently, and efficiently-within set financial resources.

You will play a key part in keeping Surrey's highways safe, well‑maintained, and fit for a thriving and sustainable future. This high‑profile role requires technical expertise, resilience, and the ability to balance operational demands with strong political and public engagement.

What you will be doing:

Lead and manage operational teams delivering routine highway maintenance services.
Act as the Council's Street Lighting Contract Manager, ensuring strong performance and value for money.
Provide clear direction to contractors and oversee delivery across the highway network.
Lead major projects, service reviews, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Ensure compliance with all relevant legal, regulatory, and policy requirements.
Use data and risk management to maintain effective systems, processes, and records.
Manage, coach, and develop staff while working closely with councillors, partners, contractors, and residents.
Manage budgets and resources effectively, identifying efficiencies and driving best practice.Shortlisting Criteria

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

Relevant experience in highway services and associated professional qualification.
Proven operational leadership and team management experience.
Experience managing teams to maximise performance, efficiency, and output.
Technical knowledge of highway maintenance and street lighting systems.
Experience managing large-scale contracts and multi-million-pound budgets.
Strong planning, project management, and service improvement skills.
Analytical, risk-aware, and decision-making capabilities.
Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
Resilient and able to manage multiple priorities in a high-pressure environment.To apply, we request that you submit a CV and you will be asked the following questions:

How would you improve the performance and culture within the team to develop relationships and customer satisfaction?
Demonstrate how you have a comprehensive knowledge of highway maintenance for local authority roads.
The service operates in an environment with significant political engagement and resident demands. How would you explain your decision and actions against decreasing budgets and increasing customer and member expectations?The job advert closes at 23:59 on 05/05/2026 with interviews planned to follow.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents!

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs