Location: UK: Flexible + Basingstoke, Bedford, Birmingham, Darlington, Guildford, Leeds, Maidstone, Manchester, Nottingham

Start Date: April 2023

Programme: 6-month returnship

Closing date for application: Apply ASAP, latest by 13 February 2023

*Applications have now closed*

Your New Role

If you are an experienced professional who has been out of work for 2 or more years and are looking to return to the workplace and get your career back on track, then this could be a perfect opportunity for you.

The National Highways Returners Programme has a range of opportunities available, where you will be able to become completely integrated into a team within the organisation and build up any lost confidence, brush up on those management skills or gain some new ones.

This is the fifth year that National Highways has been running such a successful and rewarding Programme.  It is designed to give you a great experience working for a company that values you as an individual and wants to help you move forward whilst also allowing the organisation to benefit from all your previous experience gained prior to your career break.

About the Programme

There are several roles paying between £35,3000 – £47,260. Do not worry if you don’t have the specific experience in your chosen field or area of interest, as they are looking for talented individuals who share their values and behaviours and are able to transfer their skills to be successful in a new role with their support.

All roles are initially offered on a 6-month fixed term contract but could lead to further opportunities both permanent or interim. 95% of those who have joined the Programme have remained with the organisation beyond six months.

National Highways will provide you with a supportive line manager, a structured Coaching Programme, and a mentor/buddy to help you succeed.

Worried that only 9am-5pm, 5 days a week positions exist? Don’t be! National Highways is a flexible working organisation and understand that life is important and there is a reason not everyone can commit to these hours. They are open to a variety of working options.

Read Marisa’s story of returning via the Returner programme here: Marisa’s Story

Roles available and Applicant Attributes

Assistant DCO Manager – Major Projects (Manchester, Leeds, Darlington, or Birmingham):

  • Teamwork and efficient time management are the key transferrable skills for this role.
  • You are a confident and effective communicator who can build good relationships across multiple teams to find more efficient ways of doing things to the benefit of all.
  • You will have experience and involvement in managing projects and developing process improvements with the skillset to guide and train others in the initiatives linked to your role.
  • You may have experience of working in a programme and project environment, collaboratively working towards the delivery of project milestones and outcomes

The successful individual will be a member of a highly efficient, motivated, and supportive team that supports projects through the statutory processes under the Planning Act 2008, Highways Act 1980 and Compulsory Purchase Orders.

Delivery Manager – Customer, Strategy & Communications (Flexible across the UK):
This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic team working on a major new project to find solutions for electric vehicle charging across our road network.

  • You may hold a Project Management/APM/PMI qualification or accreditation, or have a background in project planning/management, fund management, pilot delivery or have transferrable skills from a previous role.
  • You have experience of working with internal and external stakeholders and an ability to manage them effectively.
  • You are a strong communicator as well as organised.
  • You can set and work to deadlines with experience of using Microsoft tools such as MS teams, Outlook, and Excel.
  • You are able to review and report analytically.
  • You may have experience of contract management skills such as measuring performance and delivery schedules.

Principal Engineer – Operations (Guildford, Bedford, Maidstone, or Basingstoke):

  • You may have a degree in a relevant discipline, Higher National Diploma, or Higher National Certificate with relevant experience, or equivalent experience.
  • It is important that you have knowledge of asset condition assessment and modelling.
  • You will be required to drive as part of your role and you will need to have a full clean driving license to be considered for this position and during employment.

This is an excellent opportunity for a Principal Engineer (Asset Management) to join the South East region. The successful individual will be managing the regions two Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contracts including the M25 DBFO Contract which is the largest roads PFI Contract in the UK. You will provide specialist technical asset management skills to contribute to the effective management of large, long-term asset management contracts.

Senior Data & Intelligence Analyst – Operations (Guildford, Bedford, Maidstone, or Basingstoke):

  • You have a strong ability to prioritise, work to tight deadlines and have excellent attention to detail; You have excellent communication and presentation skills.
  • You display and have experience of working with internal and external stakeholders and an ability to manage them effectively.
  • Experience of using standard office software products, proficient in MS Excel, to enable production and maintenance of a range of complex documents and spreadsheets and ability to use specialist software (for example, Power BI) / IT to collate data and produce relevant reports.
  • You will have excellent analytical and reporting skills with practical knowledge of data analytics methodologies, tools and techniques in order to develop/produce performance reporting materials/ insights.
  • Previous experience in working with varied sets of data to extract meaningful business and performance insights will be beneficial.

Within this role, you will support Operations, at both a national and regional level, to improve its performance by undertaking data analysis and modelling activities, creating reporting material to derive intelligence that provides valuable insight, to drive improvements and make recommendations that support investment and decision making.

Assistant Project Manager – Operations (Birmingham or Nottingham):

  • You will be an effective communicator and have experience previously working in a high volume and demanding environment.
  • You have experience of working with internal and external stakeholders and an ability to manage them effectively.
  • You can set and work to deadlines with experience of using Microsoft tools such as MS teams, Outlook, and Excel.
  • It will be beneficial if you have the ability to execute tasks independently yet work collaboratively within a team and respond to management guidance and support.

Lawyer – Legal Services (Birmingham or Guildford):

  • You are a qualified Lawyer.
  • You have experience of contract and procurement law, including negotiating and drafting contracts and commercial litigation.
  • You have experience of working with internal and external stakeholders and an ability to manage them effectively.
  • You are confident working under pressure
  • You are able to demonstrate excellent previous client handling skills

To be successful

If you can demonstrate how you:

  • put safety first
  • take ownership of your work
  • work effectively in a team
  • show passion for what you do
  • show integrity in how you do it

Then you could be a great fit for the Programme. Remember, this doesn’t have to be in a purely work environment.

A bit about National Highways

It’s an exciting time to begin a career with National Highways as they deliver £27 billion of investment in England’s motorways and A Roads, boosting capacity, tackling congestion, and improving safety. That’s why they’re so grateful to their c.5,500 employees around the country. When you work with them, you’re helping to connect communities, sustain business and support the economy.

Why you should join them

At National Highways, they believe in a connected country. They are passionate about creating a culture where colleagues feel connected, included and enjoy greater wellbeing to achieve this.  They’re proud that as an organisation they are continually striving to do better and actively encourage and support their colleagues to do the same with their careers. National Highways supports Hybrid working with the business aiming for 40% capacity of your working hours to be worked from an office. This is to be agreed on a local basis with line management, as hybrid working can look different for each team.

Want to know more?

If you’re ready to start your return-to-work journey with National Highways, don’t forget to clearly show your career break on your CV as well as what you’ve been doing and why you’d like to start your next chapter as part of the Returners Programme with them.

Click here to apply using this link: National Highways Returners Programme

The closing date for applications is 13 February 2023, with interviews planned the end of February through to the beginning of March, and an estimated start date of end of April 2023.

If you have any queries, email hrhighwaysengland@mailgc.cx.ukg.oraclecloud.com quoting ‘Returner Programme’.