West Kent Design and Delivery Principal Engineer (Team Leader)

Role Responsibility

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Design and Delivery Principal Engineer role in the West Kent Highway Improvements Team within the Road Safety and Active Travel Group. We need a conscientious and skilled Principal Engineer, 37 hours a week, grade KSI starting salary of £45,672.

Would you be interested in working in a team investigating crash data and identifying highway improvements and changes to reduce future injuries on the public highway and save lives? We are seeking a new Principal Engineer / Team Leader to work alongside the established group of engineers and project managers.  

Using excellent technical, management and people skills you will lead the team to deliver a common-sense approach to high quality and cost-effective highway improvement schemes across Kent. This will include (but not be limited to) identifying, developing, planning and delivering small to medium highway improvement schemes including Casualty Reduction Measures, Local Transport schemes, Combined Member Grants and Parish Council schemes in an efficient and cost-effective way, ensuring that consistent processes are implemented. You will have extensive knowledge and skills to design and deliver highway projects and carry out technical discussions with our term contractor. 

The Highway Improvements team work across three groups of interconnected work streams. These are divided into Community and Engagement, Planning and Advice and Design and Delivery. The position will lead the Design and Delivery stream to help progress designs and detailed scheme packs for construction on site, and work closely with KCC’s term contractor.  

The post holder will need proven experience with site supervision, monitoring of works on the ground, and direct partnership working with contractors. You will require an understanding of the processes around raising defects when required and reviewing completion certificates.

The role requires excellent knowledge of relevant standards, national and local guidelines including Term Maintenance contracts, TSRGD and other highway documentation. You will need strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to deal with the public in difficult circumstances, be self-motivated, willing to learn and the ability to manage workloads.  A firm understanding of how Highway Authorities and Local Government work will be essential.

You will be required to present the road safety and active travel group in a positive light to the public and of course our internal customers and elected members. The role requires robust communication skills, a high level of professionalism and the ability to work closely with other team members to ensure customer response deadlines are met. You will be required to take a constructive and progressive view taking into account new approaches to highway safety across the industry.

The role will include direct line management of a number of engineers and project managers, evidence of previous leadership experience and / or line management will be required. 

A requirement to have a degree in civil engineering or equivalent relevant experience. 

The role is being advertised as a full-time position on a 37 hours per week contract (Mon-Fri). Candidates would be able to utilise hybrid working with a mixture of working predominantly from home, and 1-2 days per week in the office. The office base would be either the Ashford or Aylesford KCC Depot which can be agreed with the successful candidate(s). 

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Contact Details

Ryan Shiel - West Kent Programme Manager - ryan.shiel@kent.gov.uk 

About the Company

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KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note - if you are interested, please apply soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.