Construction & Maintenance Climate Adaptation Lead

About the job. 

National Highways have an excellent opportunity for a Construction & Maintenance Climate Adaptation Lead to join our Environmental Sustainability Division within Safety, Engineering and Standards (SES). As Team Lead you will work across the company, developing and implementing decarbonisation and climate adaption and resilience policies, standards, and best practices. You will provide specialist technical advice and guidance, acting as the focal point to ensure alignment between development, renewal and maintenance of National Highways assets, ensuring planning for long term improvements including adaptation and resilience and alignment with Environmental and Sustainability Strategies. 

Please note this position can be based from any of our UK offices however travel to regional offices to attend team meetings will be required. 

• Be the subject matter expertise on Carbon; particularly construction and maintenance, innovation and decarbonisation pathways, and Climate Change; particularly scenario planning, adaptation pathways and resilience.  Developing technical solutions working with specialists across the company to ensure sustainable, low carbon and resilient asset standards, specifications, processes and implementation.
• Lead on the business cases for RIS4, developing the strategic direction for decarbonisation and climate change. Ensuring alignment between organisational strategies, including asset management, and companywide programmes, including the Environmental Sustainability Strategy. 
• Represent National Highways on net zero and climate change related technical and standards committees, steering groups, conferences, seminars and workshops. Contribute to the development of external standards, to ensure that National Highways views are appropriately represented.
• Lead on internal and external stakeholders’ engagement to understand business needs, promoting and gaining commitment to Net Zero, Climate Change and adaptation objectives, identifying key areas for improvement and sharing best practices. Key areas of engagement comprise of; low carbon materials, asset resilience, adaptation, carbon data and assurance.
• Manage and motivate a small team, ensuring they are engaged with the team activities and wider business purpose. Management of technical consultancy, ensuring best value and alignment to corporate goals.  

 About you. 

• You will be a chartered engineer and/or environmental specialist with a relevant professional institution (eg ICE, IEMA) or hold equivalent recognition of your technical suitability for the role.  
• Experience of Programme Delivery including delivering change through innovation or new opportunities. 
• Demonstratable experience of leading and developing small teams to deliver required objectives. 
• A strong collaborator, to gain the involvement and engagement of a wide range of stakeholders.
• Experience and application of expertise in the following areas:

1. The principles of decarbonisation and its inclusion within policy, procedures and standards (Essential). 
2. The principles climate change scenarios and adaptation pathways (Essential).
3. A broad appreciation of whole life cycle of carbon and sustainable highway assets; the materials, products and technologies used (Essential).
4. Carbon Management in Infrastructure (PAS2080), Carbon Accounting (ISO14064, PAS2060, BS EN15804) and emerging low carbon innovations (Desirable) / Knowledge of Highway design standards and specifications (DMRB/ MCHW) (Desirable).

About us. 

Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England’s motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership. 

Safety, Engineering and Standards (SES) focuses on supporting outstanding operational delivery and providing expert technical advice for our road network. We also deliver essential services that lead, enable, and drive innovation in the development of the Strategic Road Network, while offering expert guidance on health and safety matters. 

External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy.

We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.