Routine Maintenance and Street Lighting Manager

The starting salary for this position is £63,823 per annum based on 36 hours per week.

We are looking for an experienced and forward‑thinking Highway Maintenance & Street Lighting Manager to lead the delivery of key highway maintenance services across Surrey. This is a critical operational leadership role, responsible for managing teams, contractors, and major service contracts-including serving as the Council's senior manager for the long-term PFI street lighting contract (approx. £20m per annum).

Our Offer to You

26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
A generous local government salary related pension
Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About Us

The Place Directorate plays a central role in shaping Surrey's future-facilitating safe and reliable journeys, delivering sustainable infrastructure, and ensuring the County's 7.5 billion-pound highway network is maintained effectively. Highways, Transport & Network Management is the most publicly visible service we deliver, and this role sits at the heart of its success.

Why Join Us?

Influence one of the most high profile services Surrey County Council delivers.
Lead major service contracts and work closely with local Members and community partners.
Play a key role in delivering safe, sustainable, and reliable infrastructure for residents.
Be part of a supportive, highly skilled, and forward-thinking Highways service.

About the Role

As Routine Maintenance & Street Lighting Manager, you will lead the delivery of highway maintenance services across Surrey's network, providing operational leadership for drainage, road markings, traffic signs, street furniture, street lighting and illuminated assets. You will oversee maintenance contracts, including acting as the senior manager for Surrey's long‑term Street Lighting PFI, ensuring services are safe, efficient and aligned with Council priorities.

The role blends strategic planning, contract management, budget oversight, stakeholder engagement and team leadership. You will analyse performance, manage risks, develop maintenance programmes and drive service improvements, while leading a team of around 10 staff. Key priorities include improving asset management, strengthening contractor performance, ensuring value for money and maintaining high standards of resident safety and customer satisfaction.

A major focus will be supporting Surrey's preparations for Local Government Reorganisation and the transition to new unitary authorities in 2027. You will help review services, contracts, assets and governance arrangements to ensure continuity and successful implementation of highway maintenance and street lighting functions. This is a visible leadership role with significant influence over the condition, safety and resilience of Surrey's most valuable asset-the highway network.

Shortlisting Criteria

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills:

Degree‑level qualification (or equivalent experience) with substantial senior experience in highway maintenance, infrastructure or asset management.
Proven leadership of teams and large‑scale contracts, with a strong track record of driving contractor performance and value for money.
Strong operational understanding of highway maintenance, with the ability to analyse data,…