Principal Highways Development Officer

This is a Gloucestershire County Council job.

• Job Title: Principal Highways Development Officer
• Job Location: Shire Hall, Block 5, 5th Floor
• Salary: £49,817 - £53,051 per annum
• Hours per Week: 37.00
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Closing Date: 22/11/2026
• Job Requisition Number: 15067
• This post is not open to job share

About The Team & Role

The Highways Development Management Team at Gloucestershire County Council is a statutory consultee for planning applications across the county. Through our role in the planning process, we help deliver Gloucestershire's ambition for carbon-neutral growth while ensuring the highway network remains safe, sustainable and fit for the future.

We are seeking an experienced, proactive and forward-thinking Principal Highways Development Management Officer to join our team. As a Principal member of the service, you will play a key role in assessing residential, commercial and strategic development proposals, providing expert highway and transportation advice, and helping to shape communities that are safe, connected and sustainable for all applications including major developments.

You will work closely with planning authorities, developers, consultants, elected members and local communities to ensure that new developments:

1.Promote and enhance active travel opportunities, including walking, wheeling and cycling.

2.Support Gloucestershire's climate change and decarbonisation objectives.

3.Deliver safe and efficient transport networks for all users.

4.Mitigate development impacts on the highway network.

5.Create sustainable, accessible and resilient places that contribute positively to the county.

About You:

You will be an experienced highways or transportation professional with a strong technical background and a proven ability to exercise sound professional judgement. You will be comfortable managing complex caseloads, negotiating with developers and consultants, and representing the Highway Authority's position at planning committees, appeals and public inquiries.

As a principal officer, you will also provide guidance and support to colleagues, helping to maintain high professional standards across the team and contributing to service improvements.

You will have at leaast 10 years experience in highways development management, transport planning, highway engineering or a related discipline in addition to excellent communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders and explain complex technical matters clearly.

You must be able to assess Transport Assessments, Travel Plans, highway layouts and development proposals, strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret technical data and evidence are essential. The ability to interpret traffic modelling results and road safety assessments is essential.

A commitment to Gloucestershire County Council's values and behaviours and a passion for delivering positive outcomes for communities would be essential.

You should ideall have a Degree or HND in Civil Engineering, or relevant degree with compensatory knowledge, abilities and skills.

About Us:

For all your hard work, you will receive the following;

• Flexible and agile working opportunities
• 25.5 days annual leave rising to 30.5 days after 5 years continuous service
• Plus, an option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year (pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Family friendly employer offering benefits to help support you and your family
• Career development and qualification opportunities
• Supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision
• Excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential, counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone.
• An in-house Occupational Health service
• Employee discount scheme
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) network and the Young Employees Network. Gloucestershire Salary Sacrifice Green Car Scheme (T&C's apply)

How to Apply

Please submit your application and personal statement by clicking the “Apply Now” button.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Ian Hunt via email at ian.hunt@gloucestershire.gov.uk

There will be an initial Teams interviews on 1st December followed by Formal interview and technical exercise.

Technical exercise on Friday 11th December for successful applicants

Previous applicants need not apply.

Additional Information

To access the Job Profile for this role, please follow the link below:-

Principal Highways Development Officer - Job Profile

Due to the number of applications we received, we are unable to provide feedback at shortlisting stage and reserve the right to close the advert early.

Applications from any Gloucestershire County Council's employees who are currently on the redeployment register or at risk of redundancy will be considered first at shortlisting stage.

The council is not currently able to offer sponsorship in this role. Candidates will need to have a right to work that enables them to commit to at least 6 months' employment. Right to work is not transferable from a sponsored role held with another employer. / The council will consider sponsorship for this role, in line with Home Office regulations and subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks.

It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a ‘customer facing role’ must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English.

We want to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining excellent people to work for us, so that we can best serve all of Gloucestershire’s diverse communities. Our promise to you is that we will provide an inclusive and supportive working environment that enables you to bring your whole self to work and realise your full potential.