We are excited to be hiring a new Highways Customer Officer to join our fantastic team. The team has central base in Merrow (Guildford) currently but as a Highways Customer Officer you will be required to work across the entire county and your contract will be countywide. We will as part of Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution split to new locations in the East and West Surrey Councils in late April 27.
A vehicle (manual gearbox) is provided for work only use. You will also be required to work from local offices, it is likely you will work from home one day per week therefore hybrid working is applicable.
Our Offer to You
26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service (prorated for part time staff)
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 the Team
You will be one of a team of 12 Highways Customer Officers along with two Senior Highways Customer Officers. The team has a vast range of prior skills, experience and positions to their current role. The team has been being created since November 2021 and has a can-do proactive attitude.
We deliver in the region of £1mil of works following customer enquiries and receive more than 10,000 public requests for service on the highway each year as a team.
Your day will be a mixture of raising on site highway safety defects such as potholes and damage to the highway. You will also meet with residents daily for other functions such as highway license applications.
You will inspect matters reported regarding vegetation obstructions and encroachments on a daily basis with our interest being to keep the highway safe and for residents and users to be able to pass safely and use the highway safely.
About the Role
We are looking for a Highways Customer Officer (HCO) who will undertake a range of highway related works, including going out in response to customer calls for service daily you will have proactive conversations with Surrey residents and key stakeholders daily.
Enquiries may involve conducting site suitability surveys for vehicle crossovers, tree and shrub concerns, or other highway issues such as defect and highway safety inspections. HCOs are responsible for managing their own workloads and ensuring customer response times are met.
Work will include a mixture of office work and visits to sites and customers throughout the year. The work split is likely around 75% out on site and 25% office/home based. You will be required to work in an open office environment on a weekly basis to ensure close relationships and working bonds are maintained with other service teams.
Shortlisting Criteria
This job is suited to a huge variety of past careers, as examples we have HCO's who were previous armed forces personnel, emergency service workers, lectures, hospitality managers, telecoms engineers, engineers, customer service officers, civil enforcement officers etc.
In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:
A good standard of spoken communication and personal presentation, and be able to have robust and sometimes difficult conversations face to face with customers
A good working knowledge and ability to use IT equipment and Microsoft Office suite such as Word, Excel, Outlook
A working knowledge and interest or experience in Highway Works
Experience of providing excellent customer service, both remotely and in a face-to-face environment
Ability to manage workloads and deal with conflicting priorities
A full UK manual driving license and a willingness to travel around the county, when necessary, a vehicle will be provided for these journeys and left at your place of work overnightTo apply, we request that you submit a CV and you will be asked the following four questions:
What is your specific highway working experience?
What makes you want to be a public facing Officer, why do you feel this role is for you?
How do you manage your priorities and competing demands at work or home?
Please provide a bullet point list of who you feel key stakeholders will be for this role.The job advert closes at 23:59 on 22.04.2026 with interviews to follow.
We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.
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.
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
Salary description
£33552.00 - £35763.00 per year