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Technical Director - Highways & Civils
RPS
United Kingdom
Hybrid
GBP 75,000 - GBP 95,000
Full time
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Job summary
A leading infrastructure consulting firm in the UK seeks a Technical Director for Highways & Civils. This role focuses on providing technical leadership and commercial oversight on diverse infrastructure projects, with a focus on highways. Candidates must hold a degree in Civil Engineering and be a Chartered Engineer with significant experience in highways engineering. Responsibilities include guiding complex schemes and supporting a team of engineers across multiple locations, ensuring high standards and regulatory compliance. The position offers hybrid working arrangements and opportunities for business development.
Qualifications
- Substantial experience in highways engineering and civil infrastructure design delivery.
- Proven record of leading complex highway schemes including third-party approvals.
- Strong technical credibility with sound commercial awareness.
Responsibilities
- Provide technical leadership and oversight across highways projects.
- Guide projects through third-party approvals with local authorities.
- Support and influence a highways and civils team of engineers.
Skills
Education
Lead. Advise. Deliver Complex Highway Infrastructure.
Tetra Tech RPS is seeking an experienced and credible Technical Director to lead and shape our Highways and Civil Infrastructure capability based from Birmingham or Newark, with travel and hybrid working. This senior leadership role is for a technically strong highways professional who thrives on guiding complex schemes and supporting and influencing teams, playing a central role in commercial performance and work winning.
As Technical Director, you will provide technical leadership, commercial oversight, and strategic direction across a portfolio of highways and civil infrastructure projects. While highways is the core focus, it is embedded within a broader civil engineering and infrastructure context, including large residential developments, industrial sites and major infrastructure schemes.
You will act as the senior technical authority within the highways discipline, supporting project teams through complex technical challenges, stakeholder engagement and third‑party approvals. You will remain technically engaged, providing direction, challenge and assurance on design development, approvals strategy and compliance with standards and regulation. You will also lead client engagement and key account management.
You will support and influence a highways and civils team of approximately 12 engineers, primarily based in Newark with additional presence in Birmingham and London. The team delivers highway infrastructure designs for residential developments, estate roads, junction improvements, earthworks, S278 highway improvement schemes, and critical highways work for industrial and commercial developments.
The role requires close collaboration across disciplines and locations. You will work alongside senior leads in Birmingham and London, sharing capability and capacity where required, and supporting complex schemes that cut across multiple teams and regions. Interaction with aviation and utilities ensures a joined‑up approach to infrastructure delivery.
Technical credibility in highways engineering is fundamental. You will bring extensive experience delivering highway infrastructure and associated civil works design, with particular strength in Section 278 high‑way improvement schemes, highway upgrades tied to residential and commercial development, and infrastructure works within constrained networks.
You will lead the technical approval process, guiding projects through third‑party approvals with local authorities and national highway bodies, including negotiations and departures from standard where required. You will also lead technical discussions, presentations and formal submissions, making robust technical cases under pressurised stakeholder environments.
Experience with highway works forming part of major development schemes, including large‑scale commercial and data centre projects, will be highly beneficial, as will exposure to earthworks, complex utilities coordination and infrastructure phasing.
Leadership in this role is about technical guidance, mentoring and influence. You will support project leaders and senior engineers, helping them navigate complex technical decisions and build confidence in managing challenging schemes.
Collaboration is central. Work closely with peers across Birmingham, Newark and London, supporting cross‑team delivery, sharing expertise and ensuring a consistent technical and commercial approach. Collaborate with colleagues leading aviation, utilities and wider civils capabilities.
You will oversee the performance of multiple projects across the highways portfolio, ensuring robust fee management, risk control and successful delivery outcomes. Typical project fees range from tens of thousands up to £500k–£1m, with highways packages also contributing to significantly larger multidisciplinary commissions.
Key competency is work‑winning and client relationship management, supporting existing clients and developing new opportunities. Expand relationships with developers, contractors, strategic land promoters and industrial clients, broadening service offerings where Tetra Tech RPS currently provides a limited scope.
Identify new opportunities, support bid strategies and help position the highways team as a trusted advisor delivering high‑value infrastructure solutions.
Contribute to the ongoing growth and evolution of the highways and civils capability. Strengthen technical reputation, support development of utility and infrastructure‑led workstreams and remain well positioned to support complex, infrastructure‑heavy development schemes.
Shape how highways expertise integrates with wider civil engineering, planning and multidisciplinary services, ensuring clients benefit from a coordinated, strategic approach to infrastructure delivery.
Provide robust technical governance and assurance across multiple schemes and delivery teams. Maintain high technical standards, challenge designs where required, manage technical risk and ensure projects align with regulatory requirements and client expectations. Oversee approval strategies, lead technical reviews and support departures from standards to ensure consistent quality and defensible engineering decisions across the highways portfolio.
Hold a degree in Civil Engineering or related discipline and be a Chartered Engineer (CEng) through a recognised professional institution. Bring substantial experience in highways engineering and civil infrastructure design delivery, with a proven record of leading and assuring complex highway schemes, including third‑party approvals and stakeholder negotiation. Demonstrate strong technical credibility, sound commercial awareness and confidence to act as a senior technical authority.
Experience in Section 278 highway schemes, residential‑led infrastructure, utilities coordination, industrial and commercial developments, and engagement with third‑party regulators. Exposure to large multidisciplinary projects and strategic infrastructure planning and coordination further strengthens suitability.
Tetra Tech RPS is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and will make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and employment lifecycle in line with the Equality Act 2010.
We have a Preferred Supplier List of trusted partners to assist us when required. Please refer to the careers page on our website for further information.
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