Asset Needs Manager
| Posting date: | 27 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £54,180 to £64,120 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 10 February 2026 |
| Location: | Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4LZ |
| Company: | National Highways |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 7049_1769510683 |
Summary
About the job.
National Highways have an excellent opportunity for two Asset Needs Managers to join our team in the South East region. The Asset Needs Manager will lead a multidisciplinary team of Asset engineers (pavement, structures, drainage, geotechnical, road restraint systems, environment, road marking, traffic signs and fencing) who contribute to the region's forward programme and planning process. The team provides technical expertise in the identification of asset specific needs and early solutions, while assuring adherence to defined asset policies and standards.
This role is based from one of our offices located in either Maidstone, Guildford or Basingstoke.
You will:
- Lead a team of engineers, setting the tone and driving high performance, ensuring the team's ongoing development and engagement.
- Responsible for long term resource planning, continuously assessing capacity and capabilities in the team, and take proactive steps to address issues to ensure the team can operate effectively to deliver against current and future demands.
- Ensure that the function has robust, effective and high quality processes, procedures, and tools in place so as to provide the required level of performance for the region.
- Lead and coordinate the identification and evaluation of asset specific needs in the region (pavement, structures, drainage, geotechnical etc) to articulate future maintenance requirements.
- Ensure that regional forward programmes, capital investment and maintenance plans reflect asset needs, and are developed in a way that is compliant with the organisation's technical asset policies and standards.
- Ensure that the Region has the required internal technical expertise to shape, assure and/or challenge early solution designs and studies, in order to ensure these, deliver the best outcomes for customers, whilst maintaining compliance with technical policies and standards.
- Lead the development and maintenance of regional Lifecycle Asset Management Plan, liaising with National Highways Safety Engineering and Standards (SES) directorate to deliver ongoing improvements and innovation.
- Recommend opportunities to improve asset management capability, processes and approaches, and manage the implementation of changes within own area of responsibility; champion and share best practice and promote compliance to recognised asset management standards.
About you.
- Proven asset management knowledge and skills with experience of managing and developing long term asset management plans for highway infrastructure assets.
- Good understanding of Roads and Structures technical asset policies and strategies and up to date understanding of CDM and health and safety regulations.
- Experience in Asset management decision making (capital investment, lifecycle costs, value optimisation, service & availability optimisation, social & economic knowledge).
- Demonstrable experience of engaging and leading multidiscipline engineering teams.
- Good commercial and financial acumen, including budget management and reporting.
- Demonstrable experience of effective stakeholder management.
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.
Operations is at the heart of keeping the strategic road network moving and ensuring our customers get the best possible experience when using our roads.
We address over 39,000 customer enquiries every month, plan and deliver all maintenance activities on the network, drive efficiencies and improvements across our systems and roads, and respond to incidents across 4,500 miles of motorways and major A-roads that we manage. All to make sure National Highways customers have safer, smoother, and more reliable journeys.
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.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme