ROLE PURPOSE
As Design & Engineering Lead, you will provide strategic leadership and overall accountability for the engineering, design, and technical governance functions across the National Highways Area 5 network, including the M25 and supporting trunk roads.
This role is responsible for defining and executing the engineering and design strategy that supports the safe, compliant, efficient, and sustainable management of one of the UK's most complex strategic road networks. Leading a multidisciplinary organisation, you will drive excellence in design delivery, asset stewardship, innovation, and technical assurance while ensuring alignment with customer objectives, regulatory requirements, and long-term investment plans.
The position provides oversight across all engineering and design portfolios, including Structures, Linear Assets (Pavements and Geotechnics), Tunnels M&E, Network Technology (including Street Lighting and Traffic Signals), CAD and Digital Engineering. You will lead and develop a team of specialist design engineers and design managers, fostering a high-performance culture focused on safety, collaboration, technical excellence, and continuous improvement.
A key aspect of the role is the strategic management of engineering activities across multiple business streams, including Capital Renewals, Maintenance, Design & Build (PDA), and National Highways Improvement Schemes. You will hold budget responsibility for the engineering and design across the business, ensuring effective workforce planning, resource utilisation, capability development, and supply chain engagement. A key expectation of the role is to identify and implement advances in technology, digital engineering, data analytics, and automation to improve operational efficiency, enhance decision-making, and drive continuous improvement throughout the asset lifecycle.
As the senior engineering authority for the business, you will be accountable for ensuring that all design activities are delivered safely, predictably, and in full compliance with applicable standards, legislation, and client requirements. This includes maintaining a comprehensive understanding of asset management strategies, long-term investment programmes, whole-life asset performance, scheme affordability, and contractual handback obligations. You will champion a whole-life asset management approach, ensuring that engineering solutions maximise asset performance and service life while minimising cost, risk, carbon impact, and disruption to the travelling public. Through robust governance processes, design assurance reviews, and early contractor involvement, you will promote the principles of Safety by Design, Design for Maintenance, constructability, and innovation across all stages of project development and delivery. The role carries overall accountability for fulfilling Principal Designer duties under CDM Regulations and ensuring that health, safety, and risk management considerations are fully embedded throughout the engineering lifecycle
As a recognised technical leader, you will maintain oversight of technical approvals, delegated authorities, and engineering assurance processes across all permanent works disciplines. You will ensure that technical governance frameworks remain effective, proportionate, and aligned with industry best practice.
The position requires strong stakeholder leadership, working closely with National Highways, Connect Plus, Framework Contractor partners, external consultants, regulatory bodies, and senior internal stakeholders to establish strategic alignment, influence investment decisions, and ensure the successful delivery of programme objectives.
In addition to leading planned investment activities, you will provide senior engineering leadership during network incidents and emergency response situations, directing technical decision-making and recovery strategies for damaged infrastructure assets and supporting the resilience of the wider network.
The role also provides strategic oversight of engineering surveys, digital asset management, and geospatial modelling, ensuring that high-quality data and emerging technologies are leveraged to support informed decision-making, future investment planning, and enhanced network performance.
Key Accountabilities
Leadership Expectations
DIMENSIONS
FINANCIAL responsibility:
This role is responsible for design & engineering management across several hundred interventions each year, ranging in scale and complexity, totally c.£150m of annual construction cost.
The annual design forecast is ~£8-10m, split across internal design team staff costs and external design consultancy spend.
ORGANISATIONAL responsibility:
The role will lead the Design & Engineering design team, comprised of c45 design engineers and design team managers.
Several schemes are supported by external design resources to suit the workload requirements and the role manages performance of these strategic design partners.
INTERFACES
INTERNAL:
Asset Delivery Leads,Asset & Network Planning function (specifically Asset Investment and Technical Authority Teams), CPS Senior Leadership Team, Design & Engineering team members.
EXTERNAL:
Senior leaders from supply chain designers, other M25 Community members (particularly Framework contractors working for Connect Plus), National Highways stakeholders and external stakeholders
RESPONSIBILITIES
Safety:
Provide visible and proactive leadership in health, safety, and wellbeing, championing a culture where safety is embedded in every aspect of engineering and design delivery. Ensure that Safety by Design principles, risk elimination, and behavioural safety expectations are consistently applied across all engineering activities. Drive continuous improvement in safety performance through the principles of Making Safety Personal, ensuring teams and supply chain partners demonstrate ownership, accountability, and a strong safety-first mindset.
Governance, Compliance & Assurance:
Ensuring full compliance with applicable legislation, regulatory requirements, client standards, and internal governance processes. Provide strategic oversight of engineering assurance, technical approvals, and design governance across all asset disciplines.
Stakeholder Leadership & Client Engagement:
Build and maintain strong strategic relationships with clients, supply chain partners, framework contractors, and internal stakeholders to ensure alignment of engineering objectives and delivery priorities. Serve as the senior point of contact for engineering and design matters, influencing key decisions and facilitating effective collaboration across organisational boundaries. Provide timely escalation of critical issues, risks, and opportunities while driving resolution through effective governance, communication, and stakeholder engagement.
Resource & Capability Management
Provide strategic leadership for engineering resource planning across all delivery programmes and asset portfolios, ensuring the optimal deployment of internal teams and external partners. Work collaboratively within the organisational matrix to balance workload, meet programme commitments, and maintain resilience across the engineering function. Drive workforce planning, succession management, and capability development strategies to ensure the organisation has the skills, capacity, and expertise required to meet future business demands.
Engineering Delivery & Process Excellence
Maintain overall accountability for the successful delivery of engineering and design outputs across all asset types and delivery streams. Ensure engineering process
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