Highways Depot Manager

Job description

CONFIDENTIAL CONTRACT ROLE – HIGHWAYS DEPOT MANAGER (12-month contract)

East Midlands & Surrounding Areas

• Demonstrable experience running a live highways depot or operational base
• SMSTS (or equivalent safety qualification)
• Direct involvement in winter service and highways emergency response
• Willingness to participate in an on-call / out-of-hours rota
• Eligibility to work in the UK

A public-sector highways organisation is engaging an experienced Highways Depot Lead on a contract basis to take full operational responsibility for a key depot serving the East Midlands and nearby areas.

This role sits at the sharp end of service delivery. You’ll be accountable for keeping crews productive, work moving, and the network safe — across routine maintenance, unplanned incidents, and severe weather events.

What You’ll Be Responsible For

• Running daily depot operations and directing multiple highway workstreams
• Controlling labour, plant, materials, and subcontract support
• Ensuring teams are briefed, safe, and delivering to required standards
• Leading emergency response activity and seasonal winter operations
• Dealing with operational escalations, including stakeholder and public issues
• Monitoring performance, productivity, and operational risk
• Supporting cost control and efficient use of resources
• Taking part in an operational on-call rota as required

What We’re Looking For

• A practical, delivery-focused leader with strong highways operations experience
• Comfortable making decisions in live, high-pressure environments
• Visible and proactive on safety, standards, and workforce management
• Experienced managing supervisors, operatives, and supply partners
• Clear communicator with a professional, calm approach to escalation

Nice to Have

• ICE or IHT membership (or actively working towards)
• Traffic Management or similar operational qualifications
• Exposure to asset systems, digital tools, or quality frameworks

Extra information

Status

Open

Education Level

Secondary School

Location

East Midlands

Type of Contract

Full-time jobs

Published at

04-03-2026

Full UK/EU driving license preferred

No

Car Preferred

No

Must be eligible to work in the EU

No

Cover Letter Required

No

Languages

English